Speaker 1: Hey guys, my name is Victoria and welcome back to my channel where I help college students survive their experience and today we're going to be talking about finances, which is a really uncomfortable subject, especially because college is kind of when you're really learning how to manage those finances, you're about to go into a full blown career and you only have a little bit of time to really get it all together. Today I wanted to talk about how to save money in college because it is kind of a known thing that college students are broke and have to live off of ramen, but I want to make sure that you are not doing that and in fact you are thriving so you can get out of college financially secure. So for you today, I have 12 tips on how to save in college. I swear it is possible. Right now I have thousands of dollars saved from being really careful financially and working really hard so I promise that it's possible and we're going to help you get there. So obviously the first tip on how to save money in college is to know how much your income is, whether that is from a job full time or part time or even an allowance from parents. This is of course the most important step that will help with all of the other steps because this is the number we're going to be backing off of. How much money do you have for groceries? How much money do you have for anything else like entertainment or books and school supplies? Make sure you know approximately how much you're making in a specific amount of time. For example, before the pandemic, I actually had a job and I worked about 25 hours a week and I knew exactly how much I was making every two weeks because that's when I would get paid. So whether you're getting paid weekly or bi-weekly, make sure you know how much is going to be coming in. Tip number two is know the 50-30-20 rule and this is a really popular rule in the financial world and I'm going to break it down for y'all. This rule says that you will be most financially secure if you have 50% of your income going towards things that are essentials, whether that's rent, car stuff, groceries, and anything else that you absolutely need to survive. This also says that 30% goes towards other things like entertainment, shopping, clothes, things that aren't essential but things that you want to have joy in your life. This also includes restaurants and maybe more expensive savings here and there to treat yourself. And then it says to save 20% of your income. Now I personally was saving 25% and these numbers don't have to be perfect by any means. You know personally how much you're making. These numbers can be personally adjusted for you, especially because right now the economy is so out of whack. You may be making less or possibly even more than you normally are. So don't worry about the 50-30-20 rule being completely perfect on the percentages. Number three is to ask for student discounts everywhere. I'm talking even in places that you don't expect. This is especially important if you live in a college town like me where they know college students are their main customers. For example, so many restaurants here, the movie theaters, and the ice rink have very good student discounts because they care about us and they want us to keep coming without spending so much money. So ask for the student discounts wherever you go, even if you think they might not have one. It doesn't hurt to ask. You can also find student discounts online. For example, the Spotify package is a really popular one because you get Spotify premium and you get some Hulu stuff for $5 a month. I have it. It's great. And if you're a student and don't have that, definitely look into it. Amazon Prime also has a student discount so you can get Amazon Prime. This is really important if you don't have a car and you really need things to actually come to your apartment or on campus and you can't really get places. This is personally my situation where I rely on Amazon for several things. There are apps that also give you coupons and student discounts on several different websites. For example, one is Unidays and I just downloaded it and they have some really great stuff. So just always look online because you never know what you'll find. Number four, try to cook more and eat out less. I understand that you're probably crunched on time as a college student. I know. I'm literally there. You can honestly save so much money by not eating out several times a week. By trying to cook in more at home like I try to do, you save so much money because restaurants are very expensive, especially if you're doing something like Uber Eats or Favorite where you have to pay for a delivery fee. You have to also pay tip. That just gets so expensive. But if you're cooking at home and trying new recipes, you can have several servings of food by just buying a little amount of money worth of food. Another tip I have for you for food is to buy whole vegetables and cheaper meats like turkey and pork. I know that we try to go to the prepackaged stuff and the premade stuff because it's easier, but if you cook your own food from scratch, you are not spending much money at all. Whole vegetables are just dollars, sometimes even cents. And if you know how to cook with them, it can become so much financially easier. Meats such as beef and several kinds of fish are pretty expensive, but turkey is super lean and really healthy and pork is delicious. So try to cook with cheaper meats instead of more expensive meats. In the future, I hope to do some college cooking meals for people that are also in dorms because I understand it is so much harder if you don't have a kitchen. So stay tuned because I really plan on giving you some really easy recipes, whether you're on or off campus. Number five, speaking of groceries, compare your grocery stores. And I am a junior, but I literally just learned this a couple weeks ago. I have always been going to H-E-B because it's a really big store. They have a ton of stuff, but it has been increasingly expensive. My groceries have increased by like $30 because of the pandemic and it got so expensive. I got really fed up and I searched around and I found that there was an Aldi's a little farther away. But instead of going to H-E-B a couple of weeks ago, I went to Aldi's and saved half of my grocery bill, half. So that is to just say, make sure that you're getting the good deals in your town and it's probably worth it to drive a few extra miles to go to the cheaper grocery store. So let's talk about school supplies because that gets so expensive. Number six is to try and buy used books because books can be thousands of dollars, but you can reduce that to just hundreds of dollars. You can buy used books on Facebook Marketplace and other places online. The universities are really, really trying to get your money on this one and it is just not worth it for one book that you're going to use one semester. So try to look online and don't go directly through your university. At some places and some websites, you can also rent your books for some time for cheaper amounts of money. And if you're really lucky, be sure to check if there is a PDF online anywhere of your textbook. I didn't know you could even do this, but if you look up the name of your textbook and the author of it, you might just find a PDF of it for completely free. This happened for my social media class this semester and I didn't even need the book. So I saved a ton of money. And with that being said, be sure to ask your professor if the textbook is required, something that you