5 Easy Ways to Save Money When Going Back to College

Clarence Thompson is owner and founder of Capital Connoisseur Group, LLC, a financial education and consulting company.  Capital Connoisseur Group specializes in financial management including Savings/ Budgeting, Mutual Funds (401(k), IRA), Stock market investing, Estates/ Wills, Insurance (Life and Health), Real Estate financing with over 10 years of financial services experience. Now he is looking to share his expertise advise with you!

Back to School Savings Tips

It’s almost that dreadful time of the year again! No I’m not talking about tax season… I’m talking about BACK TO SCHOOL. As a proud alumni of Temple University I spent 4 years in Philadelphia so I call it my second home. However, every summer leading up to the new school year the first thought on my mind was how much is this going to cost me this year? Well I’m going to lay out the basics of not going broke for your education.

Buy the Essentials

I know this sounds so cliché but seriously, only buy what you NEED. Start small and work your way up the list of “wants” if you even have to. Many times we create the laundry list of things we need or better yet want that causes all the anxiety. Save your time and money on the small things like pens, highlighters, sticky notes etc. These are all things you can accumulate within the first week. Let others go buy all those thing and you would be surprised how many small ticket items you can gather just by asking friends, classmates and dorm mates.

Communicate

If you are about that dorm life reach out to your roommate ahead of time. Find out what items can be shared amongst each other. My first year, I was so “stuck” on having my own items that my roommate and I had duplicates of almost everything. One person can bring the TV, the other person can bring the refrigerator and so forth.

Student Discounts

Take full advantage of being a college student whether graduate or undergraduate. Most retailers always offer discounts to students whether 10-20%. Closed mouths don’t get fed so be sure to speak and ask “Do you offer student discounts?”

Craigslist

Look online for the discounts. You can find almost anything on Craigslist from clothing, home goods that you may need for your dorm room or apartment. New isn’t always better when you are trying to be cost efficient. www.craigslist.com

Buy USED or RENT textbooks

Textbooks can be the most costly expense a student will have. You buy a book and then get less than half of what you paid at the end of the semester. The edition changes or professors just decide to go with another book. Used books can be found at your college bookstore, but are usually even less online. Try www.campusbooks.com or www.campusbookrentals.com

If you have a financial question, please send an email to CThompson@CapitalConnoisseur.com