jayrodd84
...I have been a little more than irritated just watching my weekly check get sucked into the whole. I am broke before I ever get to see a penny of my money I work for. I am currently in the negative. I was just looking for some insightful opinions on what you do to conserve money. Such as changing your own oil, types of healthy food to buy, etc. etc.
At the moment, I never go grocery shopping and commute an hour away for school and always end up stopping at the 7 eleven for breakfast, wendy's for lunch, and junk food for dinner. And the occasional social drinking out with friends (which turns into spending way more than I should).
But tell me, some active students that have a good daily plan, what is your mental and physical routine to sort of keep you responsible and grounded in order to stay within your means.
(After typing most of this I realize and see how my money is wasted, but Im really interested in hearing from some responsible somewhat independent individuals that pave their own way) Thanks....
Answer
When I was a student I lived on campus, so that kind of took out the whole commute thing. Unless you're living with your family or in some other rent-free situation, I suggest you either look into on-campus lodging or find a place closer to your school. If you are on-campus you can also buy a meal plan, which is exponentially less expensive than eating fast food.
If you are going to school that does not offer student room and board, you should start bringing a bag lunch. We eat a huge amount of beans and rice in our family because these foods are healthy and very inexpensive. A bag of dried black beans costs $2 and can make a pot of soup that will keep for a week and feed you lunch every day of that week. You can make wraps with beans and rice, some diced tomatoes and onions, hot sauce, sour cream and cheese. The total cost per wrap is something like 80 cents and they're great for lunch and extremely nutritious. It takes me about 10 minutes in the evening to prepare lunches for my husband and myself and we save over $100 each week. I also don't buy any bottled drinks. I make tea by the gallon and put it in thermal travel mugs for work and keep it on hand at home. The same goes for coffee. I haven't actually paid for a cup of coffee in two years. Put the coffee and the water in the coffee maker before you go to bed (usually while you're making your lunch), so all you have to do in the morning is push the button. Then you have hot coffee waiting for you when you get out of the shower.
To save money on social drinking excursions, have a couple of drinks at home before you go out, then have your friends pick you up. You won't have to buy as many drinks that way.
Hope that helps.
When I was a student I lived on campus, so that kind of took out the whole commute thing. Unless you're living with your family or in some other rent-free situation, I suggest you either look into on-campus lodging or find a place closer to your school. If you are on-campus you can also buy a meal plan, which is exponentially less expensive than eating fast food.
If you are going to school that does not offer student room and board, you should start bringing a bag lunch. We eat a huge amount of beans and rice in our family because these foods are healthy and very inexpensive. A bag of dried black beans costs $2 and can make a pot of soup that will keep for a week and feed you lunch every day of that week. You can make wraps with beans and rice, some diced tomatoes and onions, hot sauce, sour cream and cheese. The total cost per wrap is something like 80 cents and they're great for lunch and extremely nutritious. It takes me about 10 minutes in the evening to prepare lunches for my husband and myself and we save over $100 each week. I also don't buy any bottled drinks. I make tea by the gallon and put it in thermal travel mugs for work and keep it on hand at home. The same goes for coffee. I haven't actually paid for a cup of coffee in two years. Put the coffee and the water in the coffee maker before you go to bed (usually while you're making your lunch), so all you have to do in the morning is push the button. Then you have hot coffee waiting for you when you get out of the shower.
To save money on social drinking excursions, have a couple of drinks at home before you go out, then have your friends pick you up. You won't have to buy as many drinks that way.
Hope that helps.
College students, what do you use as a backpack?
katie
I'm starting this fall and I want to ditch my blue LL Bean backpack. At first I considered using a Vera Bradley tote bag; then a Vera Bradley messenger bag. However, I don't know if any of the bags from Vera I'm looking at are big enough. Here's what I picked up in the store:
http://www.verabradley.com/product/Color/Indigo-Pop/Messenger/1001729/defaultColor/Indigo+Pop/pc/639/c/0/sc/934/p/1001729.uts
It didn't seem very wide. I need to be able to carry my 15.6" laptop, my textbooks and notebooks, some pens, my wallet keys and phone, lunch, a water bottle, and possibly a change of clothes if I go work out. I want the bag to be big enough to hold everything so I don't feel like my stuff is overflowing out of it. I don't want to lose anything.
Is using a tote bag a good idea? Is this messenger bag too small? I'd love some input. Please let me know what you use and what other stores sell cute, functional bags. Thanks.
Answer
It all depends on your needs. And I agree with the other poster, it will get dirty.
I would say about 95% of your classes won't require you to take your textbooks to class. In my 4 years in college, taking at least 50 or so classes, I only had 4 classes that required me to take the book to class. So you'll only need to take a notebook or laptop for taking notes.
Normally, I use a tote bag b/c I go to school in Kansas and the weather is miserable in the spring/summer/fall. It holds my notebooks, pencil/pen bag, phone, keys, wallet, a few personal items, and water bottle. I don't take my laptop to class b/c many classes won't let me use it anyway and I'm too tempted to hop on social networking sites. It will also carry 1-2 textbooks on those rare occasions when I need them. I also picked up a Swiss Gear backpack at Target a few years back for when I need to carry a ton of books to the library. But since I mostly study at home, it rarely gets used.
For me, that tote bag would be perfect. It might be a little tiny if you intend on carting your textbooks to study. But you can always do what I do, have a cute tote bag for class and then take your LL Bean backpack for those library sessions.
It all depends on your needs. And I agree with the other poster, it will get dirty.
I would say about 95% of your classes won't require you to take your textbooks to class. In my 4 years in college, taking at least 50 or so classes, I only had 4 classes that required me to take the book to class. So you'll only need to take a notebook or laptop for taking notes.
Normally, I use a tote bag b/c I go to school in Kansas and the weather is miserable in the spring/summer/fall. It holds my notebooks, pencil/pen bag, phone, keys, wallet, a few personal items, and water bottle. I don't take my laptop to class b/c many classes won't let me use it anyway and I'm too tempted to hop on social networking sites. It will also carry 1-2 textbooks on those rare occasions when I need them. I also picked up a Swiss Gear backpack at Target a few years back for when I need to carry a ton of books to the library. But since I mostly study at home, it rarely gets used.
For me, that tote bag would be perfect. It might be a little tiny if you intend on carting your textbooks to study. But you can always do what I do, have a cute tote bag for class and then take your LL Bean backpack for those library sessions.
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Title Post: College Students who have their act together (financially)?
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Rating: 97% based on 9832 ratings. 4,6 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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