Financial tips for new college students

These tips are aimed at new college students like myself, as well as students planning on attending college next year.

• Drive as little as possible. Paying for gas can easily become your largest expense, even if the only times you drive your car are to and from campus.
• Buy your textbooks used. They’re way overpriced even if they’re half off, and you’ll just end up selling them at the end of the semester. The less money you spend on them the better off you’ll be. Amazon and eBay are good places to start.
• Apply for scholarships! Especially if you’re still in high school. If you’re like me, you’ve probably written all the essays you’ll need for the applications thanks to school assignments, so just reuse them. There’s no downside to applying for scholarships.
• Seriously, apply for scholarships! Even if it looks like it doesn’t apply to you at all, still give it a shot. Someone from my AP English class (a white guy) applied for a “filipino women’s scholarship” and won. It’s free money!
• Don’t get a credit card. Seriously, don’t. If you absolutely need one, try to use it as little as possible and pay it off immediately. The guys setting up booths giving out credit cards aren’t there to help you.
• Buy food from grocery stores, not from fast food restaurants. You can have a day’s worth of food for the price of one meal from Burger King if you’re willing to go through the trouble of buying and preparing it. This also helps you eat healthier. Additionally, if there’s a cafeteria on campus you might want to check it out.
• Don’t give you personal information. Be careful who you give your social security number to.
• Check out what student-only discounts you get. For example at sac state, all students can ride the light rail for free.
• Think before buying. Do you really need that Smurf nightstand you saw on eBay? Probably not, so don’t waste your money on it.
• Make an attempt to record your spending. Save receipts. Stay on top of things. This is harder than it sounds (at least for me), but it’s a good idea.

I’ve only been in college for a little over a month, and already some of these tips come from mistakes I’ve made (or mistakes I’m still making). With more independence comes more responsibility, and we’ve all heard the horror stories of students that come out of college hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to end up like that.