Student budget tips. Because money makes the world go around.
All of my friends are in their first year of living in off-campus apartments, so money is a constant topic of conversation, concerning how to save it and also make it. If I had a dollar for every time my friends said something along the lines of: “I’m getting groceries soon,” I wouldn’t be a rich man, but I’d have a few Benjamins to boot. Frugal lifestyles can seem scary and dreary due to the notion of sacrificing some material pleasures, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some budget tips from UC Berkeley students to help you manage your money.
“Dormammu, I’ve Come to Bargain.”
Costs are inevitable, as to function, we need the basic necessities. Additionally, we need some fun and pleasure to not be miserable and go crazy. So when it is time to break out the wallet, make sure you’re getting a good deal!
“I’d take that deal!”: One of my favorite ways of saving is using rewards apps for places I shop often. For example, my stubs account for AMC gives me 4 free movies a week, and free popcorn refills, among other things. Whenever I go see movies in Emeryville with my friends, the routine is for them to Venmo me and then I buy tickets. That way, the online convenience fee is waived, and I get tons of rewards points we can use to get free snacks.
Check for cost savings from monthly subscription services. If you have monthly subscription-based services and you know you’ll use them, make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. For instance, I try to see at least two movies a month at AMC, and if I didn’t have Stubs, it would’ve cost more than the monthly subscription cost itself.
One last trick I’ve started using is to look for cheaper options of the same item. The most dominant companies will take up most of the shelf space and can drive their prices up. Last time I went shopping, I needed applesauce, and unsurprisingly, there was mostly Motts on the shelf. I found a cheaper version from Good and Gather, and it ended up tasting just as good! Doing this gives you the double satisfaction of buying the smaller company’s product and knowing you saved money. Learning about cost relative to weight (like dollars per ounce) will also help you stay within your budget.
“So what do I owe you? Nothing, it’s free!”: We are blessed as college students at UC Berkeley to have many things available to us for free, many of which we will not be able to have for free once we graduate. This topic is covered thoroughly in Melissa’s “Free, fun, for Cal students” article, and I will highlight some of my favorite free things to use.
BayPass is truly a godsend, especially for commuter students who use the Bart every day. We already pay for AC transit to be free, so as long as you use the BART every now and then, the cost make itself up in no time. BAMPFA is a very underrated option, there are thousands of film archives you can see for free, and don’t forget the Student Union events! Llamapalooza is always a favorite. It may not be an official campus tradition, but you should go to one of the events and get a llama selfie before you graduate
“Because…I don’t have any money!”
Now that we’ve covered where and how to find good deals, let’s go into how to budget properly. How you spend your money is crucial. How you save is just as crucial.
“Write that down, write that down!”: Keep track of everything you spend money on, as well as they money you are earning. It’s good to categorize things based on the type of purchase, breaking it into, for example, food, utilities, tuition, subscriptions, and any other miscellaneous costs. A few of my friends have a whiteboard diagram breaking down utilities costs in their apartments, and when one of my other friends saw it, he enviously took a picture and vowed to implement that in his own apartment. Organization goes a long way.
Avoid extra costs, watch out for subscriptions: Services you forgot about signing up for with a free trial before eventually turning into a monthly cost can sneak up on you. The cost adds up, especially if you have a lot of monthly subscriptions. The $20 a month isn’t a lot, until you have multiple services at that same cost.
As someone who has the Berkeley Dining unlimited meal plan, I try to avoid using extra money for meals outside of that. I already have infinite meal swipes at the dining commons and campus restaurants, and $250 dollars every semester for Grubhub. In the rare instances where I do get dinner off-campus without using grubhub, it’s usually when I’m going somewhere with friends. Beyond that, I try to go somewhere cheap or somewhere that’s a local, small business. My freshman year roommate used to stock up on Taco Bell whenever he didn’t want dining hall food, and it was always a steal since the options with more food end up being a better bang for your buck as long as you finish all the food. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the most underrated option if you’re living in the dorms, and that’s a microwaveable meal, like mac and cheese or ramen noodles. You’re not spending money to eat since it’s an upfront investment, and it’s a fast, reliable option when it’s late at night and everywhere else is closed.
Time to save: With prior knowledge, knowing how to go about saving money can be daunting. But the campus has a lot of great resources, like the many student financial coaches, who can help you plan your budget: learn about one student’s experience with a Financial Coaching session. They are there to give you advice on things like spending plans, along with savings and banking.
For me personally, my philosophy at this point in life is be as frugal as possible and save as much money as I possibly can. Almost all of my money at any given time is in my savings account. Beyond that, I’ve been looking into a high-yield savings account, and a lot of my friends have started investing in stocks.
Time to get a job: Having a steady stream of income is so important as a college student. With the money I’m making as a writer for this blog, along with money I saved up working at a burger place in high school, I’ll be able to graduate from UC Berkeley debt-free, which was my goal from the beginning.
“Imma Get a Scholarship to King’s College!”: Even if you already get scholarship money to go to this school, outside scholarships are worth looking into. Millions of dollars of it go unclaimed every year. So if you don’t have a job or are looking for one, this is a chance for you to make money. Learn how UC Berkeley senior Nina successfully found scholarships to help offset college costs.
“Hey, Macklemore! Can we go thrift shopping?”
One thing I really wanted to highlight, since it has been a recent revelation for me, is thrift shopping. After getting rid of an ungodly amount of my old clothes last summer, it really hit me just how much we Americans overconsume when it comes to clothing. We have enough of it on Earth to clothe the next three to four generations. Thrifting is not only a way to combat overconsumption, but is usually way more affordable, and is really diverse in options and styles.
The sweater I ended up using for my Halloween costume!
When looking for my Halloween costume last year, I couldn’t find any options that weren’t super expensive, so I resorted to a DIY costume. I already had some things that worked in my closet, but I needed more. I was aware of a lot of my friends who had done thrifting in the past to make their costumes, so I gave it a try. It took a decent amount of searching, but after going to Out of the Closet with my friend, I found the perfect shirt for my costume at a very reasonable price. I was so impressed with the whole ordeal that instead of asking for clothes for Christmas, I asked my family for money so I could go out and get stuff at the thrift store instead. It’s very trendy now, but it really should be a lifestyle, and your fashion game won’t suffer at all from it.
Go and get that bread!
Finding ways to save is indeed stressful. Becoming frugal requires stepping away from the routine and the convenience. Most of all, it takes up time, which we have so little of right now as busy college students. But time invested in saving and making money now will save so much time and money for you down the line. What we do now will set us up for the rest of our lives, and the sooner we save, the more time it’ll have to compound and grow. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start saving instead of spending.
Nolan Zils, Class of 2027, is majoring in Media Studies and minoring in Journalism and Creative Writing.
Want more?
- Learn more about how to manage your finances in Nina’s article!
- Meet a Financial Wellness Coach and how to get in touch with them!
- Read Melissa’s story to discover fun and/or free things available to UC Berkeley students!