How To Slash Back To School Costs
Are your kids headed back to school — or are you going back to college or grad school? Get ready to spend big bucks. Back-to-school spending for college is expected to reach $54.1 billion in 2017, with costs for kids in elementary through high school reaching $29.5 billion, per the National Retail Federation’s latest survey. Those figures are up significantly from 2016, when expected spending was $48.5 billion and $27.3 billion, respectively.
For individual families, average spending for college students is estimated at nearly $1,000, while parents of kids in elementary through high school will spend about $690 on average this year.
Electronics and clothing are two of the biggest expenses for anyone going back to school. College students also expect to spend a lot on dorm supplies and food, while parents of younger kids will be putting more cash toward school supplies and shoes than they did in 2016.
The good news is there are deals to be had if you know where to look and are smart about your shopping — so you don’t have to blow your budget if you’d rather be a more frugal shopper. Just follow these seven secrets to saving money and you’ll be left with extra cash in your pocket to go towards tuition or other money goals.
Start saving for your fall semester textbooks
Fall semester textbook purchases are looming, and the day you’re dreading is threatening to put a damper on your summer vacation. But if you prepare now, you won’t have to stress about coming up with enough money to afford your fresh load of books come September.
Here’s what you can do during the summer to lessen the blow of paying for your fall semester textbooks. Cont
Cut Back on Your Student Expense with Student Discounts
College life is all about partying with friends, binge watching favorite TV shows and pulling all nighters during exams. Basically it’s all about living life abundantly with no curfews and fixed routines. Students start to make decisions and experience life on their own in this phase of life. They also apply for full-time or part-time jobs in addition to their studies. This means making practical decisions about expense management and avoid being broke in the middle of the month. This can create added pressure on students and can disrupt their studies and adversely affect their career. A student can survive in the real world after learning to manage their finances in their student life first. A lot of practical knowledge about the real world can be achieved through cost-effective living during student life. So students should spend their money smartly and cut back on their expenses. Student discount cards allow students to avail great discounts on a wide range of products and reduce their expenses. There are various types of student discount cards available in the market. So instead of subscribing to multiple cards a student should subscribe to a card that perfectly caters to his/her needs. The main USP of a student discount card is that it offers discounts on a wide range of products. Also, many retailers provide discounts to students on showing their University ID. Some of the aspects of student life where a discount can be availed are listed as follows:
- Retail: Many retail stores offer good discount to students, but students may not be able to couple this discount with any other promotion or offer.
- Technology: It is an important part of student life; students use technology for studying, portfolio development, internship searches and research. Students can avail discounts on purchase of computers, various software and other technical accessories.
- Entertainment: Many concert venues, game parlors, theaters, and sporting events which are in the vicinity of a college offer a reduced price for students of that college.
- Travel & Transportation: A lot of money can be saved by availing to student discounts offered by public transportation systems. Also, students can book hotels and flights at a cheaper rate by using their card.
- Magazines: Almost all major magazines and newspapers offer a special discounted subscription to students.
- Phone Plans: Many telecom companies offer special packages to student.
Though many restaurants offer student discounts they’re not always exclusively advertised. So it is advisable to check with local restaurants about discounts before placing an order.
YUP card is one such card that has all the student deals. It compiles all the available offers on food & beverages, travel, health & beauty and other miscellaneous products and encodes them in the card. For more details please visit us at: http://www.yupcard.com/
By Ayan Sen
When College Students Need Food Pantries More Than Textbooks
As a more racially and socioeconomically diverse body of students pursues college in the United States, schools find themselves responding to more requests to stock food pantries and hand out vouchers for supplies at campus bookstores.
Universities have different reasons for offering students emergency help when things go wrong unexpectedly. Some of them are humanitarian. But, as a new report from NASPA: Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education points out, many colleges are creating emergency-aid programs in part to increase graduation rates, particularly among first-generation, low-income students, and students of color, who make up a growing number of college goers but often drop out at higher rates than their white and affluent peers.
NASPA looked at 523 schools across various sectors of the higher-education landscape—public and private, two-year and four-year colleges—surveying vice presidents for student affairs and financial-aid directors. While nearly 75 percent of respondents said their school had some sort of emergency-aid program, most also said that need outpaces resources, and few actually use data to figure out which students are most at risk of quitting, in part because they’re already overwhelmed by requests.
Buy Cheap Used College Textbooks 