Whether you are a freshman or a graduate student, you’re probably well aware that NSU doesn’t hand out money like it hands out flyers. Combine this with the abundance of outlets at which you have to or want to spend money, and you have a money–saving problem. And if you’re a commuter student who doesn’t have the luxury of a meal plan on your Shark Card, you know the prices of food are astronomical, even on campus. However, learning to save money is an important life skill that will prove worthwhile at every stage of life. So, here are a few tips to save you money.
Grocery Shopping
Stop living off fast food. Sure — it’s a quick fix, but if you add up those dollars each week, you’ll find that the dollar menu has cost you a lot. You’ll find that the same amount of money can be stretched much further at the grocery store if you buy in bulk.
Jazsmine Ilene, junior biology major, said, “I buy my own groceries and cook my own big meals, that way I can freeze the leftovers and defrost [them] when I’m hungry.”
You may want to buy a snack to help you get through that two hour class with a professor who doesn’t believe in breaks. But if you’re a commuter student without a meal plan, when you walk into Outtakes to buy that snack, you just want to walk right back out. A single banana there costs you $1.69, whereas at Publix, you can get them for .69 cents a pound.
You can also take advantage of your local Dollar Trees around town where everything from Tylenol to a loaf of bread is a dollar.
“I shop at the dollar stores, which are really big now and purchase school supplies like folders, binders, paper/pens and food,” said Donna Levasseur, senior communication studies major.
Textbooks
It’s true the price of books has gone up, and there’s not much students can do about it, or is there? Rather than dishing out money for new textbooks, buy used ones. You can look for used textbook listings online at amazon.com, or half.com. Rather than going through the hassle of buying a textbook and selling it after the class is finished, you can rent your textbooks from chegg.com, collegebookrenter.com or NSU’s bookstore. You can save more than 50 percent when you choose to rent from the bookstore.
“For textbooks, I no longer buy books, but instead either rent them from the NSU bookstore or from chegg.com. It’s a whole lot easier, and I saved 200 dollars,” said Ilene.
Opportunities for Scholarships
With tuition increases, paying for college can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to leave you broke. NSU offers scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students. Each college within the university has different and unique scholarships. NSU also has a few new scholarships such as Rotary’s Ambassadorial Scholarship Program and Go Overseas Study Abroad Scholarships. Student Financial Aid at (954) 262-3380 or http://www.nova.edu/financialaid/scholarships/index.html has more information.
Transportation & Travel
If gas prices have you cringing, you can take the Shark Shuttle to get around campus or to the local Publix and mall.
Commuting to school three or four times a week can leave your wallet empty. Carpool and split the cost of gas. Or, search for the cheapest gas station around. Gas can range about 10-15 cents, and if you buy at the cheaper stations, you can save about $2 per fill up. Depending on how many times you pull your car up to a pump, this can save you a lot of money over a long period of time.
Activities
Learn what activities you can enjoy for free. NSU can help you save money with the countless activities and events it offers. The Alvin Sherman Library is full of movies and games that can please any taste and are free to all NSU students. And the residence halls are full of common rooms with flat screen TVs and enough room to invite all your friends to watch.
Show your Shark Pride and attend a sporting event that is free to all NSU students. Or rack ‘em up on the pool tables at the Flight Deck in the Don Taft University Center. NSU also hosts events such as S.E.A. Thursdays, which have activities and free food. Similar events go on across campus almost every day of the week, and they are easy to find.
