Here's a piece from Money Central titled simple ways to make college cheaper. It talks about the various costs associated with going to college and, if you weed through it, gives some tips/thoughts on saving money that we haven't addressed yet at Free Money Finance. These savings tips can be summarized in this short sentence:
Buy textbooks online, leave the car at home and watch that cell-phone bill.
Here's why you should leave the car at home:
In a survey conducted by polling firm Zogby International, students and parents agreed that their biggest expense other than tuition, books and room and board was car upkeep. You'll save a bundle if your kids hoof it or follow Bianca Glenn's example: She buys a monthly bus pass for $50 to attend Oakland Community College, which is 13 miles from her home in Detroit.
I had a car all through college and grad school (I actually needed it more for the former as I went home often, but hardly went home while in grad school). The car was paid for, so I didn't have any costs there, but maintenance, gas, and parking weren't cheap. And that was 20 years ago. All those costs have gone up a ton since then.
Now here are some thoughts on saving on textbooks -- a major college cost:
A study last year by the State Public Interest Research Group estimates students spend an average of $900 per year on books. To save money, students like Davis share texts. Others set up more formal systems for cutting out the middleman. At the University of Michigan, for instance, students auction books at TheDiag.com, an online marketplace in Ann Arbor. The Internet is fertile ground for textbook bargains.
I'm not sure if college today is like it was when I was in school, but buying the books has to be the biggest rip off there is in school. Every class "required" certain books, but only a fraction of the classes actually used (or even referred to) them. The math classes were usually the ones that used them the most, but many professors didn't need them at all. You could literally not have a book, take notes in class and do just as well as someone with a book.
How about "don't buy the books until you know you'll use them" as a money saving tip?
Finally, here are some common-sense ways to save on cell phone costs:
To avoid surprises, compare cell-phone plans this summer at sites such as BillSaver.com and MyRatePlan.com. And check sites such as Cellreception.com to make sure that there's good service on campus. Above all, let your kids know that if they exceed their plan's allotted minutes, they'll pay the extra charges.
Ha! I love that last sentence! ;-)
For more on saving on college, see these tips:
I graduated from college one year ago, and spent next to nothing on books -- certainly zero dollars in my junior and senior years, after finishing language classes (horrible, expensive workbooks!). I was amazed at how many students complained about the cost of books and overlooked the library! At both of the schools I attended during this time (small liberal arts college in New England, and a huge university overseas), all required texts for the class were put on reserve or short-loan. You could take them out (often in-library only) for a few hours at a time. The benefits of this approach are manyfold:
- expenses drop several hundred dollars per semester
- your studying becomes concentrated; you work hard while the library's open and know you're finished when you get home, rather than letting your study time bleed all over your personal time.
- studying in the library encourages collaboration. it's much more communal that holing up in your dorm or apartment.
- all the resources being that accessible makes your studying more thorough and more efficient. instead of thinking "I wonder about..." or "I'll look that up later," you look it up NOW.
I stopped buying books to save money, but continued because I saw my performance and dedication go way up. I'm convinced that studying in the library greatly improved my college experience.
Posted by: Alyssa | September 01, 2006 at 04:43 PM
"Every class "required" certain books, but only a fraction of the classes actually used (or even referred to) them. The math classes were usually the ones that used them the most, but many professors didn't need them at all. You could literally not have a book, take notes in class and do just as well as someone with a book."
This about sums things up right here.
Posted by: twins15 | September 04, 2006 at 02:39 AM