54 Ways to Manage Money as a College Student in 2023

Have A Solid Plan for Your Classes and Your Degree

One of the best ways to save money in college is to simply have a solid plan for your classes and degree program.

You should be going to college with a specific purpose – and ensuring that you’re taking the right classes and progressing to your degree on time is a great way to save money in college.

Every extra class and semester costs money!

Even better, if you can get college credit in high school – by taking AP or IB classes, taking community college classes in high school, or any other means – do it!

If you can knock out a lot of classes or credits early, you might even be able to graduate early (and save money).

Fill Out the FAFSA Every Year

The FAFSA is the key to your financial aid. If you don’t fill it out, you likely won’t be getting any type of financial aid (even student loans). That’s why you need to fill out the FAFSA every year you’re in school.

Filling out the FAFSA is very easy (here’s a guide to filling out the FAFSA).

But what most people don’t realize is that, even if you don’t get grants or scholarships year one, if your financial situation changes, you could get financial aid in future years. And so, if you don’t fill out the FAFSA, it could cost you money!

Bottom line – fill out the FAFSA every year.

How to Get a Refund on Your Student Loan Payments

Watch Your College Student Loan Borrowing

If you do have to take out student loans, you need to be very mindful of how much you borrow as these debts will need to be repaid eventually.

A good rule of thumb is never borrow more than you expect to earn in your first year after graduation.

This will help keep your student loan debt manageable so you can afford it after college.

President Biden Cancels Student Loan Debt – Fact Sheet

Apply for Scholarships and Grants

Too many people think that the only time to apply for scholarships and grants is when you’re in high school, before you start your first year of college. WRONG.

You can apply for scholarships and grants every year throughout college.

Given that many scholarships go unclaimed (or have very few entries), if you dedicate some time to applying, you could find yourself getting a lot of money to pay for school.

Get Your Education Discount On Computer Hardware and Software

Another big expense for college is technology.

Many students want (or need) to get a new laptop, and with that comes all the trimming of software. Plus, some classes require their own specific software that you need to install.

If you’re getting any type of new computer or software, make sure you buy it through the education store and get your education discount. Most companies offer significant discounts to students – from Apple and Microsoft, to Adobe and more.

No matter what technology you need, you can probably find a big discount by purchasing their education edition.

Student Software Discounts

Print on Campus

Printing is another area that can be costly, with papers eating up ink cartridges at home. And the ink’s what gets you! You pay $50 for a printer, but $60 for the ink!

However, many students gain access to on campus printing with their student fees.

If this is the case, take advantage of printing on campus – especially for your big papers. This can save you hundreds of dollars per year in printing expense.

Even better, if your professors allow electronic submissions, go paperless!

Save Money on Food and Drinks as a College Student

Live to eat or eat to live? But food can be quite expensive, especially if you start adding in drinks.

Here’s the best ways to save money on food and drinks in college.

Use Your Meal Plan to the Fullest

College meal plans either work out to be a great deal or a waste of money for most college students. If you’re looking to save money, you need to take advantage of it to the fullest so that it’s a great deal.

This means getting everything you pay for – breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. If you’re not leveraging your campus meal plan, you still might want to consider dining in the dining halls as a lot of the food is typically priced really well.

Also, use your meal plan for snacks – take snacks in the mornings so you don’t spend a bunch on food at the coffee cart or vending machine!

Keep Track of the Best Happy Hours and Restaurant Promos

If you are going out to eat, save money when you do! A fun tactic is to take note of all the best happy hours and restaurant promos near campus, and sort by day.

That way, if it’s Tuesday, you know where to go to get the best deal.

You’d be surprised at the amount of free and discounted food and drink you can find around town if you know where to look.

This can also be a great way to save when going out with friends!

Attend Events with Food

There are so many events that take place on college campuses, and many include free food.

The trick here is, look for signs and promotions around your campus.

These signs usually promote the free food in an attempt to get students to come.

If you do this regularly, you can probably get your lunch taken care of most days! And maybe you’ll even learn something!

Cut Back on the Booze

Let’s face it – alcohol is a part of most college student’s experience. But the cost of booze can add up quick, especially if you fancy fruity mixed drinks.

While having a beer with friends can be fun, don’t let drinking break your budget.

Stick to beers on sale, split costs with friends, and if you’re at the bar, order well drinks or the happy hour specials.

If you don’t name your brand of alcohol, you might find yourself surprised when your bartender used a top shelf booze for your margarita.

Ladies, please watch your drinks carefully! It’s unfortunate I have to even say this but it’s a sad but true statement that many a sleazeball will take advantage of a young girl out drinking.

If you’re going to drink, go out with gal pals you trust. Travel in packs and have each other’s backs!

Dudes – watch out for other low life dudes and protect the ladies out there!

Save Money on College Entertainment

Everyone wants to have fun – especially in college.

While the education is key, networking and building lifelong relationships is just as important.

Here are some key ways to save money on entertainment in college.

Attend Free Events on Campus

There’s a lot of events going on campus at any given time. We already talked about free events with food, but there are plenty of other entertainment events that could keep you from getting bored.

