College Hacks to Save Money

Froogal College Hacks to Save Money

Did your jaw drop when you looked at your bill for the semester? Have you wondered how you can save money on college expenses? Stressing over how you're going to pay for college?

Don't let this be you! 

Image courtesy blogs.cornell.edu

A new perspective on student loans

A Yahoo! finance article (link at end of this post) describes a pretty clever way to picture your student loan debt. Rather than some relatively large, abstract figure like $20,000; think of it in terms of what your monthly payments will be when you graduate.

"Old Economy Steve" may give you advice that was fine for his generation, but not so good for yours

Headphones for less

Since the recent acquisition of Beats Audio by Apple (a perfect marriage of too-expensive, overhyped consumer products!), Beats is once again in the public consciousness.

A great Lifehacker article (link at the bottom) suggests some bass-heavy alternatives to the expensive (and not-so-great-quality) Beats headphones that many young people seem to own these days. However, even these alternatives are pretty expensive; there are better-value alternatives that I've listed here.

How 'saving money' really works

Along the same lines as my post on the Millionaire Mindset, I want to make the notion of saving quite clear. What a lot of people do to save money is actually doing the opposite! Despite what retailers will tell you, buying a product at a discount does not mean you are saving money!

The Wal-Mart Trap

Bargain hunters beware!

Though Wal-Mart has great prices on certain items, they're not always the cheapest option around. They built a very successful business based on advertising their low prices, and then having such a wide selection that people don't bother to go anywhere else for their other goods.

The Millionaire Mindset

The Millionaire Mindset

I want to get this idea out there now: your mindset is far more important than your income level. Many people think a large income leads to financial security...and they're dead wrong. I'll show you why. 

Moviegoing

Image from imgur

I just found this meme, and I thought it was both funny and applicable to this blog :)

I think this serves as an example to illustrate a larger point about planning ahead, and having the self-control to say 'no' to products or services that you see as a poor value. With all the stuff that's available in this world, all the different manufacturers offering products, companies offering services, charities, and other organizations each trying to get some of your money, it's up to you to be a smart and discriminating shopper. 

6 (+5 more) simple ways to save

If you have your own apartment (or house) and you're responsible for paying utilities, there are simple ways to cut waste and save $$$. Here, you'll find 6 that you may not have thought of:

A way to make (a little) ca$h on the side

Just ran across this article, which advances a new idea for making a little money: http://www.thepennyhoarder.com/make-money-venting-your-frustrations/#.  I didn't know this was even possible, but it holds a lot of promise! Just a thought for those of you with experiences to share.

But be aware that it will probably require good writing skills. So if your teachers have told you that you have trouble communicating an idea clearly and concisely, or if you hate English or writing composition classes with a burning passion, this may not be a good money-making method for you.

Tips for college students

Despite what books, TV ads, financial planners, and others would have you believe, there is no big 'secret' to being financially successful. There are, of course, lots of tax loopholes, complicated investment methods, and other such tricks to making money.

Unless you are a CPA, tax lawyer, investment banker or otherwise want to be involved in studying the myriad financial laws of this country (and possibly others, as well), a simpler approach probably sounds good to you.

Welcome!

Hello world, and welcome to the new Froogal Stoodent blog! The purpose of this blog (in case you couldn't tell from the title!) is to provide tips and advice on saving money. This is aimed directly at college students and graduate students, though the advice could be useful to anyone.

I will largely draw ideas from my own experience and expertise, but input is encouraged! This site will work best as a forum for people to discuss ways of saving money and living frugally. Learning how to live below your means is certainly an ongoing process, but it's up to you to make the commitment to do so. As with most things in life, the results you get will reflect the effort you put in.

So if you want to learn how to lead a frugal lifestyle that will yield benefits for many years after you graduate, you've come to the right place! After all, who doesn't want to save money?!

As difficult as it can be sometimes to sit at home while your friends go to concerts, parties, and dates to the movie theater or posh restaurants, consider how those same friends will feel when they graduate with $30,000 or $60,000 or $100,000 of debt--or even more! If that thought isn't enough motivation to seek alternative ways to have fun, go on dates, and eat well, I don't know what is!

Before we get into the heavy stuff, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zach, I'm 25 years old, and I'm pretty easygoing. I'm a graduate student in Cognitive Psychology at a university in Ohio, but I'm originally from central Pennsylvania. My father has worked in a warehouse for about 30 years, and my mother retired from her work helping people navigate their medical insurance benefits (a minefield, to be sure!) when I was born in 1989. She has not worked since.

So, it probably goes without saying that I've never been particularly well-off. Because of this, I'm fortunate enough to have been taught the value of living below your means, so my meager pay as a grad student is actually more than enough to meet my needs--but only because I do without some things that a lot of people take for granted.

Since so many people talk about having money issues, I figured a blog such as this one would be a good way to share my knowledge and provide a forum for other people to do the same. While a grad student like myself can't increase his income, he CAN decrease his expenses--and that goes for just about everyone who doesn't make more money than he knows what to do with!

My own tips and ideas will be coming along in future posts. But for now, here's a link to a site that I found: http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2013/10/07/20-money-saving-tips-for-frugal-students.html  It's got some good ideas that you may have thought of, or you may not have. In any case, there's always more to learn. So, let the savings begin!