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How I Save Money as a Student

January 5, 2017 Leave a Comment

Being a student can get hard financially. Friends who love to go out to eat (let’s admit it, we do too) and paying for school can either hit your bank account slowly or all at once. There are several different ways that I have adjusted to college life without breaking the bank. Below are 5 general ways I save money as a student.

1. Meal Planning

Or attempting to anyway. While it may take more planning on the backend I promise that you should see the fruit of this! Not only did this save me some money, but it prepared me for this semester where I will have 30 minutes to get from work to campus, eat dinner, and manage to be sitting in the lecture promptly ready to go. No room for waiting in line at fast food (even if they’re fast!).

2. Living at Home

I know this isn’t an option for everyone or even feasible, but if you need to save major money this is how. Living at home definitely isn’t my ideal scenario, but it is saving me a lot of money that I can put towards my future. Even if you have to pay a small rental fee (under $300), you’re still likely saving money depending on what city or town you live in.

3. Clearance

A beautiful $8 dress or an $8 work appropriate outfit from Bargain Hunt, either way shopping clearance or thrift (not sure what to call the stores) is a must. When I walk into stores the first place I normally go is the clearance. I’m even disappointed sometimes when I can’t find it. This is how you $3 cardigans or $2 shoes.

Thrift stores: Ross, Goodwill, Plato’s Closet, Local Ministry Stores, etc.

4. I go out on special price days.

What I really mean is that I go to Dave and Busters on their half off Wednesdays and technically get double the fun, but this can apply to many other areas. Here are some examples:

  • Go see a matinee movie or wait until it comes out to rent and have a movie night with your friends.
  • AMF (Bowling) has student nights where there is unlimited bowling for $7 including shoe rental.
  • $2 taco days!! Or any other special food discount.

If you’re out with friends you can also split the bill!

5. Student Discounts on Software/Subscriptions

Now I wouldn’t recommend going off and buying the Amazon Prime or Adobe Creative Suite subscriptions that you want simply because you can afford it. In the case that you are going to buy them, then you need to know that there are student discounts that help you save BIG.

For myself I waited 2 years before finally breaking down and purchasing the student rate for the Adobe Creative Suite. Why so long? First, I didn’t have an extra $20/mo laying around to pay for software that wasn’t making me money. Second, the price goes up after the first year’s subscription ends. This is one condition to look for when registering for subscriptions with student discounts. What are the terms? In 6 months will the price increase? In a year do you no longer qualify for the discount at all?

I decided that with extra income that I would be able to afford the one subscription regardless of it was paying for itself. Now I am in the middle of deciding if Amazon Prime is a worthy expense.

Other Student Discounts:

  • Amazon Prime – First 6 months free & then 50% OFF.
  • Spotify Premium (50% OFF)
  • Adobe Creative Cloud ($19.99/mo FIRST YEAR)
  • JetBrains Developer Tools (FREE) – Renew each year with student email.
  • Microsoft Office (FREE) – Your school may be eligible.
    I paid $80 for 4 years subscription before Microsoft rolled this out.

If you have another that isn’t listed please leave a comment so I can add it to the list!

How do you save money as a student?

Filed Under: Finances Tagged With: at, clearance, discounts, friends, home, living, meal, movies, planning, software, special price, subscriptions

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Kassandra is a wife and software engineer who enjoys napping and cleaning. Outside of her 9 to 5, she is working on learning to garden, simplify and reduce her plastic use, and create beautiful products.

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