Personal Finance Blog by Debit versus Credit

4 Ways College Students Can Save Money

October 28, 2008 | Filed in: Frugality | 6 comments

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Being myself a student I’m fully aware of all of the potential cost-savings that can come along with pursuing a higher education.  Of course these cost-savings don’t come cheaply: paying for college can cost thousands to tens of thousands of dollars a year.  But you’re already paying for that right?  You might as well take full advantage of what you’re paying for and listed below are 4 ways to do just that.

• Cancel your magazine and newspaper subscriptions.  The library at your university or community college is more than likely well stocked with all of the latest magazines and newspapers.  You may not find any of those “special interest” magazines that you keep under your bed, but you’ll likely find all mainstream magazines as well as business and hobby magazines.
• Cancel your gym membership.  Many colleges offer unlimited use of their workout facilities.  Take advantage of this.  There is no point to paying for an expensive gym membership when you probably already have full access to the gym at your school.
• Cancel your Internet.  I’m willing to bet that your college offers free Wi-Fi everywhere on campus.  I’m also willing to bet that their Internet access is a lot faster than your current one.  If you live on campus or close enough to the campus where it’s just a hop skip and a jump away you might consider cancelling your Internet and taking your laptop to school whenever you need (or want) to use the Internet.
• Take your date to school.  If you’re looking for a great date idea that doesn’t cost much then look no further than your local college campus.  I’m not talking about taking her to your accounting class with you (you’ll not likely have a girlfriend any longer if you do this) but rather taking advantage of the sports courts that your campus has.  More than likely your campus has racquetball courts, tennis courts, a sand volleyball court and a basketball court.  Volleyball and racquetball are my favorites, but maybe your date prefers to play some b-ball.  Either way it’s all right there, for you to use.

Tags: Frugality, Money Saving Tips, Money Saving Tips for Students

An Easy Way To Save Money: Plan.

October 21, 2008 | Filed in: Frugality | 2 comments

Today we’ll be featuring a guest post from Michael Caldwell at UseTheDollar.com, a finance blog for college students.

Stores Expect to Sell you more than you came for

The majority of my unplanned spending is composed of impulse buying of items in stores. Your lack of planning and Store’s tricky methods cause you to spend way more than you need to be.

Though many people, notably women, go shopping just for the rush; I rarely step foot in a store without some sort of mission. “I want this book” or “I want this new sweater” — So I go looking for that item. Barnes and Nobles is counting on me to see other things and walk out with them as well as my book though. Stores spend money to fool you.

A large amount of employees’ time, marketing expenses, and floor space is spent to build displays of items they’d like you to bring home. Here are some steps you can take to keep yourself from spending more than necessary at the store.

1. Always take a list.

Whether you are shopping for Christmas, for clothes, or just going to the grocery store; do not go without a list of what you need to buy. And do NOT deviate from the plan. Stick to your list and there’s no way for you to buy on impulse.

2. Take Cash

Another great control on your spending is to only bring cash. By deciding how much you’ll spend (using your list and prices) before you leave, you can take an envelope of cash in that amount. This way, you won’t charge or spend any more than you have planned.

Impulse buying adds up fast. Bringing cash is a surefire way to not go overboard.

3. Clip Coupons

The Sunday paper, cliche as it may be, will cost between $2 and $3 each week. It can contain anywhere from $150 to $300 worth of coupons. Granted, you won’t use all of them, but if you can find even $3 worth of savings then you’ve made it worth having bought that paper. Hey, maybe you’ll even read a little and educate yourself some.

Looking for another way to save more and build wealth? Check out my post on boosting your active and passive income.

4. Don’t fall for store trickery

How often do you see a mannequin with only a shirt on? Stores understand that psychologically, if you see a shirt that you want to buy that is on display with a nice pair of pants, you’re likely to buy the pants as well! Don’t fall for their trickery. Buy what you went in for and nothing else.

