Don’t Buy Expensive Food
Food is one of the most important necessities you will need in college, but it can get pretty expensive if you do not buy the right items. That is why you must make a weekly budget and stick to it. For example, if you can afford $30 a week for groceries, do not spend more than that amount. A good way to save money on groceries is to buy the generic items instead of the name brand items. Foods like cereal, peanut butter and chips taste the same, whether they come from name brands or generic brands. Check the newspaper every week for coupons because they can save you a lot of money on your grocery bill. Also do not eat at restaurants too often. Eating a fast food meal every couple of weeks is one thing, but eating out every night can really drain your funds.

Get a Roommate
An easy way to cut down on the cost of rent is to get a roommate. If you do not know anyone to share an apartment with, put an ad up on the bulletin board at your college. If you cut the cost of rent in half, you can even afford renter’s insurance. If you have renters insurance, your possessions will be covered if your apartment is robbed or catches on fire. Go to RentersInsurance.com to find a policy that is right for you.

Shop at Garage Sales
Instead of spending loads of money on clothes, electronics, books and furniture, check out some garage sales. At a garage sale, you may find something you need for the fraction of the cost.

One thing that you can do is work with a company that needs leaflets distributed. It will be up to you to decide how many to distribute on a given day. Most likely, you will need to buy the leaflets, and then you will be compensated for your work after the fact, so you will need to be willing to invest a bit of money into this venture and to be responsible for actually following through with what you have promised to do. Otherwise, you will just have a lot of leaflets on your hands and nothing to do with them.

Another good option is to offer your cleaning services. This is something that you can do for your fellow students right on campus. College students tend to be very messy and not want to bother about cleaning, so you should have no shortage of clients. The only trouble will be finding someone willing to pay for your services. One thing that you can do is emphasize the need to have a clean room when parents or other special guests come to visit. This may entice the student to panic enough that they will be willing to shell out some money for the peace of mind of knowing they won’t get chewed out for their messiness.

You might also make money as a vendor of sorts selling event tickets to fellow students. By the same token, you can try to organise trips and show the other students all of the options that are available to them on a limited budget. They may be very grateful to you for showing them possibilities that they had not considered before. College students can see some fascinating places without spending a lot of money, but sometimes it takes a little help from a savvy traveler to show just how much they can do.

One business possibility that is always appreciated is babysitter. Some college students have children to look after, so you can look among your fellow college students first and then venture out into the community to see who could use a hand with babysitting. If you are preparing to be a teacher, this can be great practice for dealing with children. It can also provide valuable experience for future parenting.

If you are skilled in writing, you may be able to help other students by offering your tutoring services or proofreading their papers. It would be unethical to write papers for other students, but many students could use some major help in getting the papers that they have written up to the professors’ standards. This is where you can be a valuable assistant, so you will be helping your fellow students to achieve good grades and earning some extra cash for yourself.

A resourceful college student need not work at a job in retail or fast food to make ends meet. Think about your skills, and create your own business opportunities accordingly.

Comparethemarket is a UK price comparison site that can help you save money on a range of financial products. Whether you’re looking for car, home or life insurance, or a quote on a loan or a credit card, Comparethemarket are able to help you find the best deals without spending all your time looking.

Oh and don’t forget, make the most of Black Friday! There are lots of deals to be had!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

BookRenter, a San Mateo, CA based start-up growing at a startling 725% per year, rents textbooks to college students at a fraction of the price (according to the website, they’ll save students 75% off the full-retail price). But with all the chatter this year about textbook rental, that fact may not come as a surprise to you.

Perhaps more noteworthy is that the company also has a charitable side – BookRenter Gives Back. Currently BookRenter is a running a holiday book drive of sorts via its e-card giving campaign “Spread the Words”. For every e-card that is sent from http://ecard.bookrenter.com, BookRenter makes a donation to First Book, a non-profit that provides new book donations to children’s schools and organizations. First Book ensures that these books get in the hands of the kids who need them most – students like those of KIPP Comienza Community Prep.

If you’re reading this you basically have no excuse not to send an e-card. They’re cute, they help out helpless children, and everyone likes receiving cards – even virtual ones. These e-cards are especially special because BookRenter seems to have enlisted the help of Olive the Reindeer from Chronicle Books Olive is a cheerful flightless reindeer of which I have some fond childhood memories.

OK, now go send those e-cards!

• Do you commute to campus?
• More ways to go green while a student!
• There’s a new tax credit for college students!
• Parking on campus sucks!

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!

• Thinking about buying a new computer? Read this first.
• Here’s how to make a playlist for the next party you throw.
• It’s hard to balance the college schedule. Here’s how to do it better.
• True or False: “Liquor before beer keeps you in the clear!”
• Ladies: Need fashion but are on a budget? Look here.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!

• Stop wasting your money by doing these ten things.
• Over 100 tips on how to survive college.
• Does your dorm room suck? Here’s how to make it better!
• Start your year off right when it comes to your health.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!

Here’s a little introduction from Maria:

Hello to all the College Students are Poor readers! My name is Maria Schwartzman, and I’m a senior computer science major with a Spanish minor at a small liberal arts school in Indiana. Around campus I am very involved and am on the cross country and track teams, run the knitting group, participate as a tour guide, and am the head computer science tutor, among many other activities currently and over the past years.

For CSAP, I’ll be writing a lot about how to save money by living a sustainable lifestyle! This will include dorm room gardening tips, cooking and recipe ideas, farmer’s markets and other locally-grown food options, and other ways to go green as a college student. Greening up your lifestyle is a great way to save some money and become healthier in the process. I can’t wait to share things I’ve learned with you all and am really looking forward to hearing your ideas and feedback!

I’m very much excited to have Maria writing for the site! She is going to bring a ton of great insight for you all to read! Go and take a look at Maria’s website and also make sure you are following her on Twitter! Also, please leave a comment and welcome Maria to CSAP!

• Want to maximize your dorm space? Try these ideas.
• Do NOT bring these things to college with you!
• A quick read about some big-time college sports scandals.
• Smile!
• More reasons not to buy things from your college bookstore.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!