Comments on: 12 Ways to Waste Money in College

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:08:14 +0000

I have a few tips regarding said topics:
2) Get the AT&T basic GoPhone plan. You pay $25 every three months for 10 cents/minute voice and 20 cents/message texting. I hardly ever make calls or text, and everything a person can do on a smartphone, I can do on my laptop, so I don’t need an expensive smartphone plan.

6) I disagree with not buying new ink cartidges. A lot of refilled cartidges tend to explode inside your printer, thus destroying your printer. However, something I learned the hard way is don’t buy that $60 HP all-in-one printer. Yes, it seems like a good deal, but the catch is that the ink cartidges are tiny and seriously overpriced. Plus, I had a cheap printer like that, and it broke two years after I bought it. Now, I have a $200 HP OfficeJet printer with huge ink tanks that last about a year, and ink is super cheap.

7) I have seen some perfectly good furniture on the “Free” section on Craigslist.

9) I totally agree with the new textbooks. The on-campus bookstore is a totally rip-off. (Trust me, I had a temporary job as a cashier there.) Last semester, they sold a chemistry book for $200 that I found used on Amazon for $15.

Plus, I would not recommend selling books back to the bookstore. Rather, sell your books on Craigslist when you are done with them. I just did that with that same chemistry book, and I got $50 for it. That is $35 profit. Of course, if the textbook is no longer being used, you can get a shipping label from Amazon and ship it to them. Then, you will receive a giftcard.

10) I would disagree about Microsoft Office. I have tried OpenOffice, and it is not nearly as good as Microsoft Office (at least for what I use it for). However, you can get Office 2010 Professional Plus on JourneyEd.com as a download for only $79.95. All you need to do is send them proof that you are a college student (like a course schedule or a copy of a Student ID).

12) Don’t get a student loan at all, if you can help it. Fill out the FAFSA as soon a possible after January 1st to become eligible for federal and state grants. Apply for scholarships. Attend your local community college for general ed and lower division classes. Apply for financial aid from the school (I almost skipped this, thinking that my parents made too much money, but I ended up with a state fee waiver, making tuition free at my community college).

By doing these steps, I have so far ended up with $700 in financial aid/scholarship money that I have not spent yet.

By: Bobby G

Bobby G — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 03:47:24 +0000

Yeah, I like the My Rate Plan site in the cell phone savings advice. That is a good one. I will have to try the printer ink site you recommend sometime.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:51:32 +0000

Solid article on different ways college aged students can get themselves in trouble with debt. As a college senior at the University of Kentucky, I can confirm myself or my friends have made mistakes like your examples above. For me personally, I would have to say early on I got into a lot of trouble by buying new textbooks. Some semesters this would run me over $600. One great internet site that I use now is http://www.eCampus.com . eCampus has many different options available to students so they can save money. They do this by offering book rentals, eBooks, and used textbooks. eCampus also has a marketplace where students can buy or sell used textbooks. eCampus has helped me save money and I am sure they can help you too.

By: Someonelse

Someonelse — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:32:15 +0000

“When you are out of college and making $100,000 dollars a year, then you can start buying the expensive software…if you want to.”

Who are you kidding college graduates are lucking to even have a job 1 year after graduating. Try finding someone who cares after graduation, willing to pay you anything ($100 grand a year please) These days your be lucky to get any job period.

By: LoneWolf

LoneWolf — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:37:14 +0000

University was such a long time ago for me that I didn’t have to worry about cell phones (they weren’t common place yet) and software (well, I did get a Commodore 64 but there wasn’t much software that I needed for that).

There were a lot of money sinks back then though and they weren’t very different than the ones you’ve outlined above. I’d encourage every student to learn something about living debt free so that you can start from a stable foundation. Don’t learn the hard way like I did.

By: Anita

Anita — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:05:31 +0000

This is a bulls-eye list. I’m guilty of a good number of them. Definitely brings to mind “if only I knew then what I know now”. I’m teaching my children differently so that they don’t start life out of college burdened with debt. I’ve never heard of renting textbooks on-line though – anyone have a good link they could please post? Daughter is off to college this fall.

By: Marcy Webb

Marcy Webb — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:38:15 +0000

In most cases, it is the parents who fund the lifestyle of their students. Typically, if the parents have bad spending habit, so will their children.

We live in a debtor’s society, fueled by consumption. So, the list posted here doesn’t surprise me.

By: Nhoel

Nhoel — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:12:51 +0000

#9 Buying New Textbooks — renting online books? now that’s new to me…

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:54:56 +0000

@ Nate: no, you weren’t being unclear. I was just shocked!

And thanks for the post. I am guilty of #6 – I always buy new ink. Don’t really know why…

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:14:27 +0000

I was such a poor spender when I was in college. I ate out way too much, wasted money on partying it up, and didn’t save enough. Oh, the things I would do differently! I am not a hundred or anything, for the record I just look back and think on how much I have grown and what improvements I have made since I became an adult.

You sound like you are far wiser than I was