By: Jacqueline Madlem & Angus Crutcher
Intro
Being a college student is tough. Balancing your social life with school and work is enough to handle, but then what? A notification appears on your phone and your checking account is at -$30.15, now what? You already had to transfer and use your savings to purchase the espresso drink you absolutely needed at Starbucks to get through your boring philosophy class. How is your account negative? Oh god, just wait for the text you’re going to get from mom.
We’re here to help this problem become nonexistent, we have the tips and tricks to help you save money, slowly but surely. We’re here to make sure that you’re living up to your potential in college. And that means making smart decisions with your money! Because after all, you are in college! Everyone wants to go out and have a good time, but it’s a painful reality that not everyone has the same funds to achieve this! We at deals4devils don’t believe that anyone should be having any less of a great time at college due to cash. So on this website we have a bunch of different tips and tricks for you to keep that wallet stacked as long as possible, so you can get the most out of your time at Arizona State Universities Downtown Campus.
Deals4Devils has compiled some of the best money saving tips we could find, and don’t forget, we’re college students too, most of this advice has come from us learning the hard way. We suffered through it, and want to pass our knowledge off to you so you don’t have to struggle! Here are some of the ares Deals4Devils hopes to help you save your money!
One of the largest expenses that ASU Downtown students have is food. Face it, we all love it and snacking at night in college is something that just feels right. Getting to the grocery store is easy. There is a Safeway only 0.9 miles away from campus and if you go on Sundays and show your student identification card then you get 10% off. Going out to eat is fun and tasty, but the cost is not efficient. Lunch and Dinner can cost around $20, why not make food at home that is healthier for you and save some money while you’re at it. If you’re coffee-addicted beg mom or dad or grandma or whoever and get a Keurig. K-cups are a lot more cost effective than Starbucks drinks which on average cost $5. We always recommend eating healthy, but if you need to there are plenty of fast food options nearby like McDonalds, Chick-fil-a and Whataburger just to name a few.
Along with food, living at the Downtown Campus at ASU means you’re close to a lot of awesome entertainment venues including concert and comedy venues, as well as a bunch of art galleries and other venues to keep you busy! And while the plethora of entertainment venues is one of the best things about living and studying on the Downtown Campus, it can also really drive the cost of living up! However events like “First Friday” provide many opportunities to experience some of these venues completely free! One recommendation we have is Groupon to check out local deals and free events! Sports teams always do student deals, so give them a follow on their Instagram accounts to keep in the loop!
And of course, the reason we are all here, school expenses. School is not cheap, and neither are the little things that go along with it. Clickers, graphing calculators, textbooks, testing forms, notebooks and pens and pencils are other things that are necessary for your education: not to mention tuition. The costs of these items adds up to be a significant amount of money. Three words, apply for scholarships. There are many organizations out there that are looking to support college students. You can email or make an appointment with your academic advisor for help with this. Another great place to grab those necessary items is Amazon. You can rent most textbooks, which will save you a lot of money. Always wait until classes begin to see if you actually need the textbook listed on the ASU website, unless it’s something like a mathematics course.
SAVING MONEY
The phrase “saving money” is enough to make students feel nervous. It’s hard to keep a savings account, let alone have tangible money in it. The sooner you begin investing, the larger amount of profit you will make. We recommend opening a savings account that is linked to your checking, just in case of emergencies. Most large and small banks have the option of a change transfer, meaning that the leftover change in a transaction will transfer automatically to your savings account. It’s a great way to put money in, without it being detrimental to your checking account. Another great option for long-term investment is an Acorns account. In this account you make a profile and take a quiz to see what type of financial situation you are in. After, Acorns invests the amount of money you want into low-risk stocks, you can also do a change transfer to this account. You can put in any amount monthly, with the minimum being $5. It’s a great low-risk option, basically a mutual fund, for students. Start saving now, so you develop great habits for the future when you have many more expenses.
We hope our tips and tricks are extremely helpful and we hope you’ll be able to save at least a few extra dollars with our expertise.
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