College can feel so overwhelmingly expensive sometimes that it can be easy to forget that saving a few dollars every day can really add up and cut the cost your costs. What you need, however, is a plan -- and deeply frugal mindset. Here are some simple habits and the money they can save . . .
- Habit #1: Make the most of shuttle buses and other free transportation options for students. There could be free buses on your campus, or free buses that run between campuses in your area. If you learn to use them, you won’t need to own a car, pay for public transportation, or take cabs. The result? You could save hundreds of dollars or more every month. Or take some of your core courses online and avoid transportation costs all together.
- Habit #2: Make your own coffee. Tea. Or what-have-you. You can do the math. If you spend $4.00 or more a day on your favorite snacks, that can easily add up to more than $120 a month, or nearly $1,000 every academic year.
- Habit #3: Cook your own meals, for savings even greater than those estimated in Habit #2 above. Also . . . select a college, off-campus housing, or dormitory that is within walking distance of a grocery store. There is no better source of good food that fits a student budget.
- Habit #4: Share textbooks with other students in your class or use the copies available in the library. Or better yet, enroll in a course that provides free eTextbooks and class resources. With the price of many texts soaring well beyond $150, you can save more than $1,000 a year with this simple strategy.
- Habit #5: Get a work/study job on campus. Many jobs – like working the check-in desk at the gym or the student health center – allow you to study while you are earning money. Over the course of a school year, those dollars can really add up.
- Habit #6: Find inexpensive off-campus housing after comparing the costs to college dormitories or live at home and go to school online, especially as you complete your gen-ed courses. Also consider signing up for reduced meal plans that offer a limited number of meals a week in college dining halls.
- Habit #7: Use online courses to slash your tuition fees by as much as 80%. StraighterLine courses start at $79 with our monthly membership that can be canceled, paused, and restarted at anytime.
How Can Online Courses Help You Save on College
StraighterLine offers convenient and extremely affordable online college courses. Complete your gen-ed classes online and make serious progress on your degree. At StraighterLine, we make it easy for you reduce your cost of college.
