Education and debt go hand in hand. Although you can learn everything you need in the world with a library card and a few dollars in late fees, you need that important diploma to back up your name in the professional world. If you’re going back to school or entering school for the first time, you’re about to get slapped in the face with a confusing paradox- college is expensive and every student is perpetually broke. Having empty pockets is some sort of cruel initiation, but it’s a good reminder of why you got into higher education in the first place. There’s nothing like poverty to convince you to find yourself a lucrative career.
Room and board is enough to make any budget whirl, but add to that the costs of books, technology and transportation and you’ll find yourself on a tricky economic slope. You might think you’ve got a big “Rip Me Off” sign taped to your back when it seems you get gouged on costs left and right.
Yet there are simple things you can do to shave costs and make college living more affordable.
Take $150 textbooks. Those used to be just par for the college education course, which can be extremely frustrating when you know you’ll only need the book for a semester and get just a fraction of it back when you resell it. College textbooks may seem like the biggest scam in the universe, but there are alternatives to buying them. The average student can spend $900 a year in textbooks, which is not small pocket change.
Yet there are more and more textbook rental sites that allow you to rent the same books for considerably cheaper. Some sites offer 70 % or more in savings if you rent the book from them. This makes sense for books you probably won’t need after the class. However, if a book seems like it might be something you’ll need to access later in your education or throughout your career, it may be worth making the investment outright and buying it anyway.
Take the bus. You’re in college, so having your own SUV is not a necessity. It may not impress dates, but having money to spend on dinner and dancing will make for a better time than being broke all the time trying to pay for a car. On top of the car payment, cars cost insurance and fuel, which don’t come cheap these days. You can save a good $2,000 a month when you don’t have to pay for a car payment, insurance or the gas to put in it. If you attend school in an area with a strong public transportation system, it’s well worth it to spend a few dollars on a bus card to get where you need to go. Plus, you can study on the bus and feel better knowing you are doing something to help the environment.
Use a local bank, or better yet a credit union. Many colleges have their own credit unions that are open to students and alumni. They offer better rates, lower fees and better loan possibilities. After you’ve graduated, you can still keep the relationship going and be in a better position for house and car loans you’ll certainly need down the road.
Forget working out of the Office. Microsoft may be a big brand name, but you can get the same software for much cheaper if you go with open source options. Often, this software can simply be converted to Microsoft if your professor requires a certain format. Microsoft Office can easily cost you $120, while other options like Open Office, available at Openoffice.org, provide you the same technological opportunities for free. The programs are consistently updated to protect against viruses. What’s more, most online viruses are targeted at Microsoft in the first place, so you really just end up paying more to be a target.
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