Alright, so there are plenty of sites/blogs around about how to save money. And most of them have the same techniques to offer in how to save money. But most of them don’t include ways to save while paying tuition, books, etr. Well, I’ve been in grad school long enough to know how to survive financially when money is a little tight already.
So a little about my current financial situation:
Loans
While in grad school fulltime, I took the loan route (which has gone into repayment a couple months ago). I’m still in school technically, except not taking any classes so I’m able to work full-time (and I do, believe me I currently have 1 full-time job and one, soon to be 2 part-time jobs). But anyways, I still have my undergrad loan (which has just essentially been collecting interest but, I have been making payments on it. It is down to about $18,000 (which actually is about what it was when I graduated from undergrad so I’ve at least have been taking care of the interest).
My loan from grad school is about $66,000…..before the interest. Why so much? Because I decided to go to a private school, was offered the max amount they give for loans, and took it so I wouldn’t have to worry about money while in school. My undergrad institution was a private school too but, I had a scholarship that paid for over half the tuition (yay!).
Work
I work essentially 50+ hours a week. My fulltime job, while it doesn’t pay as much as what I went to school for, but still pays enough for me to live without too much worry. I also have a job which I work about 8 hours a week at on average. A third job has popped up where my estimated hours will be about 4 so no biggie. It was literally handed to me where I was asked if I wanted it, I said yes, they gave it to me. No application/resume needed. Though my schedule can have me working very odd hours, it works.
Additional Living Costs
I think the biggest one is that I did not skip out on having cable (or a landline) when I moved here. It’s worth it though, especially on stressful days where I just needed to watch some garbage tv or when my cell phone decided to randomly turn itself off in the middle of phone conversations a couple years back.
The next biggest cost would have to me my two cats. I want them to have the best diets possible to avoid potential health problems (and larger vet bills later to boot) and they both have food allergies so I do spend more for better cat food than what you find down the aisle at Petsmart. Plus with all their litter and toys, the cost adds up to upwards of around $150 a month (mostly from food). I probably spend more for their food than I do for mine but it’s worth not having to clean up cat puke every day from buying the cheaper food.
The other costs would be the usual for anyone my age: rent, natural gas, electric, car gas, you know, things you really can’t avoid.
Saving Money
Okay, so now the part you really are interested in: saving money. We’ll start with the basic need of food for this post.
Buying from Home
We all like to eat out every so often and that's fine. However, instead of buying your lunch at work/on campus every day, why not bring something from home? Most likely, the place you’re buying the food at is way overpriced to begin with so you’ll end up saving A LOT in the long run.
We all like to eat out every so often and that's fine. However, instead of buying your lunch at work/on campus every day, why not bring something from home? Most likely, the place you’re buying the food at is way overpriced to begin with so you’ll end up saving A LOT in the long run.
Here’s an example to demonstrate: The typical salad can run you $3 - $10 depending where you go and what’s on it. If you buy the ingredients yourself, the cost to make essentially 4 of the exact same salads can typically run from $4 - $10. Pat yourself on the back because you saved at least $10 for every 4 salads you make yourself. The same can be said for sandwhiches, soups, etr.
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Le Chef
While I’m on the topic, learn to cook. There are plenty of websites that give free recipes. Or you can invest in a cookbook or two (or use the ones you already have lying around). Most recipes make 6 servings or more which means you only have to cook a couple times a week if you don't mind eating the same thing all week.
Food Prices
While I’m on the topic, learn to cook. There are plenty of websites that give free recipes. Or you can invest in a cookbook or two (or use the ones you already have lying around). Most recipes make 6 servings or more which means you only have to cook a couple times a week if you don't mind eating the same thing all week.
Food Prices
When shopping there are a few things you can do to save money. You can invest in getting a Sunday paper and use the coupons. I'm not talking the extreme couponing but just using a few while grocery shopping. Of course you have to use coupons at least the value of the paper to save any money. For example, the Sunday paper here costs $2.50 so I would have to use $2.50 in coupons to get my money back before actually saving some money. I used to buy a paper every week to stock up of household items (more about that in the next post) but now I only buy it the weeks they have the most coupon inserts (about once a month).
Where you shop can also save you money. Farmers markets are usually the best bet for fresh and cheap produce. However, if you don't have one nearby or find out they really are not that much cheaper (happens to me here) then getting your produce where you get everything else is good too. Now, some people suggest planning out what items you are going to get at different places depending where things are cheaper and what's on sale etc etc. This isn't the best for many of us for two reasons:
1. It takes time which most of us are already pressed for.
2. Sure you may save some money but in most cases, that money is spent in gas and time.
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Where you shop can also save you money. Farmers markets are usually the best bet for fresh and cheap produce. However, if you don't have one nearby or find out they really are not that much cheaper (happens to me here) then getting your produce where you get everything else is good too. Now, some people suggest planning out what items you are going to get at different places depending where things are cheaper and what's on sale etc etc. This isn't the best for many of us for two reasons:
1. It takes time which most of us are already pressed for.
2. Sure you may save some money but in most cases, that money is spent in gas and time.
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Sale Items
I think this deserved its own spot. A good rule to follow is that if it's not perishable then stock up. You may be wasting your money if you buy a lot of produce for example, and then have to throw it away. If the item can be frozen and you have room in your freezer, stock up. Another idea is to use the sale item in a few new recipes.
I think this deserved its own spot. A good rule to follow is that if it's not perishable then stock up. You may be wasting your money if you buy a lot of produce for example, and then have to throw it away. If the item can be frozen and you have room in your freezer, stock up. Another idea is to use the sale item in a few new recipes.
About the whole going from store to store business to get the best price: I recently read an article where someone compared the amount of money saved going to different places to their time, something most people don't think about (except my friend who is an economics professor). Think about it, let's say it takes you 10 minutes to drive to the store, 10 minutes to shop, 10 minutes to check out, and 10 minutes to drive home. Let's say you save $10 doing this and you take public transportation or walk so gas is not a cost. Basically you valued the hour you spent doing this (don't forget you have to do the research on the item prices most of the time) at $10. In that hour, you could have done essentially anything else.
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