Spend As Little As Possible Every Weekend

Take Advantage Of The "Pregame"

Drinks at the bar are way overpriced more times than not. Try spending as little as possible at the bar by getting a comfortable buzz beforehand. By drinking your own alcohol before going out, you won't need to spend nearly as much on drinks at the bar once you're out.

Know Your Surroundings

Most bars usually have some sort of deals on different days of the week. Find out which bars have deals on the night you plan on going out. $5 pitchers, $1 shots, and 50 cent beers can definitely help keep money in your pocket.

Schedule A Ride

Uber rides are great, but sometimes their prices can add up if not enough people are in the car. Instead, you can order a bus to take your group downtown for $3 or many students DD and ask $2 for a ride downtown.

Ditch The Plastic

Leave your credit/debit cards at home and bring a limited amount of cash instead. This will make sure you don't spend money you don't have by opening any outrageous bar tabs or buying drinks for friends.

4 Simple Ways To Keep More Money In Your Pocket

1. RoverTown

This free application is the only mobile student discount program that has discounts for 100+ colleges and universities. Some ISU deals include Papa John's, Windy City Wieners, Shorty's Barber Shop, University Liquors, Los Potrillos, and Medici.

2. Learn How To Cook

You can save a lot by cooking for yourself. You and your roommates can all contribute different ingredients to make a meal for much less than it'd cost to go out to eat.

3. Ditch The Cable

Monthly cable costs definitely add up over the year. There are several substitutes that allow you to stream movies and TV shows for a fraction of cable costs. You can split the monthly costs of these cable substitutes with friends/family to reduce the price even further.

4. Utilize Coupons

Many businesses market themselves by delivering free coupons to student mailboxes. Instead of instantly throwing these away, designate a drawer for coupons. When you're feeling like spending money, look through the coupon drawer to see if there are any ways to save.

6 Must-Follow Money Tips For College Students

1. Create a budget

This is very important. List any monthly income and write down estimated expenses for the month.

2. Separate wants from needs

Think of how much laundry costs or how much you need to spend on gas. Eating out on a daily basis isn't necessarily a need.

3. Set up a checking account

Banks love catering to college students by offering them free checking and savings accounts. This allows students to avoid fees on withdrawals or fund transfers.

4. Use, don't abuse, credit cards

College is a great time to start building credit, which is crucial for purchasing a car or leasing an apartment. It's important to understand the difference between credit building and overextending.

5. Do your homework on loans and financial aid

Make sure to understand what the exact size of your student loan debt will be upon graduation. Come up with a plan on how to pay it back, even if it involves making sacrifices on other aspects of your life.

6. Shop smart for textbooks

Textbooks are one of the biggest college expenses, so learn how to spend as little as possible on them. Try purchasing used books or books that can be downloaded online.

Halloween Deals

Halloween is just around the corner, and just like any other holiday, there are always some sort of deals going on. Whether it's a discount on your halloween costume or money off at a restaurant, you should always do some research to get the best bang for your buck on Halloween. The links below give several deals that can be used before or on Halloween!

Cheap Ice Cream, Pancakes, and Burritos

Save on Costumes and Candy

Cut These Daily Expenses To Save Thousand's

The article listed below shows several different ways in which you can save money. These can be anything from learning a simple task that you would usually pay someone else to do or controlling the amount of times you decide to eat out. 

Click Here To Save

At Home Money Saving Tips

Listed below are a few ways in which you can save money by performing these simple tasks. They can help by reducing your trips to the grocery store to cutting down on your monthly electric/water bill.

Reuse Plastic Bags

Stop Buying Paper/Plastic Plates And Utensils

Shorten Your Shower Time

Turn Off Lights/Appliances When Not Using

Buy Rechargeable Batteries

Only Use Heat/AC When Necessary

Avoid Impulse Purchases

We've all spent more than enough time walking down the store aisle looking for something extra to buy. Our grocery cart has more than enough food for the week, but our curiosity of buying more keeps us lurking.

In order to avoid buying all that extra junk food at the end your trip, make a list of everything you need to buy. This can be food, drinks, school supplies, toiletries, etc.

By making a list you'll know exactly what you need to get. Once everything is checked off the list, you'll know you have everything you need and can head straight to the cash register. If you enjoy the experience of aimlessly roaming around the store, set a limit to how much you can spend on items not already on the list. Make sure to set this limit as you're making the list, NOT while you're in the store.

Keep Track Of Your Spending

In order to enjoy your time in college you're going to spend money, and a lot of it. Anything that's either fun, or tastes good, will most likely cost you. It's important to know how much you're spending, how often, and on what. If you don't keep track of this, the number in your bank account can seem to significantly drop in the blink of an eye.

Use Your Phone

Instead of stuffing your wallet with receipts, take advantage of your phone. Once you've noted what you've been spending money on for the week, you can determine if it was worth it to you or not. 

Make A Master List

Either use a sheet of paper or an excel document to see every purchase you've made over the year. It's important to DATE every expense so you can see reflect on your purchases at the end of each week, month, and year. This also allows you to see an average of what you spent over a certain time period.

Take Action

If you don't like seeing what you've been spending your money on, then do something about it. Say you open a $60 bar tab every weekend (and aren't happy about it). Either simply stop making poor spending decisions...or if you have no self-control, force yourself to stop. Leave your credit/debit card at home and bring out $15-$20 cash with you each night. 

Buying Textbooks

If there is one thing college students can all agree on, it’s that college textbooks are beyond overpriced. No one enjoys emptying their wallet at The Alamo II or Barnes & Noble for a book they might open up 5 times throughout the semester. 

Luckily, there are a few alternative ways to find books much cheaper. 

You can order books for much cheaper at Chegg where you can easily buy, sell, rent, and return your books.

Amazon also has new and used books to rent, buy, or sell, along with providing any student with an ".edu" email address 6 free months of Amazon Prime. With Amazon Prime you have free 2 day shipping on any products endorsed by Amazon.

A newer company, Packback, offers one day e-textbook rentals, semester e-textbook rentals, and price comparisons. All of these digital options allow students to rent whatever book they may need at their own discretion.

Before purchasing a textbook from a store on campus, make sure to check these other options so you can get the best bang for your buck!

How You Should And Shouldn't Spend Money In Your Twenties

I believe everyone has to find their perfect balance between spending and saving.

We all know people that save every penny they have...

as well as people who spend money like it's their job.

When determining whether or not to spend money, you should ask yourself if the product, service, or experience is worth it to you. It's important to make quality purchases, such as a nice interview suit or a new experience.

How You Should And Shouldn't Spend Money In Your Twenties