Last week we started our back to school debt blog series with a blog for parents with some money saving tips for back to school. This week, we thought we’d help out those students who no longer rely on their parents for school lunches or freshly-made beds. Whether this is your first year of post-secondary education or you are a tried and true vet, use this second blog to help keep your student debt down.

Tips and tricks to help keep your student debt down:

1. Buy used textbooks. University and college bookstores often charge an arm and a leg for new textbooks, so check out kijiji or the bulletin boards around your school to see if anyone is selling last year’s text for less. Also, sometimes the bookstore will offer used books for less, so always try and go that route when possible.
2. Investigate student rates on things like cell phones, banking, etc. Many institutions provide discounted rates for students, so find out – this can save you a ton of money.
3. Avoid the cafeteria if possible. When it comes to post-secondary life and you live off-campus, one of the biggest costs is food, especially if you are in a dorm room that doesn’t have its own kitchen. However, as convenient as it might be to just head to the food court, these costs can quickly add up. Check out the shared kitchen facilities and invest in a mini-fridge. Also, if you are close enough to home, rely on those care packages to keep your belly and your wallet full.
4. Carpool. Heading home for the weekend or into town for errands, etc.? Find someone else who is also going your way and share the driving and the gas costs.
5. Search out cheap/free entertainment. Many educational institutions offer free entertainment to students, such as movie nights, seminars, discounted pub crawls or other such entertainment. Always keep an eye out for these offerings. Grab a group of friends and make a night of it.

Sometimes it is easy to ignore the growing costs of post-secondary education. Tuition seems to increase at an alarming rate, and sometimes the choice to stay at home and study locally is not as attractive as moving out, and therefore the only option is to bite the bullet and watch those amounts climb. That being said, take some time to consider the ways that you can keep your costs down using the above noted tips.

Struggling to keep your student debt down, or dealing with the debt now that school is over? DebtCare can help. Call us today at 1-888-890-0888.