How do you use to save money? (coupons, rentals)

[juliawingate0]

I am a college student and saving money for me is very difficult.

I have a monthly budget from my parents and I also work a part time job. I even give myself x amount of dollars to spend a week so I don't go over board

The problem is I am in charge for paying for all of my books, school supplies & food which can be pretty difficult from week to week.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to save money? Does anyone use coupons or discount websites??

Desperate college girl would love some advice.

[Curbed Enthusiasm]

Hard to give any meaningful advice without you sharing an itemization of your expenses.

[aduma]

Get a cheaper cell phone plan

Eat peanut butter sandwiches all the time (no jelly)

Don't go out to eat

Cancel cable

Rent your books instead of buying

[stan4]

I dunno about now in college, but once you are working, simply pay yourself first.

[Plokivos]

What I found out was that the money I spend on Lunch was just ridiculous. That and the money I spend on coffee and treats each month.

The amount of lunch and coffee and treats I've spent, which could be easily be half of more could of afford me a bigger house or another car (a nice one) + insurance. Possibly a child.

2 cups of coffee (just coffee) a day = $6 a day = 5 days a week x 4 weeks a month = $30 a week x 4 = $120

Treats? Depends, but let's say about $80 a week.

Lunch? $8 to $15 a day = 5 days a week x 4 weeks a month = (lowest) $40 a week x 4 = $160.

That's already $360. Plus what you spend on weekends.

The amount of money I spend drinking outside work cost me a lot. I mean, I have people I have to meet and drink with, so that's that, but it was coming out close to about $400 on some weeks. Let's just say, $150 on a light weekend. This is including transportation, etc. That's already $600. Let's say, you skip two weekends. That's $300 still.

$470 + $360 = $810 a month, just on lunch and stuff. But this might not be you...

But the biggest problem is that you're buying new books. When I was in college, I use to stalk people in classes that I knew I was going to take, and buy the book from people a year older than I was, because internet sucked back then.

But now, you can literally go online and buy used books for 80% cheaper.

http://gen.lib.rus.ec

http://textbooknova.com

http://en.bookfi.org/

http://www.gutenberg.org

http://ebookee.org

http://www.manybooks.net

http://www.giuciao.com

http://www.feedurbrain.com

http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php...sk=view&id=380

http://www.alleng.ru/

http://www.eknigu.com/

http://ishare.iask.sina.com.cn/

http://2020ok.com/

http://www.freebookspot.es/Default.aspx

http://www.freeetextbooks.com/

http://onebigtorrent.org/

http://www.downeu.me/ebook/

http://forums.mvgroup.org

http://theaudiobookbay.com/

Source and more:
http://www.reddit.com/r/trackers/com...tbooks/c1xrq44

Go nuts.

[lapetiteruse]

Here are some tips I've learned over the years:

1. Textbooks: compare pricing! There are tons of rent options, but sometimes I found my textbooks cheaper to buy on amazon and as an amazon prime subscriber, shipping was free.

I've used all 3 of these - and ALWAYS compare the different pricing including shipping before I order.
www.chegg.com - rent books
www.textbookrentals.com
www.bookrenter.com


2. if you don't already, register for amazon prime student. $49 a month. You will need to confirm your student email address.

3. Follow a zero balance budget, meaning every single dollar of your allowance/income is accounted for. A popular method is to use cash for everything that you separate into envelopes or some other organization method. Each category of your budget has its own pile of money. Spend it wisely. You aren't allowed to dip into any other category when you overspend. This will require you to be very honest about how you spend your funds. Also, since you are a college student, it very well may be the truth that your expenses are such that it's just impossible for you to save anything. The important part about savings is to establish the emergency fund first. The first goal should be to have $500 set aside. When you reach that goal, then increase it to $1000. YOu should only dip into this fund for car repairs and such. This is not to cover the last-minute invite to a weekend in Ocean City. (not that I would judge you for doing this as I've been known to do it in my past LOL)

4. Self awareness is key. Understand your spending habits. Identify the areas where you think you spend too much. Find ways to reduce it. For instance, if you find that you spend more money on going out than you want, perhaps pre-game at home with a couple drinks so that you're only buying one-two drinks out at the bar. If you eat out too much, simply set a schedule of how often you want to eat out and at what cost. Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up.