|
||||||
| Personal Finance Credit cards, home loans, retirement plans and taxes. The place for all your personal finance questions. |
 |
|
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools |
03-31-2011, 06:21 PM
|
|||
|
|||
I teach at a local university, and along with working and avoiding student loans, I'd advise watching all your expenses very carefully. I see students moaning about money who come into my early morning classes with bakery pastries and extra-large lattes from the coffee shop totaling about $7. Learn to live cheaply: pack your lunch, watch your pennies, economize wherever you can.
|
|
04-01-2011, 09:58 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
This may be a small point but could save you a couple hundred per semester: Don't buy your books at the college bookstore. bigwords.com searches several sites for the best deal on a particular book, so you can make sure you're getting it as cheap as possible.
Once the semester is over, sell the textbooks. (I find half.com to be the easiest site to use, and you can leave your book listings up indefinitely for free--they take a commission when they sell, but they also help pay shipping so it's not that bad. They have a handy tool that helps you decide what price to list at, too.) KEEP that money set aside, and use it to buy your next semester's books (used via bigwords.com, of course). My husband hasn't spent any new money on textbooks in years. Sometimes you lose a bit of money on a book, but other times you can even sell your book for higher than you bought it, so it tends to even out and you have enough money to cover the next semester.
|
|
04-02-2011, 10:43 AM
|
||||
|
||||
|
If you can squeeze in a few extra hours of work, that would be a definite plus. Someone also mentioned ditching your car and looking into public transportation, a good option for saving a few bucks a month. Remember to "pay yourself first" and save a small portion of your income!
|
|
04-04-2011, 01:21 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
When buying books online to save money, look for international editions. They can save you even more. They are especially available for the sciences. However, if you are really ordering them from overseas, order before the semester begins if you can. Sometimes it can take three weeks for books to arrive from China.
For entertainment savings, take advantage of free or inexpensive things happening on campus. Music, art, theater, movies, etc.
__________________
"There is some ontological doubt as to whether it may even be possible in principle to nail down these things in the universe we're given to study." --text msg from my kid http://kiva.org/invitedby/margaret2299 My octogenarian mother invites you to join her in making international micro-loans to alleviate poverty. It's cool! Last edited by Joan.of.the.Arch : 04-04-2011 at 01:22 PM. Reason: College did not teach me to type well.
|
|
| Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
