Save Money on College Expenses

The following post is an article I wrote for keepmorecoin.com. The tips are not aimed specifically at adult students, but are good money saving tips nonetheless. Enjoy!

College expenses have exploded, and show no sign of letting up. Tuition is astronomical; textbooks are outrageous. To survive as a college student, you need to quickly figure out how you can get the best bang for your buck. Here are a few tips to shave some dollars off of your college expenses.

• Check out used books. There are some great online sites that sell used textbooks. Find the ISBN for the textbook you need at your college's bookstore site, then plug that ISBN into the search function of the online used textbook site. It will pull up all the textbooks listed on the site so you can compare the price and condition of the books before purchasing. You can also sell your used textbooks back at these sites at a better price than you would receive at your college's bookstore.
• Stick to a daily budget. You can go broke fast ordering $5.00 cups of coffee at Starbucks. Brew your own in your dorm room and invest in a thermos.
• Always apply for financial aid no matter what your financial circumstance is. Even if you don't think you'll qualify, do ahead and apply anyway. You might be very pleasantly surprised at what you could receive. Every bit of financial aid can reduce your college expenses.
• Search for scholarships outside your college.
• See if local stores will offer you a discount for showing your student ID card. Even 10% off your purchases adds up quickly.
• Avoid using credit cards for purchases. Debit cards are just as convenient, and you won't have to worry about accruing a bunch of interest that is very difficult to pay off.
• Share textbooks with friends. If you are enrolled in the same program as a friend is, plan your courses so one of you can use a textbook one semester, and the other use it the next semester.
• Park your car and buy a bus pass. Some colleges with limited parking may even subsidize your bus pass.

These are just a few ideas to help make college a less painful financial experience. Spend wisely,  live frugally, and you'll graduate with less debt to pay back.