…unless you absolutely have to
I am in Biology 101 this quarter (yes I know, easy class, but it fulfills a GEC; General Education Credit), and the book was supposed to be about $100. Previously, I’d always been a good boy and purchased every textbook for every class. I shared a textbook a few times, but even then I helped pay for it. So, I thought to myself, “let’s try something new.” I didn’t purchase the textbook right away, and decided to wait and see how the class is. Well, it turns out, I certainly didn’t need the textbook. Every lecture comes with a nifty PowerPoint presentation with all the information on it. We don’t even need to do readings from the textbook. I’d finally successfully avoided getting ripped off.
So, here’s the monumental tip: don’t buy your textbooks right away. If the class is conducted mostly in lecture, and you think you can get through without having to read from the book, then don’t buy it.
There are many ways to save money on textbooks; not buying them is the most financially beneficial. Of course, some classes need the textbook (or lab books, or special editions of textbooks, course packets, etc), but you will always find out in a week or two. Sometimes, you find out the very first day of class. I’d lost money too many times (one time I bought an Economics textbook that came in pages, binder ready. We never once even opened the book because the class was entirely lecture notes. Of course, the store wouldn’t buy the book back at the end of the quarter because it wasn’t bound. I learned my lesson.).
You should never sacrifice your grades just for financial reasons. However, more often than not, you’ll run into a few classes during your college experience that don’t ever use the textbook. Take advantage, and save some money.
November 21 2007 | Financial Advice | 2 Comments »
Our Earth is made up of about 71% of this (according to my favorite encyclopedia), and it’s very useful, as well as cheap. Unfortunately, too many people pay money for it, when in fact it can be obtained for free. Yes, you’ve guessed it; I’m talking about water. Drinking it can be a fantastic financial decision.
I know what you may be thinking. “Whoa, of course water is free, but how can it help me save money if I’m a broke college student.” Well, quite simply, if you drink water instead of the traditional Coke, Mountain Dew, Lemonade, Coffee, it can save you loads of money. I’ve been trying to drink more water this year to save money, since I’m now living off campus, and so I have to deal with many other financial burdens than before (namely, gasoline). So far, I feel that I’ve saved quite a bit of green. How? Think about it like this:
How much is the average Soda (or Pop, depending on where you’re from)? I’d say some can cost up to $1.50, but you can find the occasional can for less than $1.00. In any case, the way college students spend money on machines, it probably averages out to about $1.00 per drink. If you’re having beer with every meal than you could bring the price up. If you are actually paying for water, then it’ll be around the same. So, if you spent $1 on a drink, per meal, every day of the week (and you’re eating three meals a day), it would average out to about $21 a week, or $84 per month. That’s a lot of money (for me anyway)! Even if you only ate two meals a day, or drank plain old water for one of the three, you’re still spending quite a bit on flavored, carbonated water (which is all soda is). I can’t even begin to think about how much money I’ve saved so far this year by using drinking fountains instead of buying drinks with lunch. I even sometimes bring a bottle with me full of water from home. It’s nice to have with lunch, and feel the happy $1.50 that’s still in my pocket, safe and sound.
Why more college students aren’t constantly drinking water I’ll never know. But, I realize some hate tap water. Personally, I feel like it’s all the same (in fact I’ve read that tap is in fact better most of the time). However, if you are really stuck on having that “natural” spring water (by the way, some companies still bottle plain old tap water, suckers), then why not spend the money on a Brita Water Jug? All you really have to pay for after the initial investment are the filters. You can very easily pour that filtered water into a bottle and bring it with you to class, or lunch, or wherever you may be heading. I guarantee you that it’s more cost effective than buying huge boxes of bottled water.
So, that’s my brilliant financial tip of the day; drink water! I know it may not be as exciting as some of the other beverages out there, but your wallet will thank you for it. If you are on a meal plan that you’re parents pay for, and beverages aren’t a financial concern to you, than I envy you. However, you still shouldn’t waste money on bottled water.
October 21 2007 | Financial Advice | No Comments »
For some reason, college students seem to get scammed quite a bit. Unfortunately, all of the scams and rip-offs cannot be avoided, but there are some good ways to help ease the pain. Here are some of the biggest rip-offs on college campuses, and some suggestions for avoiding them.
Textbooks – There may be no greater injustice than how much one must pay for textbooks. Even if you buy used textbooks from the bookstore, you still pay much, much more than they pay you when you return it at the end of the year. For example, the bookstore bought my Statistics textbook (that I paid $100 for) for $15. They turned around and were selling used copies for $50 bucks. What a rip-off! Not to mention, many of the textbooks that are required are written by the very professor who’s teaching the class. I wonder if they get a profit when someone buys the textbook they wrote? I was furious one time when I had to buy an Economics textbook for $50 dollars. We never ended up using it at all (the entire class was just lecture notes), I got my A, but the University Bookstore wouldn’t buy it back because they were releasing a new edition.
Rip-off Defense: The best way to defend against the injustice that is college textbooks is to avoid the bookstores at all costs. EBay and Facebook Marketplace are great venues to find used textbooks for better prices. There are also a slew of used textbook stores available online (although I’m not sure how good some of the deals are, or if they may be rip-offs in and of themselves). If you can buy one textbook and share it with a friend in the class, you can also save some cash. Better still is to just buy it from a friend, he or she will give you a better price than the bookstore (they may even get more than the bookstore would offer as well).
