The expenses associated with going to college add up quickly. Not only do students have to pay for tuition, but they also need to find money for books, lab equipment, housing, food and other necessities. The high cost of going to college is only made worse by the amount of time that’s required for actual classes.

Students attending classes full time can rarely balance their workloads with full-time jobs. So, learning financial aid tips, and how to save money, is just as much a part of the college experience as pulling all nighters.

Set a Budget and Stick to It

You might think that you don’t make enough money to bother with making a budget, but that just makes a budget even more important for you. Budgets are more about the money you spend than the money you earn.

Start making your budget by keeping track of how much money you spend every month. Be sure to include every expense, whether its $500 for rent or $2 for coffee. By the end of the month, you will know exactly where your money goes. Most people are shocked to see how much money they spend on nonessential items. Finding places that you can cut spending is the first step in learning how to save money.

Cut Expenses

As a college student, chances are good that you don’t have enough money to pay for the lifestyle you’d like to have. However, this isn’t the time to accumulate credit card debt in pursuit of great fashion or fun nights out on the town. Instead, you should look for ways to reduce your spending.

Obviously you have to spend a certain amount of money on things like rent and food. You don’t, however, have to spend a lot of money on these things. Consider renting an apartment with some friends because splitting the rent and utilities can help all of you save money. You should also consider learning how to cook so that you don’t have to eat out as often. Even fast food restaurants get expensive when you eat there every day.

Some other ways to cut expenses include:

•Buying used clothes or sharing clothes with roommates to expand your wardrobes
•Using less energy in your home by wearing warm clothes during the winter and cool clothes in the summer
•Hosting potlucks instead of going out to eat
•Buying used textbooks or getting them from the library
•Using public transportation
•Living at your parents’ house

Find Alternative, Inexpensive Forms of Entertainment

Entertainment can take up a lot of your money. Movies, concerts, and bars all require money. Instead of spending so much on going out, choose some alternative, inexpensive forms of entertainment.

•Host movie nights at your apartment.
•Join extracurricular clubs that interest you.
•Take short road trips and stay with friends in other cities.

CONCLUSION

Saving money in college might seem difficult at first, but most students find that they adjust quickly. When you know how much things really cost, you tend to tighten your purse strings a bit. After all, now that you’re in college, you have greater financial responsibilities than you did in high school.

This guest post was written and submitted by Amy Silver

After all, now that you’re in college, you have greater financial responsibilities than you did in high school. [But, if you do fall into financial trouble, there are resources to help repair bad credit.

A student’s life is often an emblem of recklessness and care free attitude. As students we hardly take things seriously. Every thing that requires serious thought is either passed on to parents or just left astray. Expenses are unlimited but income is either less or even close to nothing. This is where the problem arise and often failing to keep track of your finances you end up with huge student loans that becomes difficult to repay.

However when it comes to financial management it is very necessary that you have a planned approach. No matter how reckless life is, a bit of recklessness on your part with your finances can get you be a into serious debt traps.

If you are undergoing similar circumstances and looking out for effective ways to resolve your student loan issues, here a few quick tips that you can consider:

• List down all your loans: This is a primary process when you decide to pay off your loans. Listing down your loans can help you to keep track of your total debts. You can make a chart of all your loans, the amount you owe on each loan, interest rates to be paid and the due dates. This can help you to develop a plan to pay off your student loans easily.

• Design a savings plan: You must be getting a fixed pocket money regularly for your expenses. Instead of spending all of it try saving a part each month to pay your loans in installments. Also try reducing your unnecessary expenses so you do not incur any new debts. The process when repeated for a longer period of time can help in reducing your student debts.

• Look for an income source: If you feel that your pocket money is not enough to suffice for your daily necessities then look for a source of income. A part time job along with studies can help you to pay for the costs of college fees and a part can be used to pay for your debts. You can also consider enrolling in an exchange program where you can volunteer work for reducing your debts. There are certain colleges where you can have the advantage of a work-study job opportunity within the campus. These can

• Apply for scholarship programs: It will be a good idea to look for scholarship programs and grants that helps you pay your college fees. The financial aid programs with take care of your college expenses. As such you can use the extra money you have to pay off your loans.

• Join a social community: It feels better when you have friends to back you up. You can join a social community or start a forum on the problem you are facing. The forum will help you to connect with people at large all over the world sharing the similar problem. You can ask for advice, share your thoughts, ideas and get your questions answered! Building such communities can help you to find peer groups who have actually resolved their student debt. Thus there are high chances that you can be out of debt too in no time.

The world of the student is not all fun and games which seems to be the opinion of some. Sure setting off to College is an exciting time and is setting a new milestone in one’s life. I too experienced this whirl of excitement but once landing on campus and settling down to the realities of life I also learned that getting through College was one of the biggest challenges in life I was going to face. This was not just from the perspective of mastering my academics but how I was going to survive financially. It sure can be tough concentrating on that exam, when you are trying to figure out where the money is going to come from for the next semester.
 
