If you’re at college, you’ll understand the struggles of saving money – the digging into the pockets, checking if you’ve got enough change to go out for the night, or making sure no food is wasted in the fridge before spending more money on groceries, and coming up with a few odd combinations in the process. So here’s a few easy tips on how to save money while you’re at school, from a fellow student who feels your pain!
1. Get a student ID card
Usually when you enroll, you’ll get a student ID card. Especially if you’re an avid shopper, or a lover for food, the card gets you a discount for most high street stores and restaurants, all of which will be displayed on the student card’s website. Many student ID cards also work at museums, movie theaters, and other local attractions, so you can find inexpensive ways to go out with friends or even take someone on a date! For me, my favorite is the NUS card – 40% off at Pizza Express Monday-Friday. Cheap and pizza, what’s not to love?
2. Look for discount/promotion codes before you buy!
I can not emphasize this enough, the amount I’ve saved over the past couple of years just by spending a couple of extra minutes before checking out online by a quick Google search such as “discount codes asos september 2015.” You can find promotion codes that definitely help cut costs. Little things like these really make a difference and add up. You’ll find you can get a promotion code at most major stores before checking out.
3. When eating out, find restaurants that offer a student discount.
Are there certain times you can go when students eat cheaper? As mentioned before, a favorite of mine is 40% off at Pizza Express, but there’s lot of options available. When you’re living at in a college town, you’ll find a lot of places cater to students to persuade them to repeat purchase at their chosen place.
4. Don’t want something? Sell it online.
We live in a generation where most of us are Internet savvy and can work many apps/sites pretty well. I’ve noticed a lot that when I go home for the holidays, there’s clothes just sitting in my wardrobe not getting used anymore. I use various sites such as Depop and Ebay to sell various items I don’t use anymore. When you’re just living off your student loans, extra cash is always handy!
5. Order food online.
This way your shopping list is filled with the exact food you need, rather than getting distracted with offers at the supermarket. On most supermarket websites you can save and name shopping lists, so you could have multiple shopping lists saved for example “Week 1” and “Week 2” each with ingredients for recipes, so you’re not eating the same thing but you’re also being selective in your items by using them all, and not being enticed from other foods and offers at the Supermarket.
6. Freeze food.
Going out of date the next day? FREEZE IT! Just put it in the freezer and save it for another time, especially for meat. This saves so much money, as meat is an expensive food. Another tip is when buying a sliced loaf of bread, put it in the freezer. This will make it last longer and you can take out 2 slices the day before eating it.
7. Invest in a hip-flask.
Even when going out, use this to save money on alcohol, put it in the lining of your clutch bag, or down your top, or wherever. This way you don’t have to worry about spending loads of money on a night out but you still have lots of alcohol! The hip flask will soon become your best friend.
Featured photo credit: Huffington Post via huffingtonpost.co.uk