Campus Parking – Campus parking varies from school to school. From what I’ve seen, large urban schools are where students get screwed the most. At my school, a parking pass that allows you to park literally a few miles away from main campus costs $300. Four years previously it only cost $60. Not to mention the battle that usually occurs when students have to deal with parking officers. In fact, last year alone I probably spent almost $500 on parking and tickets (there’s a few lengthy stories, but I assure you, I was getting scammed by campus parking enforcers). Using parking meters is just bad news because some transportation and parking officers will sit and wait for the meter to run out (seriously, it happened to my dad when he was visiting me). Small colleges generally have much better parking, but passes are still quite expensive almost anywhere, and tickets are always terrible.
Rip-off Defense: If you don’t need a car, don’t bring it to campus. Use alternate means of transportation (campus bus services, shuttles, a bike, even a skateboard), bum rides off of your friends. You can also try to find better parking for cheaper (possibly going through local businesses), or just move your car around in business lots and hope you don’t get a ticket. Other than that, universities pretty much own students with parking fees.
Athletic Events – Now, I realize that many schools are different. Smaller schools certainly don’t make students pay for tickets (or, if they do, it’s pretty cheap). However, for those of us at big time programs, tickets to football and or basketball can be a complete rip-off. When my grandfather was at Ohio State, tickets to every football and basketball game cost a total of $5. Well, I just paid $180 for tickets to 5 home games. Oh my, how the times change. I realize that student tickets are still discounted, but given the fact that many schools don’t sit their students on the 50 (or half court), or anywhere near the best seats, I think it’s a rip-off. It’s the students’ team, so they should be allowed to have the best seats, at the lowest prices.
Rip-Off Defense: One option is obviously just not going to games. However, for me, that’s unthinkable. The best defense is to buy your tickets, and subsequently sell tickets for any games that you may not be able to attend (or don’t want to attend, although even playing a I-AA team can sometimes get interesting). Generally speaking, students can charge some alumnus much more than they paid for a halfway decent game. Some students can even profit from it. In fact, my friend actually would buy college sports tickets, and then sell them.
Credit Cards – Credit card companies LOVE college students. They give students loads of credit because they know their parents will bail them out. They also want to get students spending early and often. They offer great promotions (”sign up for this credit card and get a free hat!”) in order to get students to sign up. If you ever notice, the credit card companies and banks may be out in force when students first arrive back on campus. That’s because they want you to get in debt ASAP. They know that most college students are living on their own for the first time, and who doesn’t want to use that nice piece of plastic for pizza and beer every night of the week? Credit cards are pretty much one of the biggest rip-offs college students face.
Rip-off Defense: The biggest mistake you can make is to sign up for multiple credit cards. My step-sister once thought she’d be clever by signing up for loads of credit cards, collecting the promotional rewards, and then promptly canceling them. Well, canceling all those credit cards pretty much destroyed her credit, and it took her a long time to get it back on track. I suggest getting one credit card (because it’s a great idea to build credit while in college, else you get stuck with a $500 monthly credit limit when you’re 24, which happened to my other sister who didn’t want to get a credit card in college), sticking with it, making payments on time, and just be smart with your money. Credit card companies will still love giving you more credit (especially if you pay on time). My credit line more than doubled randomly. When I asked the credit card company why this was, they told me they weren’t at liberty to discuss it, which I thought was quite odd. In any case, they want me spending more, but I’m not going to let them win.
Random University Fees – Every time I turn around and look at my tuition bill, it seems like there’s another fee. There’s the basic classroom fee, and obviously the professors’ salary, but there’s also other fees that sometimes I don’t feel I should have to pay. Paying for a huge recreational facility that not everyone uses doesn’t seem logical to me. Paying a fee for free bus transportation when I don’t use the bus also doesn’t seem quite fair. Calculate the fact that there may be loads of other fees that seem to make little sense, and college students sometimes get ripped-off by their own university. Sometimes I wonder if Universities enjoy going Hughes Net on their students.
Rip-off defense: I’ve said it before, but use the university resources you pay for. You can’t really avoid having to pay the fees. The university is the boss, and you’re just a lowly peasant. You could have a student rally in protest if you want, but generally the results aren’t very favorable. If they are going to charge me an arm and a leg for a recreational facility, then I’m going to make sure I hit the gym like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Campus Dining – I hesitate to list this one, because it seems like every college has a different way of doing meals. My college has meal plans. My girlfriends’ college makes students pay a flat fee in the beginning of the year, and meals are essentially come and eat as you please. That being said, campus dining generally always over charges. I know students can eat more cheaply (and possibly more healthy) then they actually do. Not to mention, sometimes the quality of college cafeteria food is very poor. If I’m paying hundreds of dollars a quarter to eat, at least let me have a nice steak! Not to mention, campus-dining hours always seem to be ridiculous. I hate how on weekends cafeterias have weird hours, so students are forced to go elsewhere or figure something else out. As for breakfast, some colleges hold breakfast from like 7-10AM. What college student wants to have to wake up that early to get breakfast? Especially if they have class at 12. Maybe I’m just lazy and love sleep, but come on, is serving breakfast until 2PM really that difficult?
Rip-off Defense: The best defense for this depends on how you’re university runs things. In my case, it means choosing the cheapest meal plan that will fit your needs, and possibly getting your own food and trying to cook cheaply for yourself (Ramen noodles galore). In the case of schools like my girlfriend’s (who have to pre-pay for their food), it means eating in the cafeteria whenever possible, no matter how terrible the food might be. Pretty much having bad college food is almost unavoidable. It’s almost a right of passage.
Unfortunately, when some people look at college students, they only see dollar signs. So, following these few tips may help you to not get completely ripped-off in college (but once again, sometimes it is just unavoidable).
September 27 2007 | College Advice and Financial Advice | No Comments »