College is costly. What are some tips and tricks that will help me stick to a budget? What jobs work best for college students?

Hi Audrey,

I completely agree, college so expensive, but there are many avenues to find addition sources of income. First and foremost, look within your university of scholarship/grants, and then, search online for those that you qualify for. You would be surprised at how much money goes unclaimed because no one applies.

Outside of your part time job, universities usually have paid studies that students are participate in for cash. When I was in college, I did a a psychology paid study where I just hand to listen to something for 2 hours and made $40!

In terms of saving money, you can try a variety of things. When it comes to books, I usually rented; I saved hundreds each term. I did not eat out too much, which was hard, but it saves a ton of money. Finally, stores around the university will always try to advertise sales, but be careful and only buy what you need. 

Hope this helps,

Amit 

Hi Aubrey,

You are certainly right, college can cost quite a bit, and being budget friendly can seem overwhelming to add into the mix. It is important to consider your current spending habits, as you may be able to simply realign where your funds go, rather than needing to actually get a job. Consider cooking at home rather than eating out, or brewing your own coffee rather than purchasing coffee on the go. Little changes to your daily lifestyle can add up. If you are considering a job, you may want to look into something with flexibility, such as driving for Uber, or maybe one of the delivery services such as Uber Eats. These can be factored in on your terms, and not have as much of a commitment in case you need to focus on your college work more.

First I would say you are at such an advantage in life to be thinking through these things, so kudos to you! Budgeting, and personal finance in general to me has always been more about discipline than the money you make. Saying No will be your best resource to staying on budget. It will mean less meals out, less fun activities, but it's the balance you have to find for yourself. There are 2 sides to every financial equation, income and outgo...if you can be disciplined the outgo side will be fine, for the income side, it looks like you are after it with the psychology studies and from there it's just a matter of working your tail off. You got this!