Most campuses have live music, concerts, shows, sports, and lectures that could all be free and entertaining. The hard part is, it can be tough to know when things are going on.

Make sure you’re always looking at your Associated Students calendar to find fun events and check out flyers around campus to see if anything is going on.

Use Your Campus Gym

Working out and staying fit is important, especially in college. While the freshman 15 is a thing, you can lose the weight and stay in shape for free.

Most campuses have great athletic and gym facilities for their students, and your fees each year cover membership as a student. Take advantage.

And definitely don’t go spending more money for an outside gym membership when you get it for free on campus.

Cut Cable and Watch Online

It doesn’t make sense to have cable TV anymore. There are so many great options online, some of which aren’t even available on cable TV. And cable TV is ridiculously expensive! Even basic plans can cost around $60 per month, which is a lot of money in college.

A better alternative is to cut cable and still watch your favorite shows – online!

There are so many options these days to watch TV online, including YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon.

Plus, there are some “illicit” ways to get new movies and more right in your dorm room. But even being legal, apps like Hulu or Hulu Live TV can really be game changing for cost and what you want to watch.

The bottom line is, stop paying for cable TV.

Share Gaming Expenses

Maybe TV isn’t your thing, but gaming is. Gaming can be a lot of fun, especially if you have multiplayer games you can play with friends in your dorm or apartment.

If possible, try to share the cost of games. If you’re always playing multiplayer setups, maybe split the cost of the game to save money. It can be a communal game that lives in your family room for everyone to share.

New games are expensive, so anything you can do to lower the price is great.

Start A Free Hobby

Too many people think that hobbies have to cost money – they don’t. There are a lot of free activities that you can do to keep you entertained.

From running and hiking, to drawing and more, there are definitely things that you can do in your spare time to stay entertained.

Here’s a list of 15 free hobbies that require no money to start.

Volunteer as a College Student

Volunteering is an under-rated free way to stay entertained. Not only are you contributing to a worthy cause, but you’re likely gaining skills that you can use for the rest of your life.

There are tons of options to volunteer around most college campuses, from national organizations to small local charities that are looking for help.

Poke around online or speak to some campus clubs to see if there are any volunteering opportunities you can help out with.

Become The Entertainment

Finally, you could become the entertainment. This isn’t for everyone, but if you’re inclined, you could put on a show. Maybe you play an instrument? Maybe you start a band? Maybe you join a theater group? Maybe you practice comedy?

All of these things take practice, are fun, and you could even get paid for gigs. So, instead of searching for entertainment, consider creating it for yourself.

Save Money On Transportation and Travel

You will have to travel places, even if it’s just from your dorm room to class, and back.

But you’ll likely be traveling a lot more than that – here’s what you need to know.

Sell Your Car as a College Student

Most college students don’t need a car. And cars are expensive – you have gas, maintenance, insurance, and probably a car payment.

All of these costs are pointless if your car is just sitting on campus for most of the year.

Instead, sell your car, take the money, and use it for ridesharing.

If you can’t stand the idea of parting with your car, look at renting it out with when you’re not using it.

There are services like Turo that allow you to rent your car out and get paid!

Use Free Transportation If Possible

If you need to get around, use free transportation if possible. Many college campuses have free buses and shuttles that help students get around campus and even to nearby apartments.

Some apartment complexes even have shuttles for students to get to campus.

Depending on your school, see if you can leverage free transportation to get around.

Get A College Student Pass for Public Transportation

If you need public transportation to get around, see if you can get a student pass.

Many colleges partner with their local transit authorities and offer student discounts and student passes for busses, subways, trolleys, and more.

This can be a huge savings for college students who need to get around, and it’s usually cheaper than owning a car.

Use Travel Websites to Find Amazing Deals

Every college student wants to travel (or at least most do). But travel can be really expensive unless you find great deals.

This can be a full time job in itself, but if you’re diligent, you can find great travel deals and take advantage of them.

Checking the main travel sites will give you a great baseline as to where to start your travel search. These sites include:

• CheapFlights: This site searches most of the major travel sites for you
• Hotels.com: The is one of the best hotel search engines
• Orbitz: Another good overall search engine

Find College Student Travel Tours

Students have a slight advantage when it comes to travel because there are a lot of companies that cater to student travel.

These tours are specific to 18-35 year olds, so you’ll be with a group of young adults who are all interested in the same type of trip.

There are trips almost everywhere, with awesome destinations that any student would enjoy.

Check out Contiki here and see if there are any tours that make sense for you.

Learn How to Travel Cheap

Have you ever heard of the term travel hacking? This is the mindset to “hack” your travel to get it as cheap as possible – usually by leveraging deals and points.

However, it’s hard to travel hack without doing some learning about how to travel for cheap. This could include shopping for trips, using points and miles, and more.

Setup Flight Monitoring For Regular Flights

Do you have a “regular” flight in college? This might be your regular flight home – the one you take at Christmas, and home for the summer?

