With the cost of college tuition, books, and school supplies rising every year, IU Southeast students are finding ways to save money by searching for the best deals.
Many students hunt on the internet for the best price for textbooks and some students even avoid eating out to save themselves the gas and money.
Nathan Greenwood, general studies junior, is always searching for the best deals and saving money for his future goals.
“The reason that I save money is that I know that I will have some of the biggest expenses of my life coming in the next two to 10 years. I want to be as prepared as possible for my future expenses,” Greenwood said.
According to the College Board, tuition and fees at public universities has gone up 130 percent over the last two decades.
The Delta Cost Project and the American Institutes for Research (AIR) teamed up to look at how colleges and universities are spending that money. They found that public universities are using student income, such as tuition and books, to replace losses from other sources, such as money awarded the state.
According to projectonstudentdebt.org, seven out of 10 college seniors have student debt from loans, the average debt coming in at $29,400. However, in the state of Indiana the average debt for college seniors is $27,886.
With the increase in tuition and student debt, Janardhanan Alse, economics professor, said there are many ways for students to control their spending if they are looking to save money.
“The best way to cut mindless spending is when shopping always have a shopping list and stick to it, use cash to keep control of your spending, and bring your lunch so you are not eating out every day,” Alse said.
Some ways that Greenwood saves money is by scrounging the internet for the best prices for books through Chegg.com and Amazon.com. He has also created a list on his computer to see where and how he is spending his money.
“If I simply want something, I ask myself how much I will use it and if I think it is worth the cost. I also keep an itemized list for my expenditures on my computer,” Greenwood said. “The list contains categories that I can easily compute to see where and how I’m spending my money.”
Kathryn Brewer, secondary education junior, and Greenwoods’ girlfriend said that his decisions to save money have also helped her limit how much she spends.
“I’ve been definitely saving more and monitoring my expenses,” Brewer said.
Alse’s advice to college students is to create a debt reduction plan by cutting unnecessary spending.
“Always ask yourself “Do I really need this?” Alse said. “Be sure to have a game plan at all times, and begin to save your money early.”
Greenwoods agrees that students should begin saving your money as soon as they can.
“Most banks will allow you to have a checking and savings account,” Greenwood said. “Put money that you need in the checking account, and the rest in the savings account, and avoid withdrawing from the savings account.”
Being frugal may be difficult, but Greenwoods says it is worth it.
“I wouldn’t say I’m cheap with my money, I’d like to think of myself being smart with my money.”