really need for the work, or it's something that's rather suggested. Oftentimes in the syllabus, they have the textbook and other books named, but the professor might not use it. So just check. You never know. And if you bought a hardcover book, whether it was new or it was used, be sure to sell it back because you can get some of that money back. Put it on Facebook Marketplace, put it on other websites like that, or you might even be able to sell it back to the website that you got it on. Number seven, try to use your car less and try to use public transportation even more. If you are at a bigger college, chances are you will have public transportation that goes on campus and even off campus. Gas is very expensive and keeping a car maintained is very expensive. And while I personally don't have a car, I know the costs of it and I have saved so much money by not having one. If you don't want to use public transport, try to get a ride with friends. If you have any classes that are the same and you all live together or nearby, that is awesome. Be sure to definitely give them some money back though for gas, because again, it's just super expensive. And if it's a pretty safe area and there's not a lot of really crazy traffic, ride a bike. Number eight on how to save in college is to have a side hustle. I know so many people in college who have started a side hustle, including myself. I personally am a freelance copywriter for landscaping companies, but that is very niched down. That is something that I'm also doing because I'm majoring in it, but you can do anything. I know people who are making face masks right now, people who are making jewelry, people who are doing graphic design. And if you're not really sure if you have any of those creative talents, that is totally fine. You can start a dog walking business or a babysitting business. I was always taught growing up that one stream of income is not necessarily the most reliable thing in this economy. So start a side hustle. You don't even know if maybe it would blow up. Maybe it'll be your future full-time job. It'll also give you new skills along the way and just that extra money. If you're doing something crafty, I suggest selling on Etsy. I get a ton of things off of Etsy and I love supporting small businesses. So maybe you might want to start one there. So let's talk more about how universities are trying to rip you off. Number nine is don't buy your school supplies right on campus because they completely jack the price. And I know it's messed up. I know they're supposed to be helping you, but really they just want to take your money. Remember that university is not just school. It's a business. Everything is way more expensive than it should be. So try to go to other places like Stop and Shop or Target or Staples, literally anywhere else off campus where things are normal price and you don't have to get a backpack for $60. Honestly, this goes with so many things and I won't get too much into it, but campus is extremely expensive, even in living. Living on campus can be even more expensive than living off of campus. So you might want to look into living off of campus with a few people. Meal plans are also extremely horrifyingly expensive if you really look into it and break down the numbers. So again, look into cooking for yourself instead of maybe getting a $2,000 a semester meal plan. Number 10, try to find activities that you love that don't break the bank. I know that especially if you're in a college town like me, there are strips of bars and clubs and people who like to party that are not like me will go every single weekend and drink and spend money and just completely blow their savings. I understand that's fun every once in a while and if you can afford it, good for you. But if you're a regular college student trying to save money, doing things that don't cost so much is actually really going to help you save. There are activities that are free like going to the park or staying in for the night, movie night, can be just as fun. And there are also activities that cost just a little bit but are still super fun like going to the arcade or going to the movies. Just know what's around you and try to avoid also eating as an activity because that was definitely something I did my freshman and sophomore year and I spent hundreds of dollars on food so don't be me. And if you still want somewhat of a party scene, try going to local restaurants and not buying so much food. But look for restaurants that have live music because if you just have a couple of drinks or maybe an appetizer with your friends, it can still be a really fun time. Along with this, try not to party so much. Avoid partying every single weekend because there are a few things that are so expensive. If you drink, alcohol can be so expensive, especially if you're going out. Just try to watch how much money you're spending on unnecessary things like alcohol because it can really rack up without you knowing it, especially if you're going to bars and buying mixed drinks. Bars and clubs are also so pricey because the tickets can get very expensive. Even just entering a place can be $10 to $20 and then if you put alcohol on top of that and even food, you have like a $100 night. What's even cheaper than that is to have a party on your own. Have a party with your friends at your house because bars are really looking for your money and they're looking for tips and they will grab at your wallet anytime you're not looking. Number 12 is to watch your utilities. This is more for people that are not in a dorm because you don't really have to worry about that, but there are really easy things that you can do every single day to reduce how expensive your utilities are. Even just doing really easy things like turning the lights off when you leave the bathroom or when you leave the house can lower your utilities bill. Also limit water use. If you didn't know, the dishwasher actually uses so much more water than you would think and it saves money by hand washing dishes. Also make sure that you are not in the shower for like an hour at a time. If you really want to be in there and like relax, just take a bath. Also be careful of any open windows when it's a really really hot day or a really really cold day and you have the AC or the heater on. And if you're done using any appliances, just unplug them because they use a little bit of power when they are plugged in even if they're not on. So those are the 12 tips that I have for you today. I promise that it is possible to save money in college. If you have a stream of income and you're pushing back on how much you're actually spending, it is easier to save money. I plan on coming out of college with an actual really nice savings and if you get a head start on this, you can get out of college where you're going to be pushed off into a full-time job with some cushion. It's really good to also have a savings in case an emergency happens like the pandemic and it's really never too early to start a savings and I promise the work is totally worth it and you can do this. Well, thank y'all so so much for watching. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to leave a like and comment down below. I love hearing from y'all. If you have any other college videos that you really want to see, I would love to touch on them so put it down below. And if you want to see more college videos from me, don't forget to subscribe and hit that bell icon so you get notifications every single time that I post and I will see y'all in the next one. Bye guys. Bye.