Pinch Pennies to Stretch Your Budget

Because college is expensive enough, students have to save money wherever they can. Here are a few tips to stretch your dollars.

1.  Prepare a budget and live with it.  Write every expense down in your journal.  You'll be surprised to see where your money is going.

2.  Use coupons any way you can get them.  You can pick them up at the stores or get them online at sites like www.groupon.com, www.couponmountain.com, retailmenot.com, www.couponcabin.com and many more.  

3.  Use mail-in rebates as often as possible.

4.  Join Rewards Programs.  

5.  Learn to cook if you don't already know how.  Start with quick and easy meals and develop your style.

6.  Shop clearance sales.

7.  Sell old clothes and other unused items at consignment shops. 

8.  Use deal-finder Web sites like www.woot.com, www.slickdeals.com and www.fatwallet.com.

9. Think of different ways to acquire college necessities like renting books instead of buying them.  Check out sites like  www.CollegeBookRenter.com and others.  

10.  Shop garage sales and thrift shops.

Pinch a few pennies here and there, then reward yourself with a trip to the spa or a night out with friends and family.

Related articles

• Penny-Pinching for Plutocrats [The Way We Live Now] (gawker.com)
• Mail in Rebates Can Help to Penny Pinch (brighthub.com)
• Best Web sites to save you money (holykaw.alltop.com)

E Books Can be Challenging

E books and digital books are gaining momentum. Universities are "embracing" the digital textbook and the majority of these Universities are upper echelon institutions whose student body can afford to take the risk of using a piece of technology that can possibly fail mechanically or the school can afford to provide the technology to the student body. The majority of higher education enrollment in the U.S. can be found in the Community College sector, the students who attend these institutions are less likely to use the digital media based on the financial reasons alone. The fact is, e-books are just as over priced as textbooks and coupled with the cost of either having to purchase a laptop or a digital reader the Community College student just isn't going to jump at this technology due to lack of funds.