I’m not sure what it is about being in college in Florida, but it seems that the second you walk onto campus for the first time all of your money instantly disappears and you’re doomed to a sentence of being broke for the next four years.

After making a huge tuition check when the semester begins, then being expected to shell out another $400 for books and then trying to live life and save up money for the next semester can be quite a difficult task, especially on a work-study type salary.

Here are five great tips for college students to save money in college.

1. First, be sure to buy your textbooks online, this is always cheaper than going to the bookstore.

Chances are you will save upwards of 50% or more by getting used and international versions of textbooks over the internet compared to paying more than retail at your campus book store.

Go to sites such as BigWords and BookByte to do comparison shopping and find the cheapest price on your textbooks.

The first semester I was in college I shelled out over $400 for books, and now I average about $75 per semester by ordering online, reusing friend’s books, and sharing books with my room-mate.

2. Budget your money.

Money is a very scarce thing in college, so we have to make the most of it. Don’t just let it slip away to fast food, movies, and beer.

Use a budget to make sure that your priorities are in the right place. Be saving enough money to pay for tuition and books next semester and make your basic living expenses be on the top of the list.

3. Just go ahead and stay far away from credit cards as possible.

The average undergraduate comes out with $1,423 in credit card debt! Don’t be a part of this crowd.

Nobody wants to start our life with massive credit card debt, this is just not the way to go!

Be smart with your money and accept that if the money is not there you simply cannot afford the purchase.

Credit cards serve no purpose but to get you into debt.

4. Take all the free stuff you can get.

Anything that you get for free is something that you have to buy.

This means going to all of the free campus events for free food, mooching off your friends, anything that’s free, take it!

The bookstore often gives out samples of products they are given, so take them and make the most of them!

5. Get a job!

I know, it’s a scary thought, but you can get a job while you are in college.

It’s not too much work, there are people who work 50+ hours a week while in school to pay for tuition and life without borrowing money.

There are jobs available and you do have the time no matter what you might think.…

These days, aren’t we all looking for ways to save money? I live in Orlando, FL, and know I sure am. With a young son and still living with my mother, I want to save money so I can afford to start my own life. A life that will be happy and good for both me and my son.

Did you know that just changing a few things in your lifestyle you can save hundreds of dollars a year? If you had a couple of hundred dollars in your pocket, what would you do with it?

Well, if you follow these tips then you’ll know what you can do with a few extra bucks in your pocket.

Did you know that people in Florida who spend $20.00 a week on fresh flowers for their home actually spend around $1,040.00 a year?! I don’t know about you but I sure could use that extra $1,000 dollars and put it to good use paying off some bills! Instead of spending that much money on fresh cut flowers for you home, go outside and cut some flowers out of the yard or garden. You still have fresh cut flowers to put in your home, not to mention flower seeds are only $2-$5 per pack. You can also buy a house plant that blooms throughout the year. You can get these at your local garden center.

Just be sure to ask an associate where they keep their flowers like this so you do not buy the wrong thing. There is also a website that you can visit www.logees.com. They offer tropical plants, plant care products, herbs and spices (plants of course) and, many other selections for you. They also help you find the best plant or flower for you.

If you are a working mother or father and have to take your child to a daycare you are spending hundreds of dollars a month that you can really use for other things.

If you have a friend or family member who takes their child to a babysitter, maybe you can talk with them about splitting the cost of the babysitter and having both of your children go together. Not only will it be saving the both of you money but your child will be able to spend time with another child he/she is familiar with helping their self-confidence.

Always remember to check into the babysitter that you are sending your child to! Make sure your child is going to be in safe hands and that the babysitter is going to be very dependable and not canceling all the time.

The average person spends around $588 dollars per year on personal care products. Kinda unbelievable, huh? If you use personal care products faster then you can buy them, try using smaller amounts. On some things you can even mix them together. For example, you need sunscreen to be outside and you put lotion on religiously everyday. Just combine the two.

Not only are you getting moisturized and protected from the sun, you have also just made more that you can use.

It will last you longer and you won’t have to go out and buy those products as often. I’ve even heard people say that they combine their liquid concealer with facial moisturizer. Pretty good thinking!

Do you enjoy watching movies but paying around $5.00 per movie is getting a little bit much? This is renting movies because if you go to the theater you have to figure in the cost for drinks, popcorn, candy, etc. For just $1 per night, you can rent from over 700 DVD’s to take home and watch.

Redbox is a convenient and easy to use machine in which you can choose almost any dvd that you want to watch. You can visit their website www.redbox.com to see if they have a Redbox kiosk near you! Just remember to return the movie after you watch it because they charge $1 per night that you keep it. If you are not careful you can easily exceed the $5 per movie.

Don’t forget about your local library, as well. If you like reading books, instead of buying the books for you to keep and only read once just go to your local library and check that book out.

You can take it home, read it and, return it. All at no cost to you. Not to mention, you won’t have that clutter of books sitting around that you will later sell in a yard sale at half the cost of what you paid for it. They also have dvd’s and cd’s at the library that you can check out as well.

Want to stay in shape but can’t afford the cost of the local athletic gym? Just stay home and work out then. You can go to your local store and buy dvd’s from workout to yoga to pilates. Anything that you would want to do in the gym! Without the exercise equipment that is.

You can also go for a walk with your children. If you have a stroller or wagon you can push or pull them in then that’s an extra plus for you to burn more calories. When you kids are playing on the playground you can also workout there. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend going in your sports bra and spandex if there are other families there.

The playground equipment is great for getting muscles to work that you haven’t had working in awhile. For example, the monkey bars and swings.

When going across the monkey bars you will find it more challenging holding your current weight up then when you were a child and holding up 50 pounds! When on the swings just be sure to contract your abs when swinging up and when swinging back pull your knees to your chest.

Socializing doesn’t have to be out of the question just because you don’t have the money to go out to dinner with the group. Ask all your friends to come over to your place and tell them it’s like a potluck.

Everyone can bring their dishes whether it be appetizers, main course, dessert or, drinks. You will be saving money by having everyone pitch in and you can still hang out and socialize with your friends. That way you won’t get too far behind on all the latest gossip.

In days where more people are being diagnosed with depression and Covid-19, and more people are fighting about money it’s nice when you can save a little bit of money and feel good about it!

Not only will you have more spending money for bills or hobbies but you will feel a lot better about yourself. Resulting in a happier you!…