Things I Stopped Buying To Save Money
Do you want to save more money? These are the things I stopped buying to save extra money as a college student!
There are only two ways to have more money: increase your income or decrease your spending.
Today I’m going to focus on ways to decrease your spending. Even as a college student with a low budget, you’d be surprised at how many ways you can probably cut your spending even further to save some extra money each month.
It’s easy to justify little splurges here and there by having a “treat yo’self” mindset. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing at all!
In fact, you might want to dedicate a small amount of “fun money” each month that you can spend on whatever you want.
But little splurges quickly add up if you aren’t careful and can eat into your budget each month.
So here’s what I quit spending money on in order to save money as a college student:
1. Ordering Delivery
I went through a big phase of having food delivered to my college dorm freshman year and later to my college apartment.
But I quickly cut this out once I got smart about my money and realized how much it was costing me and what a waste it was.
Delivery fees are RIDICULOUS. Plus you have to leave a tip for the delivery person. This can make a $10 delivery order end up costing you close to $20 instead.
So I made a rule for myself that I could no longer order delivery. If I wanted food, then I had to walk to go get it. All in all, this saved me a TON of money.
2. Drinks Out
If you’re a college student, you might find yourself going out pretty regularly with your friends. But buying drinks at the bar can be a HUGE money waster.
This is something you can eliminate and save a lot of money each month. Not to mention, it’s better for your health.
If you must drink, do it at the pre-game and save yourself a massive amount of money. Then stick to ice water at the bar instead. I promise you it’s worth it!
3. Going Out To Eat
Along with delivery, I cut out going out to eat as much as possible in college. Now this isn’t something you have to eliminate entirely. But I recommend setting a limit for yourself (like going out to eat one meal a week.)
Going out to eat, even somewhere “fast casual” like Chipotle or Sweetgreen, can end up being $20 a meal which is a budget killer if you’re doing it multiple times per week.
So this is a great way to cut back on your spending as a college student.
4. Workout Classes
Workout classes are another thing I stopped doing because they cost too much money. It was a bummer because I really liked taking ballet classes at a nearby studio…
But then I found out that my college campus fitness center was going to start offering weekly ballet-style workout classes for FREE!
It wasn’t exactly the same, but it sure beat paying for classes. And if you aren’t picky about what kind of workouts you do, you can find a whole range of free fitness classes at most college gyms.
They also have regular workout equipment like treadmills, weight machines, stationary bikes, and so on. You can get in a great workout without paying a dime.
5. Subscriptions
With so many subscription services out there, you might not even realize just how many recurring monthly payments you have!
Netflix, Hulu, Dinsey+, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Instacart, Uber+, and so on. At “only” $9.99 a month or so, you might feel like you’re not paying that much, but if you have multiple subscriptions, that adds up FAST.
I cut every subscription I had during college except one — I got a great deal on Spotify Premium for $4.99 a month for students so I kept that to be able to listen to music.
Eliminating TV and movie streaming services not only saved me money, but it also helped me stop wasting time watching shows all the time.
6. Coffee Shops
At this point it’s almost a cliche, but cutting that daily coffee habit really CAN save you a lot of extra money over the course of a year.
Overpriced drinks at the coffee shop are really one of the most pointless expenditures out there — you’re paying $6 for a drink you can literally have for $1 at home.
I know a lot of college students like to go to a coffee shop to study or do homework, but I personally preferred going to the campus library (quieter and more space) and then I didn’t have the chance to buy anything.
7. Rideshare Apps
Uber and Lyft rides can quickly add up if you’re not careful. Before you know it, you’ve spent $100 or more on just a few rides.
I lived in a city for college, so while Uber and Lyft were convenient, I could also take public transportation or walk. Yes, this usually took a LOT longer, but it was incredibly cheap (or in the case of walking somewhere, totally free.)
I started allowing myself only two Uber or Lyft rides per month (sometimes it was unavoidable) but other than that cut them completely, and it saved me a lot of money.
8. New Cellphone
I was always the person who had an iPhone that was at least three generations behind whatever the current latest model was at the time.
Rather than upgrading my phone every two years and having a higher monthly payment, I stuck with my old phone instead.
This might sound like a small thing, but when you consider the fact that a brand-new iPhone is over $1,000 (even if you’re paying for it in increments each month), it’s actually a huge way to save money by avoiding shiny new objects.
9. Clothing And Shoes
New clothing and shoes is something that can quickly blow your budget out of the water. It’s tempting to go back-to-school shopping or buy a new outfit every time you have an event, but this is a major area where you can stop spending money.
I didn’t do this at the beginning of college, but by sophomore year, I had quit buying new clothing and shoes almost altogether.
Did this mean I ended up repeating outfits a lot? Yes. Does it really matter? No.
This is a habit I’ve kept even after graduating college and it’s such a relief not to waste money on new clothes all the time that I only end up wearing once or twice anyway.
10. Beauty Treatments
This one is mainly for the ladies, but cutting out beauty treatments is another way I saved money as a college student.
Getting your hair done, manicures and pedicures, getting your eyebrows done, going to the tanning bed… it all adds up, to the tune of hundreds of dollars a month even!
I used to get my nails done all the time when I was younger, but in college, this is something I just stopped caring about and that saved me $100 a month by skipping the regular manicures and pedicures. Same goes for any other beauty treatments you can think of.
If you still really want it, you can find a DIY version to do at home and save money.
11. Taking Trips
This one pained me because I LOVE to travel. In fact, the highlight of college for me was studying abroad in Paris for one semester. I was able to spend months living in and exploring Paris, and I traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, and the UK while I was there.
But in order to save up for my study abroad, I barely traveled for the first year and a half of college. And it ended up being worth it.
Because a week-long trip to the beach for spring break would have ended up costing me the same as multiple weekend trips in Europe.
One weekend getaway to another city in the U.S. could have also kept me going for an extra week while I was studying abroad.
Short, instant gratification trips end up costing you more in the long run. If you want to travel as a college student, it’s better to study abroad or go on a backpacking trip somewhere cheap (like Central America, Eastern Europe, or Southeast Asia) where your money goes much further.
12. The Latest Gadgets
Finally, one thing I totally avoided was caring about having the latest gadgets as a college student, much like how I didn’t worry about having the latest cellphone.
For example, AirPods. To this day I still use wired headphones to listen because I didn’t want to spend $100+ on a pair of AirPods when I was in college.
Same with gadgets like an Apple Watch or an Alexa. Rather than letting the hype of the latest tech affect me, I just kept using what I had and saved a ton of money.
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