Having “been there done that”, I feel that I can offer some first hand suggestions.
 
Don’t try to keep up
 
If you’re finances are tight then do yourself a favor and reserve your credit card for the much needed necessities. If you fall into the habit of trying to keep up with fellow classmates where money is no object you are going to find yourself with a massive credit card debt. Not only will you have to struggle to pay the minimum throughout your college career, you first year’s salary when entering the work force will go to paying this out.
 
Swallow your pride
 
Applying for student loans when needed is something that you need to take advantage of if you qualify. Two things can happen here. One is you can get so caught up in the college atmosphere that you simply neglect to check out all that may be available to you. The second aspect is not using the money for what it’s meant for. Often college loans will cover the costs of books. Students are given the money to make their purchases but temptation sets in, and the money gets used on frivolous activities.
 
Compare your career choice with the cost of your education
 
No matter which way you look at it, unless you are able to rely on a great college fund or have wealthy parents, you are going to graduate with debt. You need to take a close look at the career you have chosen, and determine does it justify the cost of what you are paying for those 3-5 years of education? If you have chosen a career with very few opportunities for advancement up the Corporate ladder, then you may want to reconsider your choice of Schools. Shop around and see if there are other resources offering the same educational programs at less cost. It may mean the difference between a private College and a community one, but it may also mean the difference in big expenses as well.
 
Don’t just assume
 
Whenever you are utilizing college loans don’t just assume that because they are government funded that they are straight forward. Perhaps some of your fellow students told you that a student loan didn’t have to be paid back until a year after college, when it actuality payments begin 3-6 months after graduation. This can hardly give you enough time to get on your financial feet. Read whatever financial contract you are contemplating carefully before signing on the dotted line.
 
Think ahead
 
For every financial decision or situation that you are facing during your college years think ahead. This is not free money and sooner or later you are going to have to pay it back. Each time you find the need to borrow money ask yourself first if you need it, are there other potential resources and finally how will I be able to pay it back? These debts accumulate quickly and many new graduates are shocked at the amount of debt they take with them along with their great education.
 
Another important thing to remember is that “used textbooks are your friend!” There is absolutely no need for you to buy your textbooks new at the college bookstore, if they have used copies get those and whenever possible buy your textbooks online!
 
This was a guest post by Lior Levin who is a marketing consultant for an MBA abroad university

I have a pretty good relationship with many of my former professors, and sometimes I ask them to contribute their thoughts to some of the issues that students face.
Here is a blog post written by a former professor of mine, I hope that you find this useful.

Professor Colette Mazzucelli, Department of Political Science, Hofstra University and Center for Global Affairs, New York University

The more we teach, the more we learn about… discovering ways to save money for our students as book prices increase. Examples from my courses this semester are helpful illustrations. The comparative politics coursefor the Hofstra undergraduates, features three texts, which Norton sells as a package. The e-Book option is one the company’s sales representative helped me to identify as much less expensive for students. This package features efficient access to content on personal laptops in class as well as ease in note taking and markup right in the e-Book margins. Students who prefer to purchase the print copies of the different texts are encouraged to buy the much cheaper second editions even though new third editions just appeared in print. For those eager to compare, the new third editions are now placed on reserve as well in Hofstra’s Library. The Facebook reference to We Compare Books is available for undergraduates in my different class sections as they shop for cheap textbooks in various courses. Bookstores may prefer that students purchase individual textbooks, instead of packages, because these texts can be resold when the same classes are offered in subsequent years. In the immediate term, however, buying texts in packages or in bulk, as the next example illustrates, offers genuine savings for students. At New York University, my international relations syllabus for those graduates new to the M.S. Program in Global Affairs features extensive reading. This is a foundation course, which should also offer students ideas to develop research interests as the program of studies progresses to the thesis requirement. In this fall’s learning community, one of the members works for Pearson and offered to sell the others one of the required volumes for purchase at a discount price. Another option to keep costs low is to require texts for purchase that are available in paperback edition. In courses with such a wide selection of readings, the effective and efficient option in terms of savings and organization is to assign a minimum number of texts for purchase, let’s say five, all available in paperback. The rest of the readings are posted on the Blackboard learning system as PDF files for students to access from their home computers each week. The international relations syllabus also integrates progressively the wealth of public education materials available free of charge online, including multimedia resources and written transcripts. In these ways, the course retains breadth and depth in the readings, excessive trips to the Library Reserve Desk are unnecessary, and students do not spend as much for required course purchases. The future holds the promise of additional savings as many books are made available on the public commons by universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In this era of ever-rising tuition rates for higher education, every option to save counts during college years. Students should be able to afford the books for the courses they pay a substantial tuition to attend. This adds to the teacher’s responsibilities in course design to continue to identify savings options without sacrificing quality in higher education.