Back to School // Money Saving Tips / hello, it's kelly

Going back to school, especially when your in college, can mean spending lots and lots of money. You get it and then within a blink of an eye, it's gone. I go to school closer to home and I also live at home, which means I don't spend as much. But, when I spent my first year of college away from home and in the dorms, I was always finding myself low on cash. Pizza nights, campus activities, and shopping sprees can leave anyone broke. Hopefully these money saving tips will help you save a little extra cash this year.

Tip #1 - Shop with friends

I like shopping alone most of the time, but sometime I wish I had my best friend there to tell me if I should really buy something. Shopping with a friend can help make tough decisions easier. They can tell you if that shirt is ugly or those jeans make your ass look huge and stop you from making a decisions you'll regret later.

Tip #2 - Don't toss your receipts

I know receipts can be super annoying to carry around, but don't throw them away! Many stores give you 14 days to get a better deal and 90 days to return most items. So if that cute top you just bough goes on sale the next week, bring it in with the receipt and ask for the lower price. Or those animal print skinnys seem a bit too much, bring them back and return them. I keep my receipts in a little coin purse so they don't pile up in my purse.

Tip #3 - Rent your textbooks

My first year of college I bought all my books through the campus bookstore and it was a ton of money! The next semester I looked into renting my books from sites like CollegeBookRenter and Chegg and I saved over $200 instantly. Instead of buying the books and being stuck with them forever, you rent them for a semester at an already lower price and then return them when your done. No need to keep those nasty biology book that you're never going to look at again.

Tip #4 - Get a school id

I know most schools automatically give you these, but some don't. An extra $15 to get you a student id can go a long way. A lot of places on and near campus give you student discounts if you show them your id. I used this all the time when ordering pizza and got a 10% discount each time!

Cake time from Dairy Queen

Tip #5 - Check your campus event calendar

A lot of colleges host events every week that serve free food. Need I say more? Pick up a calender or look on your campus website for events that are being held.