"Clip" and print grocery coupons on the Ithaca Journal website.
Judging from what's in the news these days, it seems like everyone is worried about making ends meet. The current financial crisis, rising food and energy costs, and increasing unemployment rates are on most people’s minds, and college students are no exception.
Living on your own can be difficult when money is tight. The good news is that it’s easy -- and even fun -- to save money once you know how. Here are a few of our favorite ways to keep your piggy bank from squealing.
The deals and steals you can find on the web are endless -- if you know where to look. Elliott Feedore ’09 found a hidden resource on Facebook.
“I was invited to a free food events group that includes money-saving giveaways like sandwiches at McDonalds,” says Feedore.
Other helpful sites include craigslist.org, which has local deals, services, and sellers directly connected to the Ithaca area, and Slickdeals.net, which is the product of bargain hunters’ efforts to find the best savings on essentials like USB drives, cookware, clothing, and furniture from major retailers throughout the United States.
Learn how to save money with Google:
Ithaca’s vibrant downtown offers some serious steals. Local stores offer vintage clothing and secondhand bookstores where you can get a trendy outfit or a text for class on the cheap. Local Ithaca food vendors often beat the big stores in taste -- the pastries and baked goods sold by Ithaca locals, especially the Amish, often sell for cheaper than their counterparts at the local chain supermarkets -- and they taste better, too!
The campus bookstore is not your only option. Since book lists are posted ahead of time on the bookstore’s website along with textbook pricing and availability, it’s easy for the bargain-hunting student to shop around.
Check the price listings at Borders and Barnes & Noble, both of which are in town and easily accessible by bus. Can’t find deals at these places?
Online book sellers like Amazon.com or BelltowerBooks.com offer hundreds of used textbooks that cost much less than what you’d pay for new books. As long as you make sure you’ve got all the class materials your professor requires, shopping at alternative book sellers is a great option. Who wants to wait in the long line at the bookstore, anyway?
It’s hard to ignore the fact that recycling used goods is a way of life for Ithaca residents. Fortunately for you, this habit means that the essentials for college life can come cheaper than you think.
TIOLI, short for take it or leave it, is an Ithaca College yard sale that happens at the beginning of the fall semester. You’ll find everything you need for dorm life, from floor lamps to bookcases to notebooks to electronics, all at garage sale prices.
Ithaca Freecycle is an email list where Ithacans post items for that they no longer want. It’s a great way to get the stuff you need for your dorm for free. Participate in the proud Ithaca tradition of reusing and recycling!
Having a car on campus is a pricey proposition, and keeping it running through Ithaca’s infamous winters requires some serious forethought. If you don’t winterize your car, you risk some costly repairs.
Start with the basics: make sure your tires are properly inflated (check your owner’s manual -- not your tires -- for the recommended psi), make sure you have an adequate supply of windshield deicer fluid, and test your battery. Edmunds.com Senior Automotive Editor Brent Romans advises drivers to make sure the posts and connections are free of corrosion if the battery is older than three years. “A battery absolutely loves to croak when you can least afford it doing so,” he warns.
Proper fluid mixtures are also important to keeping your car running through the winter. Your coolant mixture must be a 50:50 water and coolant combination to prevent freezing, and Romans adds, “The colder oil is, the thicker it will be. A thicker oil doesn't circulate as well as a thinner oil would in an engine during cold weather start-up.” Check your owner’s manual for recommended winter oil viscosity grades.
You can always find local newspapers on IC’s campus. Although at first glance they may seem useful for little more than catching up on the day’s events, a savvy shopper can find a goldmine inside their pages. Clip coupons! Advertised sales at both local and large chain stores can save you big bucks. Scoring a supermarket’s club card is also an absolute must if you’re serious about saving cash at checkout.
Living on a tight budget is hard, but a little creativity can go a long way toward living at school in style. Higher education isn’t cheap, but by using these tips and tricks -- and developing a few of your own -- daily dorm living doesn’t have to break the bank.
Are you a prospective student with college planning questions? Then myIthaca has got you covered.
Sign-Up Learn More
Fuse is a student produced publication about the Ithaca College experience. All content in the print and web versions of Fuse is developed by current Ithaca College students in a breadth of different areas of study.
0 Comments