Do you need help on ways that you can save your money? Well my name’s Karen, a fourth year student majoring in Merchandising Management and I’m going to tell you some of the things I’ve done to save as much money as I can!
1. FREE FOOD: First of all when people say that they take advantage of the free food; let me tell you, we aren’t joking!
- Seriously tho, take advantage and go to all and any events that provide free food.
- Even if you may feel embarrassed, just go because chances are that most of the people attending are just going because of the free food (who doesn’t want to save money on a meal and or dont have the time to cook their own meal.)
- This applies to you especially when you’re not living on campus anymore and you’re on your own… It’s a struggle trying to find/make time to prepare a meal
- How I’ve found about free food on campus;
- List serves that i’m on from either my particular college I’m in, clubs I’m a member of, special program I’m in (CAMP, TRIO, EOP), departments on campus (DCE, SSI, SLI), and the cultural centers
- Also following different OSU pages in social media that will post events (facebook and twitter)
- Twitter= @EatFreeOSU
2. GROCERY SHOPPING: I’m not picky at all on where to go grocery shopping, and if you aren’t either and want to save money → Go grocery shopping at Winco!
- But I mean if you feel the need to go buy your groceries at Trader Joes then by all means you do you, but if you’re trying to save money probably not your best option…
3. SNAP: I get food stamps in order to have enough money to pay my bills and not be stressing on money for groceries.
- If you’re a full time student and get work study through FAFSA you should be eligible for SNAP → Apply (it doesn’t hurt to try), extra money for food is always good!
4. Textbooks: In case you don’t already know, textbooks are expensive especially buying them from the OSU Bookstore!
- Textbook lending → I take advantage of the textbook lending program at the HSRC; where students are able to borrow books for the whole term at no cost! You can check if the HSRC has the books you need either online at: osulibrary.oregonstate.edu or by going into the office
- Scanning chapters → If you search on osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/ and the book is at the library I go and checkout the library for the 3 hours and scan the important chapters that are needed for the class (since we don’t go over the whole book).
- Renting → If I can’t find the book at either the textbook lending program or at the library then i will search and see if there’s a possibility for me to rent my book (which is cheaper than buying the book). You should search and try and find the place where it’s the cheapest to rent the book(s). Places where i have rented my book from: Amazon, Chegg, osu bookstore
5. Classes: If you’re able to stay in Corvallis the whole year then summer classes are a way to go!
- Usually summer classes will be cheaper over the summer than during the rest of the school year, so if you can I would try and go with that option!
- Also if you like learning at a fast pace than you can register for classes that are only a couple weeks (which you could potentially take the same or more classes for cheaper over the summer).
6. Driving: I personally don’t drive my car around much.
- I take the public bus to campus, which is also very convenient if you have a job on campus (you don’t have to pay for a parking pass -which is expensive, and you save money on gas).
- You can also ride a bike if you’re not in walking distance of campus, and prefer not to take the bus.
7. Living: rooming with multiple people can always help you save money!
- If you are cool with sharing a room, I would highly encourage you to do so (I have shared a room with my best friend for 3 years now). This has helped cut our rent expense by half!
