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