Creative ways to save money in college

CollegeDude

I am writing an article on this topic and would love to hear how you have managed to save money here and there while in college. From clipping to coupons to eating nothing but Kraft's boxed mac and cheese, what have you done to cut your cost of living in college? I'm especially interested in any unusual ways you have saved money. Thanks!

randomuser

took too many classes this semester and i have no social life anymore, it might not be creative, and it might suck but msn and facebook have saved me money
i also work for the university and they pay ridiculously good wages

JayDub

Steal glasses/utensils/plates/pitchers from the mountain shadow pub so you never have to pay for your own and soon you will have a full matching set.

siuying

lol @ jaydub..

i live on coffee and snacks during school days.. so in the morning i make myself a hearty breakfast then munch on snacks as the day goes by.. food up on bby is $$.. =(

vonnie

I bring my lunch from home and microwave it in the Interfaith centre even though I'm not part of any faith whatsoever lol.

baby e

I bring my own lunch to class too. You save quite a bit when you think of how much money you would pay to have lunch or a snack for everday that you're at school.

Kevin M.

First of all,you should consider graduation in 3 years which will significantly save your money and time(you can spend the 4th year working hard and earn money back)

Cut the cost of living? Don't waste your money on anything you don't really need.Don't buy anything because it's very cheap. Don't go to starbuck,free water is pretty good already. Cook for yourself.

da_prodigy

Just save money everyday, i mean every day, you wouldn't notice that you save a lot after sometime. Make it a habit, or better yet...a skill. If you can develop that skill to the point that you have more money coming in then going out (even if it's just dollars), you will be on your way to wealth.

Magnificent_Bastard

If you're hungry, don't buy food. Head over to the cafeteria and wait for people to leave, and then eat their left-overs. Many of the fat-cats that eat there hardly finish half of the food they buy. That's when you capitalize on their wastefulness.

vonnie

Magnificent_Bastard;17938 said:

If you're hungry, don't buy food. Head over to the cafeteria and wait for people to leave, and then eat their left-overs. Many of the fat-cats that eat there hardly finish half of the food they buy. That's when you capitalize on their wastefulness.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not o_0

Kevin M.

hahahah fat cats lol

just be frugal! drink tea instead of coffee, it's healthier and all you have to do is buy a hot water for 25 cents. win win ;)

Krazy_Konrad

I drink home brew for beer, instead of buying it. Its good and way cheap!

collegestudent

if my textbook is available at the public library or at the sfu library (not on reserve), depending on the price, i will ususally take it out from there, keep it for the semester and pay the late dues at the end. the late dues usually max out at $30-50 (depending on library) so it can save money (and the hassle of selling back) although this depends on the original price of the text.

illicit

collegestudent;17963 said:

if my textbook is available at the public library or at the sfu library (not on reserve), depending on the price, i will ususally take it out from there, keep it for the semester and pay the late dues at the end. the late dues usually max out at $30-50 (depending on library) so it can save money (and the hassle of selling back) although this depends on the original price of the text.

very smart. " i LIIKkE!. "

Broken Lizard

steal laptops and cell phones from other students

haha... kidding... or am i?

vonnie

collegestudent;17963 said:

if my textbook is available at the public library or at the sfu library (not on reserve), depending on the price, i will ususally take it out from there, keep it for the semester and pay the late dues at the end. the late dues usually max out at $30-50 (depending on library) so it can save money (and the hassle of selling back) although this depends on the original price of the text.

I borrow my friends books, so I try to take courses they already took with the same profs, so... no fees! =)

illicit

vonnie;18229 said:

I borrow my friends books, so I try to take courses they already took with the same profs, so... no fees! =)

i did that for phys100 this semester, except for the fact now i feel bad cause the textbooks getting phased out and she can't sell it...

segadcsonic

Good ideas. The best way is to get a job @ SFU part-time, as the jobs can easily fit around your classes - then you don't have to be as frugal as the pay is very reasonable. If you get a continuing position part-time instead of temporary, I heard you get ~ 33% off tuition. That's a pretty sweet deal (counts as income though)!

vonnie

segadcsonic;18244 said:

Good ideas. The best way is to get a job @ SFU part-time, as the jobs can easily fit around your classes - then you don't have to be as frugal as the pay is very reasonable. If you get a continuing position part-time instead of temporary, I heard you get ~ 33% off tuition. That's a pretty sweet deal (counts as income though)!

NO WAY!???? 33% off tuition?
o_0 where did you hear that from?

If that's the case I'd find a job on campus =_=

baby e

segadcsonic;18244 said:

Good ideas. The best way is to get a job @ SFU part-time, as the jobs can easily fit around your classes - then you don't have to be as frugal as the pay is very reasonable. If you get a continuing position part-time instead of temporary, I heard you get ~ 33% off tuition. That's a pretty sweet deal (counts as income though)!

I have applied for so many jobs on campus and i NEVER hear anything back from them. And its not like i dont have the experience or the days that they need, i do! I just never get a call back. People have told me its really hard to get a job on campus and ive been trying forever. :(

randomuser

I was lucky enough to get a job on campus, I thought I blew the interview too. It's made my life so much easier I was working like a slave before.

The tuition waiver is only if you work full time and I'm pretty sure its much higher than 33%, and trying to get the continuing jobs is pretty hard, everything is pretty much 'temporary' even if you work there for years. I know a girl who was temporary for 3 years. Also...try going to school while working full time...I think the tuition waiver is mainly to benefit the older adult employees who want to take courses slowly cause they have a family and work

vonnie

How is it possible to even go to school when you work full time? It's practically impossible, or physically and emotionally draining to say the least.

Hmm... how good is the pay? Where do you work? Are there any places other then the library? Where do you apply anyways?

randomuser

I make a little over 20 an hour, theres several jobs that pay up to this high, i think the bookstore pays 16 an hour. You either have to apply to the particular place thats hiring, like the bookstore. Or to human resources to be a temp, then youll be assigned into a campus job randomly based on your skills and competition.

Theres also all those job postings on the bulletboards for CUPE, which is all the campus jobs that arent contracted out, you can apply to those but a lot of those are full time i think and most are staffed by internal candidates