As the school year rolls around once again and hours available for work becomes limited, many college students find themselves trying to make ends meet with the money they saved up over the summer.  In economics and business, you learn that there are two ways to increase profit: increase revenue or decrease costs. Personal finance is similar. To increase savings, you must either increase your income or decrease your expenses.

How to Save Money in College

While I have mentioned a few ways to increase income in the past via side hustles, many college students find that they simply do not have the time.  Today I am going to share with you some sites and apps I use to cut costs in my everyday spending.

Ebates

Okay, I love Ebates so much. This site offers cashback and applies coupons to any online shopping you may do. I use it primarily for Amazon and Groupon, but I have used it for Walmart, American Eagle/Aerie, LL Bean, Nasty Gal and more! They give you a percentage (sometimes up to 15%) back from your order in the form of a check or a direct transfer to your paypal. If you sign up with my referral code, we will both get a nice little bonus in addition to your $10 sign up bonus! This means you will get a $25 cash bonus PLUS whatever the cashback rate is for signing up and making your first purchase!

Check out my guide to earning cashback on Ebates!

Groupon

When I am looking for something fun to do or somewhere cool to eat, I always check Groupon. Groupon is a website that works with businesses to give you great deals on their products or services. I have used groupon for things like concerts, restaurant gift certificates and kayaking.  The deals are endless! In addition to all of the great deals available, students get an additional 25% off all deals for 6 months and then 15% off forever after that!

Discover it

As a student, building credit is very serious. When you graduate in a few years and you have an adult job, you’re probably going to want to buy a car or house. You will need good credit. I have been using the Discover It student card for a while now. Not only have a built my credit and paid no fees, I have actually earned some crazy rewards. I get 1-5% cashback on every purchase, which is matched at the end of the year. I also earn $20 every year for maintaining a 3.0 or higher GPA. The best part of this card has honestly been the referral bonus. Every time I refer a friend, we each get $50 upon approval. We are talking FREE MONEY, people!!!

UNIDAYS

I first downloaded UNiDAYS when it first started out when I was probably a freshman or sophomore in high school. I rediscovered this gem not too long ago and actually have been using it so much! It offers coupons and promo codes to many stores, such as American Eagle, Pretty Little Thing, Adidas, 1800Contacts and more, to anybody who is a student! We are talking 10-30% off and free shipping kind of deals!

RetailMeNot

I have been using RetailMeNot for their coupons for a very long time. I have recently learned about their newer cashback options, as well, which may be worth exploring. I honestly typically use this at Michaels for 50%+ off. This discount alone is great if you’re in a sorority or you’re an RA and are require to do a lot of DIY projects!

Speaking of Michaels, the store has an app that also has great deals!

Are you ready to save money?

What I do, is I find the store on both Ebates and UNiDAYS then put it on my credit card, so I get discounts and lots of cash back! Since I do try to limit my online shopping to necessities in order to live a more frugal life and build up my savings, I tend to shop the clearance and sale sections. Knowing that I am always getting such a great deal makes me feel a little bit better about treating myself now and again!

If you use the links that I have included, you could make up to $95 today (ON TOP OF all of the savings) just for signing up and making one purchase (if you use a combination of Ebates, UNiDAYS/Groupon and Discover).

Need more help?

Check out some of my other posts relating to saving money and managing your finances!

• How to Live a Frugal Life
• How I Saved $4000 in One Summer
• How to Make Money on the Side
• 10 Inexpensive Date Ideas
• How to Have an Inexpensive Social Life

Best of luck in this coming school year! Get good grades and save some money!