Over the weekend my son moved into his first college apartment where he’ll be living with three of his friends. This is the first time he is responsible for buying and making his own food, paying monthly bills, and maintaining his own residence. In preparing for his big move I gave him several money saving tips to help keep down the cost of living.
Clothes Dresser
A quality dresser costs hundreds of dollars and the inexpensive ones you have to assemble are poor quality, don’t hold much weight, and fall part quickly. A cube organizer is a perfect way for a college student to hold their clothes. Some of the cubes can be used as shelves for pants and shorts, while a few cloth cube bins can be used for socks and undergarments. The price tag of $40 makes it college student affordable.
Waffle Maker
We have a Belgian waffle maker at home, so we bought him one as a gift for his apartment. One can be purchased for about $40, but after that making waffles is extremely cheap. Not just for breakfast, a delicious waffle can be made anytime he’s hungry.
Cereal
Cereal goes on sale frequently. For example, I recently saw a sale of five boxes of cereal for $10. That’s a lot of breakfast for minimal cost.
Pasta
Pasta is a college student’s best friend. Just a few dollars buys a box of pasta and a jar of spaghetti sauce. To mix it up a little, he could try different sauces such as Alfredo or a vodka sauce. Pasta is an inexpensive and easy to make meal with many variations.
Program The Thermostat
College students can save money on utilities by programming the thermostat to be more energy efficient when everyone is at class, or sleeping. If the thermostat isn’t programmable, manually altering it works just as well.
By following some simple tips to keep the cost of living down, my son can focus all his energy on his college classes and not worry about finances.
How about you, EOD Nation, what did you do to keep the cost of living down while in college?
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