by David B Hitchcock

Created on: May 31, 2009

Lessons from college students on living frugally

5 secrets of the frugal fraternity

Have you ever watched a college student as they go about their life? This is someone with a very limited budget and usually very limited time as well. Often college students can be seen stretching their dollars and their time farther than anyone else thought possible. How do they do it? What are their secrets? Here are 5 of the top frugal student secrets.

Secret #1 - All you can eat meals

Everyone knows that students love free food. But that wondrous thing doesn't come along all that often. In the meantime, all you can eat meals are the next best thing. You don't have to eat more than once during the day, and that meal can be as big as you want it to be. Since there are all kinds of all you can eat restaurants out there and they are usually expensive, you have to take the time to shop around for the cheaper ones. Some places only have all you can eat at lunch, or one day a week. If you find a few, you can likely have one a day - which is all you need.

Secret #2 - Don't buy books unless you have to

Students always need books, especially big thick expensive textbooks, for their schooling. But some students don't buy all their textbooks. Avoiding one book can save $100 or more! But how? The easiest way is to check it out of the library. If that's not possible, professors nearly always ensure the library has a copy that you can use in the library and not check out. This means the studying must be done at the library, but honestly it will be saving money and keeping you away from distractions. The next line of defense is borrowing a friend's book - they can't be reading it all the time, so why not lend it out on off days? Then there are used books, which can save up to 70% of the cost of the book. And finally discount books stores or used Amazon.com. All of these can apply to people who want books, not just textbooks. If you want the latest novel it can easily cost $15 these days. But you can borrow it from the library, from a friend, or you can buy it on Amazon.com used for $2.

Secret #3 - Time management

Students spend all their waking time studying. That's what they want you to think, even when they spend just enough time studying to pass and spend the rest of their time partying. In both cases things that time away from those goals are minimized. Eat one meal a day because it's faster. Don't do laundry until you have to prevent half loads. If you cook meals, cook a lot

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