I recently visited my undergraduate alma mater for the first time in a while, and the experience brought back a flood of memories. I interacted with a bunch of students while on campus, and I remembered what it was like to be a college student myself. Meeting up with college students, and remembering what it was like to be an undergraduate, made me realize how student debt borrowers can save money like a college student to pay off student debt faster.
During my own student debt repayment saga, I lived my life much as I had in college and law school. Indeed, I followed a few different strategies that allowed me to save money like a college student and devote the most cash possible to my student debt.
Reuse and Borrow Items
One way to save money like a college student is to spend the least amount of money possible on paying for things. As a college student, I rarely bought new clothes, and I happily accepted clothes that people in my family were throwing away. For instance, my grandfather gifted me shoes, shirts, pants, and other clothes while I was in college, and this saved me hundreds of dollars. Fortunately, my grandfather had decent fashion taste, and I did not look too out of place wearing parts of his wardrobe.
While paying off my student loans, I continued to save money like a college student by accepting clothes and other items from people. My brothers usually gifted me clothes that they were going to throw out, and since my brothers have far better fashion taste than myself, it usually benefited me to receive this upgrade to my wardrobe. In addition, my brother/roommate and I bought used couches for cheap from a friend who was moving out of town. By accepting these items, I was able to reduce expenses and devote additional money to student loans.
Eat Free Food and Reduce Food Costs
When I was in college, I rarely ate off campus. I had a meal plan as an undergraduate, and the food was decent enough that I never really wanted to eat food from outside establishments. In addition, I had precious little money as a student, and I couldn’t waste these funds on expensive food when I already had a meal plan. Furthermore, as detailed in a prior article, I attended as many free food events as possible as an undergraduate, so I could save my dining points and eat out on someone else’s dime.
As a young professional, you could also save money like a college student by reducing food costs. While paying off my student loans, I almost always cooked my own meals in order to reduce expenses. In addition, it is still possible to attend free food events as a young adult, and I attended every event that I could so I could eat out for free. It takes some creativity to reduce food costs as a young professional, but if you can find free food events, and learn to cook new dishes, you can save money like a college student in this way.
Cheap Entertainment
Another way to save money like a college student is to reduce entertainment expenses. When I was in college, I rarely went out to bars or other places for entertainment. I usually just attended campus events or house parties hosted by fellow students. As a result, I only had to pay for small admission fees to some events, and food and drinks to contribute to the house parties I attended.
While paying off my student loans, I also tried to reduce my entertainment expenses in similar ways. I attended a number of free community events, which also sometimes had free food and drinks. In addition, I often tried to convince my friends to have a house party rather than heading out. Indeed, I remember one time, instead of heading into New York City and paying an expensive cover, we hosted a house party and saved a substantial amount of money. Honestly, you can often have more fun with these cheaper entertainment options as well as save more money to pay off student loans.
Live with Roommates
Another way you can save money like a college student is to live with roommates. Many college students live with roommates, and most colleges even require that college students have a roommate for at least their first year of college. In addition, even if students live off campus, they usually live with roommates to save money. In fact, I don’t think anyone I went to college with had an apartment off campus on their own, since it is far cheaper to share a place with someone else. In addition, it is also more fun to have roommates while in college.
I also had a roommate as a young professional for the entirety of my student debt repayment saga. This helped me save money, and it was also an enriching experience to have a roommates. Of course, roommates are not for everyone, but they can help you save money so additional cash can be devoted to student debt.
I was once told that you should live like a student after graduating so you can live like a professional later. After visiting my alma mater, and reflecting on my college experience, I completely understand how student debt borrowers can save money like a college student to devote more money to student loans.