Staying on a Budget as a College Student
Most college students in America use some form of budgeting. Whether you work while in school or not it can be helpful for all students to learn budgeting tips.
One of the main ways Chaffey College students can budget is taking advantage of free events at Chaffey College. Most of the events include free food, school supplies and helpful resources. The next event is a job fair on April 23 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and lunch will be included.
Chaffey student Hayley Domangue has many tips on how she stays on a budget as a full-time student. One of her impressive budget tips includes saving any spare change and putting it in a mason jar in her room. She saves up for about three months, takes the change to her local Coinstar and usually has enough to pay for a full tank of gas. She also likes to take advantage of the snacks at The Panther Pantry and the occasional free lunch offered. She believes it’s important to save spare change because “every penny counts”
The show “Extreme Couponing” shows insight about how to find the best deals and use coupons to get essential household items. This show has shown people getting paid to take items out of the store.
The Panther Pantry offers various snacks such as fresh fruit, granola bars and hot meals and the best part is these snacks are at no cost. Snacks are available to accommodate various diets such as Paleo, Keto, vegan and vegetarian diets. According to the Chaffey College website, "The Panther Pantry helps to combat negative academic performances by providing healthy meals for all Chaffey enrolled students"
Many places such as stores and restaurants offer student discounts with a student ID. Food places that offer discounts for students include Chipotle, Chick-fil-a, Wingstop and Subway. Membership services such as 50% off of Amazon Prime and a $15 gift card when students sign up for a membership. Retail stores that offer discounts include: Levi's, Top Shop, Adidas and TOMS.
Uber offers a small discount for students on school days. Free bank accounts are available to college students from local credit unions, Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo. Mercury, Geico, and Allstate offer good student driver discounts with proof of grades. At&T, Sprint and Verizon offer discounts to students.
Apple offers a discount in person with a student ID and offers Apple music for $5 a month. Spotify recently released a student plan that includes Spotify Premium, Hulu and Showtime for $4.99 a month. AMC, Cinemark and Edwards theatre offer a reduced price for students with a valid ID. Fedex offers 30% off select shipments. Overall, many discount opportunities exist for students on campus and off campus.