5. Put on the blinders

I used to work in Retail and whenever I would work the cash register (actually, we called it the Box Office at the Disney Store) I would be required to ask each customer if they would like to add one of our counter items to their purchase. These ranged from $1-$5, and it amazed me how many people actually fell for this. They never needed that stupid cup or poorly made stuffed animal, but hey: it was cheap, convenient, and they might even hurt my feelings if they didn’t buy it; so they did. Put on your blinders at the register. You’ve nearly completed your mission — don’t succumb to the corporate mischief now.

By following these tips I think you’ll be very surprised just how much you manage to save. An amazing amount of your money goes towards items you never planned or needed to buy — if you can eliminate impulse spending, you’ll be able to build some serious wealth.

You may also be interested in checking out these easy money saving tips for students.

About The Author

Michael Caldwell is a lifelong entrepreneur who has become active in the Financial world. He is the Co-Founder of UseTheDollar.com, and provides valuable, insightful posts, videos, and explanations to help students better understand the financial world.

Tags: Frugality, Guest Post, Money Saving Tips

Using Your Credit Card (Wisely) Can Save You Money

September 11, 2008 | Filed in: Frugality | 4 comments

I’m no fan of credit card debt.  It’s just about the easiest way to ruin your life, financially speaking.  However I am an advocate of using credit cards when they can benefit you financially.  Believe it or not there are several ways that using a credit card for purchases can actually save you money.  It only works however if you don’t carry balances over from month to month – otherwise all that money you saved by using your card will have just gone right back to your credit card company in the form of interest payments.

As I mentioned when you use your card for certain purchases it can actually save you money by providing coverage such as warranty extensions and insurance free of charge.  Let’s cover just a few of these savings.  As a disclaimer you may want to verify that your credit card offers these benefits.  With that being said I have noticed that they are pretty standard benefits.

Skip The Car Rental Insurance

When was the last time that you rented a car?  Did you pay for the extra car rental insurance?  This “protection” usually adds a decent amount of money to your bill.  Did you know that your credit card offers the same protection just by using your card to reserve and pay for the car rental?  This insurance usually covers around $50,000 worth of damages caused by collision and theft.  So next time you rent a car say no to the rental company and just use your credit card.

Watch Out For Falling Prices

Let’s say that after careful consideration you’ve decided to buy yourself a brand new HDTV.  You’ve shopped around and found the lowest price and decide to spring for said TV.  You’ve heard, however, that there is a chance that prices could be dropping on these types of TV’s in the next several months.  Should you wait?  You could.  Why not just charge it on your credit card though?  By doing so they guarantee that if the price drops they’ll refund you the difference (as long as it’s within 60 days).  Of course there are limitations such as a maximum refund amount (probably $250) and it does not apply to Internet purchases, etc.

Don’t Buy The Extended Warranty

Let’s say that you go ahead and buy that HDTV that we talked about just a second ago.  As you’re checking out the cashier asks you if you’d like to buy an extended warranty on the TV.  The damage?  It’s going to cost you $90 to do it.  While I feel that these warranties can be useful for certain purchases they are most often just too expensive to justify the extra warranty.  But did you know that if you use your credit card to pay for it that they will often double the manufacturers warranty up to a maximum of 1 year?  So you can still feel peace of mind and save money by turning down that extended warranty offer from the store.

Travel (Or Don’t) With Peace Of Mind

Have you ever tried to get a refund from an airline company because you are unable to take the trip that you’ve planned due to an illness, death, layoff or some other issue?  If you have then you know how frustrating it can be trying to get your money back.  The airlines will do anything they can to avoid giving you a refund.  Next time you book your tickets make sure you do it with your credit card because if you do your credit card company will refund your money up to $1,500 dollars if you are unable to take the trip.  They provide trip cancellation/trip interruption coverage at no extra charge.

How many of these perks were you aware of?  There are still several more perks that credit card companies offer, which are usually pretty standard.  However you may want to check with yours before you try to take advantage of any of the perks I’ve listed.

Related Links: Find a great card with great credit card rates at Credit Card Specialist!

Tags: Credit Card Deals, Credit Card Perks, Frugality, Saving Money With Your Credit Card

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