Money

[Money: Photo by: 401 (K) 2012. Licence CC]

Free things: we all want them. You probably don’t know that there are ways to score free food and other stuff in college. Having a $20k student loan debt that will keep growing as time goes by and no money left for the rest of the week is tough. Dumpster diving sounds like a good idea at this point, but that’s not the only option. It’s not even a great idea unless you love a good half-eaten sandwich covered in manure for lunch that has been sitting there for hours. College is expensive, but there are times where you need to try some hacks or tricks to get through.

Attend events on campus. These events are everywhere. Sometimes, you may not even know about them. Always keep track of events on campus done by organizations, clubs, etc. Many of those serve free food and drinks for the participants. A better thing to do is to join one of them. They sometimes have activities that are not open to the public and only members can attend. There’s a high chance of food being served there.

Ask for the food pantry.  Every university has its own pantry to deal with food insecurity. You can find things such as canned food, rice, pasta and so on. Take whatever you need.

Visit restaurants or any place to eat around closing time. Pay for food? Not happening. These places tend to have leftovers by the end of the day. The food that wasn’t ordered by anyone goes straight to the trash unless you go there and ask if there’s anything left that you can eat. 

Work at a fast food or restaurant. Some offer employee discounts or free meals to those who work there. I have one friend who works at Starbuck’s and gets discounts, thus saving a couple of dollars on food. Never forget to include restaurantes, coffee shops and fast foods in the job hunt.

Free supermarket samples. A Costco or Sam’s nearby can help you grab a free snack. Just make sure which days of the week these sampling events are happening at your nearest supermarket.

samples

[Free Food!: Photo by: Dan Century. Licence CC]

Computer programs. It may cost you hundreds of dollars to buy Microsoft Office. Would it sound crazy if someone told you that you can get it for free? Use your .edu email, and you’re set. The download will take a few minutes, and you won’t pay a cent. Also, check OnTheHub, a website where you can get cheap or free software. 

Textbooks. You easily spend more than $500 on textbooks that you don’t even use that much afterwards. Instead of buying a physical copy, look for a PDF version of it, which is cheaper. You can get them for free at websites like Project Gutenberg, FreeBookSpot and Scribd.

Always carry that student ID everywhere you go. You never know when you are going to find a great student discount somewhere. For example, some movie theaters have a day where students can buy a ticket for a lower price. That’s great, but what if you left your student ID at home? 

Well, better wait for the happy hour at the bar.