College Candy

I’ve simply never been the best with saving money. While I do always pay my bills on time and never go hungry, I am still fundamentally pretty hedonistic and tend to ‘blow’ any extra money I’ve got on anything shiny, fun, or alcoholic.

Nonetheless, I’ve learned to actually save money in recent years. I’ve learned that there are things I do WANT (that cater to my hedonism) that require saved money. So, I’ve cut back on some things that used to completely drain my wallet and saved more than you can imagine. Here are 5 tips if you’d like to do the same:

REPLACE YOUR ENERGY DRINKS WITH COFFEE. FROM HOME.

I have a serious caffeine addiction. It’s not cute; it’s tormenting. The worst part is that I truly do prefer a sugar free Red Bull to a cup of coffee. But I’ve learned to cut back. At $2-$3 a can, my energy drinks can be shelved for the most *crucial* of days…which is not, contrary to my previous beliefs, every single day of the week. Now I brew my own iced coffee every morning and use a box of splenda to get over my sugar fears. It absolutely does the trick and I’ve saved at least $45 a month doing this.

DRINK FOR FREE. (or cheaply)

Okay. You can’t drink for free in every city, but you can plan ahead. Using websites like myopenbar.com will get you drinking for free in cities like New York and Los Angeles. For everyone else out there, take note of the happy hours near you. Plan your drinking around these sort of things! Don’t fool yourself into believing that $8 for a glass of wine is ok. Screw that. Get a bottle and drink it with your friends before you head out to the concert…or lecture. And remember that flask you got as a joke for your birthday that one year? Yeah. Use it. Learning to combat my drinking spending has saved me an incredible amount of money. I’d say that it saves me about $200 a month these days.

YOUR FOOD SPLURGES… LETS TALK.

You don’t have to always meet your friends for dinner. That kinda stuff adds up! There’s nothing wrong at all with meeting for coffee, or dessert, or coffee AND dessert. If you’re trying to save money, tell your friends you’ll be late to dinner but you can join them for dessert. This way, you’ll be spending $5-$10 instead of $15-$40. Learning to choose my dinner outings carefully has started to save me at least $100 a month.

WATCH YOUR TRANSPORTATION.

If you’re in a big city, you’re a little better off than everyone else these days. At least you can use the subways and buses..which are…respectively, much cheaper than gas. But watch out for those compulsive trips in a taxi. They add up. As for everyone else, there are ways to combat gas prices. First of all, buy a bike if you don’t have one. They’re a small investment, but they’ll save you tons of money in the end. Be careful about riding home drunk though, cause, um, you can (cough cough) get a DUI for this. On top of the bike, carpool with your friends…or WALK. Do whatever you can not to use your car. It’s better for your wallet and the environment, too. I’ve saved around $40 a month from thinking carefully about my transportation spending, but I don’t drive. I’m sure that throwing the price of gas into the equation could lead to savings in the hundreds per month.

OH BEAUTY, IT’S A B*TCH.

Far too many girls I know spend far too much money on looking ‘beautiful’. I just don’t believe in it. I believe in cutting your hair yourself when you can. I believe in dying your hair yourself. I believe in home manicures/pedicures, self-made spa treatments, and shopping sprees at Salvation Army. If you find that you’re spending a good chunk of change on purses, shoes, massages, nails, hair…it’s time to think about your life a little more. Are you SURE there aren’t alternatives for your appearance-oriented spending? I’ve certainly found an alternative to most of the typical girl beauty spending and I bet you can, too. I’ve managed to save around $150 a month by doing things myself.

(Photo from: smallbusinessanswers.com)