Buying Clothes

These are a few pieces from my own closet.  I have got each of these items for less than $20 at one of the stores in my post.

Whether you're like my roommate and go shopping once a week or like me and go once every few months, everyone buys new clothes in college.  The difference is my roommate would shop at Buckle and get one pair of jeans for $110... and I would shop at TJ Maxx and buy three shirts for $20.  Today I'm going to give you some tips on how you can get a great wardrobe for less.

Like I mentioned, TJ Maxx is a great store to get cheap clothing.  They have a wide selection of designer handbags, dresses, shoes, shirts, and accessories.  Some other good stores with cheap clothing include Target, Plato's Closet, and Gordmans.  Target has cute style and are good for getting clothes, shoes, and especially swimsuits.  I shop at Gordmans for their cheap name-brand perfumes, camisoles of any color, and apartment or dorm decorations.  Other stores to try are American Eagle, Vanity, and Rue 21.

The first place you should always shop in the sales rack.  You never know what goodies you're going to find on clearance.  Another tip is to sign up for emails from the stores you shop the most, or even ones you wouldn't shop at without a coupon.  This comes with a warning because sometimes these daily emails can make you want to buy things just because you can get a good price.

Bottom line: Buy clothes for cheaper at these stores or with coupons.

Get Water Instead

If you're like me, you like to go out to eat. This can get expensive over the course of a year, but by following my tips you'll be able to save big!

First, you can follow my other post's tip and use coupons. When thinking of going out to eat, skim through your coupon book first. That will save you a couple bucks off your total.

Another tip I have for all you college savers out there is to DRINK WATER. Not only is water healthier for you, it's also free... Score! Who doesn't like free stuff?! If you figure you go out to eat once a week, it costs $2.00 for a pop. Take that times 52 weeks in a year = $104.00 a year. And most students go out to eat more than that. Figure twice a week times 52 weeks = $208.00 a year.

Think of all the things you could spend that money on! Whether it's clothes, shoes, or beer... it's worth more than that one or two sodas a week.

Bottom line: Soda is expensive. Getting a water saves lots over time.

Stock Up on Coupons

Coupons, coupons, coupons!

As a bargain shopper, there's nothing I love more than a good coupon.   As a student, you don't have a lot of excess money for going out to eat, getting your hair done, buying groceries, and getting your oil changed in your car.  Luckily, there's coupons!  At the University of Northern Iowa there are plenty of ways to get coupons.  You can easily get the College Coupon books, Campus Special coupon books, and the university planner with coupons in the back.  They hand out all of these for FREE around campus.  The best part is that you can take as many as you want, so stock up!  My favorite coupon is the Old Chicago coupon: buy a drink and get a personal pizza for 99 cents.  These coupons are great for when you want to go out to eat with friends, but don't have a lot of money to spend.  Also, many apartment complexes get fliers for different food stores in the area.  Look through these fliers and save on food you'd buy anyway.

Bottom line: Coupons can save big and you can get them for free, so stock up!

Purchasing Textbooks

As the new school year is beginning, you will hear a lot of students complaining about the price of textbooks.  With tuition prices skyrocketing every year, saving money on textbooks is the least you can do for your wallet.  The average spent at the university book store is around $500 a semester.  Most freshman at the University of Northern Iowa buy all their books from the bookstore without knowing all the options.  From firsthand experience, let me tell you there are many other options that are a lot cheaper on your budget.

Nowadays bookstores give you multiple options for purchasing books.  You can buy new, buy used, or rent.  The new book price is going to be ridiculously high and when you go to sell your textbooks back at the end of the semester you will get a fourth of the money you spent back, if you're lucky.  Buying old is a slightly better option, but still going to screw you over if you want a little extra cash at the end of the semester when returning your books.  Recently the book store started a rental option.  This option can actually be useful if you're taking a required liberal arts class that you won't want to keep the book at the end of the semester.  Depending on the amount you can get these books for online and the shipping price, this could be a better option.  However, the majority of upperclass college students will agree that purchasing your books online is the easiest and cheapest way.

There are a lot of different websites you can use to get cheap textbooks.  Of course Amazon is going to be a main website for online books.  You can buy them used or new through Amazon and it's going to cost you a whole lot less.  A great aspect about using Amazon is that they have an Amazon Student program.  It's free to sign up for college students and allows you six months of FREE two-day shipping on most college textbooks.  Another great website is chegg.com.  The Chegg website allows you to rent textbooks and you can purchase them at the end of the semester if you like or you can just print out the shipping labels off the website and return them back.  Most colleges have their own website for buying and selling books among students.  At the University of Northern Iowa the website is panthertextbooks.com.  This website allows you to meet up with students on campus and buy books with cash or check.  These books are generally cheaper than the bookstore, but the website won't have as much variety as other online textbook sellers.  These are just a few options for online textbooks and there are a lot more you can find on the internet.

Bottom line: Books are expensive.  Buy online and save big.