Buy cheaper underwear - Do you really need that designer underwear that nobody sees but yourself? Okay, so maybe it makes you feel sexy when you’re dancing in front of the mirror, but do you really need it? You can usually get a 3 pack of underwear for the price of a single pair of designer undies. Do yourself a favor and save some money on your skivvies.
Find hand-me-overs - These are basically hand-me-downs, but I like to think of them more as hand-me-overs. Not everyone has two older siblings like me, so sometimes you have to get a little help from your friends. Talk to your friends and find out if they have anything they don’t need and save yourself some money on things like furniture, dishes, silverware, pots and pans, etc.
Read at the bookstore - Are you constantly buying books and magazines? Save some money by visiting your local bookstore and reading there. Many of them have comfortable sitting areas and some even have complimentary coffee. It’ll also give you a reason to get out of your apartment every once in a while.
Save the condiments - Have some extra ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, and napkins from fast food restaurants? Instead of throwing it away, keep the extra condiments and then you don’t have to buy them from the grocery store.
Eat late - Go to a restaurant near closing time. Instead of throwing out their leftover food, some places will offer it to you for free. This varies from place to place, so your mileage may vary.
Eat ramen again - Some of you probably just cringed. However, if you’re reading this, you’re probably a broke grad student like me and want to get to the point of ramen-free living. Ironically, eating more ramen now will help you get to that point faster.
Get free stuff - People are always giving away free stuff on college campuses. Of course, they’re usually trying to sell their product to you too, but that doesn’t mean you have to buy it. Just pick up some free pens, shirts, notebooks, etc. and now you have school supplies for the semester.
Stop driving - Start walking or riding your bike to school. Depending on your campus, this may or may not be feasible. With the rising price of gas, you’ll definitely save some money by limiting your driving. It’ll also help you keep in shape!
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Some of these are unique for sure. Here’s my take: Buy Cheaper Underwear - you can still buy the nice stuff but buy it at a discount department store where you can find items 50% off! Read At The Bookstore - Currently I’m trying to get myself into the habit of going to the library; they still have free books there. Eat Late - I’ve found this probably works best at pizza places. At the end of the night they need to get rid of what’s left and will give you good deals.
Great post! I’ll listen to any tip out there to save money!
I agree that the library is a great alternative to a bookstore and probably a better option if you’re easily tempted to buy things.
Mostly good tips — however — “Grabbing free condiments” is STEALING. You can “grab” a person from getting hit by a run-a-way horse, but “grabbing” a handful of anything that you didn’t pay for is still stealing. I have owned two restaurants, so I know the price of these so called “free” items, and believe me, they didn’t get to any restaurant for free. If you are that hard pressed for food, ask the owner or manager if they could spare some food for you that day. I always said yes, and even hired some of the people who were willing to ask instead of stealing from me. Please keep in mind that stealing is a sin just like lying, and if that doesn’t work for you, think how you would feel if someone came to your house and “grabbed” a handful of your CD’s or your cheap underwear!!
Excellent point, Carol. I definitely do NOT condone stealing, and after reading over my condiment tip again, I see where you’re coming from. I’ve reworded the tip to avoid any confusion between saving what’s given to you and taking something that’s not free.
Some pretty good tips. But I have to say, I think the best alternative for saving money on food is to cook it yourself. Seriously, it’s a win-win situation. You get to eat healthier and save money while doing so. Not to mention, it really impresses the ladies win you cook for them rather than taking them out for dinner (and you saved money by doing so). I didn’t know how to cook a few years ago, so I learned, and it was well worth it. Sure it takes a hour to cook dinner tonight, but you cook more than enough, throw it in the fridge, and you have lunch and dinner for the next 2 days. Did you know that for the price of 1 meal at Outback, you can have London Broil with caramelized onions for 3 days in a row?
I’ve been out of college for about 8 yrs and I still love Ramen!
Always ask if there is a student discount… you’ll be surprised how many times they an establishment will say yes! I’ve saved money going out to shoot pool, for a slice of pizza, and even at some clothing stores. And yes, even the Salvation Army thrift shop offers a student discount, so always ask, “do you offer a student discount?”
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Credit card companies charge a store a certain percentage of the bill (usually 2 - 3%), so ask the store if they will give you a discount for paying in cash.
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Ask for a discount in every store anyway. Just say “Is there any way that I can get a better price on this?” You have nothing to loose, because if the store refuses to give you a discount, you won’t be required to pay anything extra as a penalty for your wanting a special price
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See what you can get used. Check garage sales. Try thrift shops. Check with the city’s waste department to see if they have “free garbage” weekends (Ottawa does this twice a year - people put out “good” garbage that you are supposed to take!)
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Look at the flyers in the weekend paper.to get sale prices on your food for the week, instead of walking up & down the isles grabbing things that look good and may cost you more money.
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Always eat something before you grocery shop — too much junk food goes into the grocery cart when you shop on an empty stomach.
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Why pay $10 for a chicken breast, a wing, and a drumstick, when $8 will get you a whole chicken (that’s TWO breasts, TWO wings, and TWO drumsticks for less money).
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Don’t have room for a whole chicken? Shop with a friend and split everything.
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Grab coupons whenever you see them. Keep them in an accordion folder.
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Try to use coupons with items on sale (the product manufacturer pays the store back for the coupon) and sometimes you can get stuff for FREE (I once had coupons to get $2 off of frozen pizza… the pizza was normally almost $5, but was on sale for $1.95, so the store paid me 5 cents to take the pizza away!)
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Try and buy foods that will do double-duty (eg. if you make baked potatoes & ham today, tomorrow you can turn it into fried potatoes with ham omelettes … and chicken leftovers from tonight can be turned into homemade soup tomorrow by chunking the chicken with some carrots, onions, and celery, and putting it all in a pot of water with powdered soup stock).