If so, use Google Flights to setup a price monitor for your main flight and dates you know you want to fly.

This can help you save money by alerting you when prices change and saving you money on the flights you know you’re going to be making.

Consider Alternatives to Flying

Do you have to fly? There are alternatives to flying that you might consider – from driving and carpooling, to taking a Greyhound or an Amtrack train.

Depending on where you’re going, how much time you have, and your comfort level, taking one of these alternatives could save you a lot of money over the cost of flying.

When budgets matter in college, these alternatives can be a great way to save on travel.

Use Credit Card Rewards

One of the best ways to save money on travel is to use credit card rewards. As we talked about earlier, using a credit card can earn you bonuses and rewards for your normal spending.

Plus, many cards offer a sign up bonus that can get you free travel pretty quickly.

If travel is important to you, then consider checking out the Best Credit Cards For Travel Rewards. These cards will earn you the best bonuses and rewards that can get you closer to free travel.

Live Close to Campus

Finally, one of the best ways to save money on daily travel expenses is to simply live close to campus. That way, you can walk to school and save the most money.

Living close to campus might be more expensive rent-wise, so do the math and make sure the savings of living closer offsets the cost of higher transportation father away (hint: it usually does).

Living off campus is another big change and it can be expensive if you’re not careful.

Here’s how to save money living off campus.

Live With Roommates as a College Student

The idea of living alone is great, but it’s so much more expensive that living with others.

For example, you could probably rent a one-bedroom apartment for $1,500, but a two bedroom is just $2,200. (Depending on your geography)

If you had a roommate, your personal cost would now just be $1,100 – a $400 per month savings versus a one-bedroom apartment.

That’s a huge deal over time – $4,800 per year really adds up.

So, while you might want to escape the roommate situation, living with roommates is a great way to save money in college (and even after college).

Shop Around For Renters Insurance

You likely need renters insurance when you live off campus. Beyond taking care of your own stuff, most landlords require it.

Make sure you shop around for the best deal on renters insurance. There are a lot of options and things to consider.

Cut Your Cell Phone Bill

You cell phone is probably another area that you can save a lot of money on when you’re in college.

Too many people don’t compare their cell phone plans very often – resulting in higher prices than you should be paying.

In fact, if you’re paying over $60 per month for your phone, you’re paying way too much.

There are a lot of great options to save when you’re in college.

Don’t Decorate as a College Student

While you might want to make your place nice and cozy, decorations are expensive, and they don’t really have any value beyond looking pretty.

If you’re trying to save money, just don’t be wasteful throwing money at Pottery Barn.

Too many people spend hundreds decorating their apartments and houses, just to toss it all and redecorate when they move.

There’s plenty of cheap ways to make your space homey without going all out.

8 Cute College Decorating Ideas on a Budget

Be Mindful Of Utilities as a College Student

Another off-campus expense that can get you are your utilities.

You need to be mindful of your utilities and how much it costs to run your air conditioning, how much your internet costs, and more.

If you’re not paying attention, you could find your electric bill skyrocketing from $50 per month to $400 per month!

It happens, and it can seriously harm your college student budget.

Get Your Rent Payments & Boost Your Credit Score

This is one thing that will save you money down the road, not immediately. But one of the keys to saving money on loans, getting a good rent, and more is having a great credit score.

Using a service like Rent Track can enable your rent payments to count on your credit report, thereby boosting your score if you make all your payments on time.

The end goal is to have a great credit score when you leave college so that you can save money in the future.

Location Is Important

Where you live is so important! But there are tradeoffs in every location. A great goal is to live as close to campus as possible, so that you can save on transportation.

But you don’t want it to be so expensive that your savings from transportation is lost to rent.

You need to find a solid balance of location and price. And you should probably skip the amenities like a gym if you get a gym on campus.

These amenities raise the price that you’re going to pay in rent, and you might not even use them.

Buy Used or Secondhand If Needed

If you do need something for your house, buy it used or secondhand. There are a lot of great ways to get couches, beds, and more for cheap – just look online.

You can use apps like OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace to see items available in your area.

If you don’t have a car, you can probably hire someone online to help you move! There are lots of moving service and delivery services in different cities.

17 Apps to Sell Anything for Quick Cash

Protect Your Security Deposit

Your security deposit is one of your biggest “investments” in college. You usually have to pay $1,000 or more to ensure you don’t mess up your apartment. That’s a lot of money that you can lose if you’re not careful in protecting your apartment.

So, make sure you protect your security deposit by keeping your apartment in great condition.

An alternative to your security deposit is using security deposit insurance. This is an alternative where you pay a company and never have to worry again.

Live At Home

Finally, one of the absolute best ways to save money in college is to simply live at home.

You can eliminate the vast majority of this list if you simply live at home, save on rent and food, and watch your other expenses.

Even if your parents will charge you a nominal rent, that’s probably going to save you so much more than trying to live on or off campus.

And while you’ll have some commuting expenses as well, you’ll still probably realize significant cost savings.

This can be a great way to save money in college so that you can springboard your life after graduation.