<p>I thought that it would be good idea to revive some old posts and maybe add new hints for cutting costs for the incoming freshmen and their parents. Posting now will give them some time to review their options.</p>
<p>1.) Freshmen year is more expensive because the student is required to have a more comprehensive (expensive) dining plan. After the first year, the student is no longer required to have that particular plan or any dining plan. So simply choose a less expensive dining plan for years 2 to 4 and save money.
Students can also eat out at less expensive venues or shop for food locally and cook. Breakfast in the dorm room, such as cereal or bread and jam is always a cheaper option.
2.) Since cost of attendance is based on tuition, fees, room and board. You can cut the COA by simply choosing a less expensive housing option. Super suites are more expensive than regular two-person dorm rooms.
3.) After freshman year, students are not required to live on campus and many don’t want to. Thus the cost of housing can decrease sharply, depending on which residence hall you were residing in for freshman year.
4.) Buying Texts and other required books through a discount site will save money. Some kids even rent their texts or use kindle versions. Don’t forget to check out the used books, some are in “like new” condition.
5.) Students can also cut down on costs by economizing:
a.) Not having a car on campus saves permit fees, gas money and insurance costs.
b.) Take full advantage of the meal plan your freshman year, shop at the dining hall, take out desserts, fruit, milk or a sandwich for your next day’s lunch.
c.) Save $600 yearly by not using your Dining Dollars. Simply apply for a refund at the end of the year.
d.) Take full advantage of all the FREE entertainment opportunities on campus. There are sports events, art shows, lectures, movies, and plenty of other free events. Some events even have free food!
6.) Use the Rec Center for both exercise and employment. Consider getting a job there if you have the necessary skills. Or get a job elsewhere on campus to pay for those additional expenses.
7.) Purchase a Brita water filter portable bottle, fill it, take it with you and skip paying for bottled drinks.
8.) Don’t go out every weekend to eat or drink, do so only on special occasions. Find inexpensive ways to entertain friends. Have a snack party where each guest brings a food item or snack.
9.) Use coupons when shopping at Publix or shop sales for food at Walmart or Target.
10.) if your parents have a Sam’s club membership, they can add you to their membership for a few dollars. Buy all your bulk supplies there, you can even split costs with your roommates.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the suggestion to add your student to your Sams Club membership on here several times. This may have been something that people were able to do years ago, but we were unsuccessful at the T-town Sams last fall. If you already have a primary and a secondary, you will need to purchase your student his own membership.</p>
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<li><p>Meal Plans if you “Go Greek”. You are dropped to the Greek 55 if your S/D are in a frat/sorority. However, only those that are in a greek house are allowed to drop the meal plan completely. As soon as Bid Day is over find out how often your S/D went to a dining hall since they were on campus. If they only visited once or twice, cancel the meal plan. We did. D’s roommate told her mom she still wanted the Greek 55. Guess what, she went all of 2 times all semester. Mom was trying to drop it for the spring semester. Then you can give them that money to use for meals on weekends when not eating at the house. </p></li>
<li><p>Julia’s Market in Tut. While it has everything you could ever want, it is more expensive. Make sure your student knows this. They can go to Publix, Target, Walmart, order on Amazon, etc and get 3x’s as much for the same price. You could even ship a pretty good size package with the things they like for less. </p></li>
<li><p>If your D gets in a sorority have her check to see if they are allowed to have mail/packages delivered to their house. If so, no need to rent a mailbox at The Ferg, UPS store, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>When buying for the dorm, think ahead. No need to go all out buying pricey bedding for a twin bed when the next years they may be in an apartment with a double/queen bed. Unless you have a younger same sex sibling that will be going off to college right behind them and they don’t mind the hand me downs. If you know who your roommate is ahead of time get with them to see who is bringing what. You don’t need 2 coffee makers, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>While you can rent things like the underbed dorm safes, bookshelf headboards, etc., think ahead. A good safe is a lifetime investment. This would make a good graduation gift, if someone asks, suggest this. The headboard, if you have the means to get it to campus, you can make one for half the price it is to rent for a year. You can even select what color you want to paint it and the fabric to back it with for the padded area. After they move out of the dorm and into an apartment you can finish out the bottom of it into a full on bookcase, if so desired. Or, use it for younger siblings. </p></li>
<li><p>As the clearance sales and spring sales are underway, start picking up things along the way. Towels, sheets, kitchenware, etc. No need waiting till June/July to head out to buy every single thing they will need. Electronics, start looking now at the year end closeouts. The new stuff is coming out and last years models are being marked down. </p></li>
<li><p>Sign them up for the frequent flyer program for the airline(s) they most likely will be using. Sign yourself up as well if you are not already. Same goes for hotel programs. Might as well get something out of it.</p></li>
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<p>My S bought frosted flakes at market on campus during thanksgiving for $9. Believe it. He thought that was kind of expensive…then I explained that he should have gotten that for about $3 at an off-campus store… he had no idea how much he had been fleeced. Like the tips about flying/airports, think ahead and start now taking your kids shopping w/ you, so they have some idea of what things should cost!</p>
<p>The Target RedCard Debit card is another great thing. It is connected to your checking account and you receive 5% off your purchase every time you use it at Target. If your S/D has meds they need filled, use the Target pharmacy and join the Pharmacy Rewards program. They send a 5% off coupon for your entire day of shopping about every 2 weeks. Use that in conjunction with your red card debit for an even larger savings, plus coupons. With big purchases coming ahead for all of their dorm supplies, get yourself one. They also price match! </p>
<p>Make your student use a check register for their bank account!!! Make them diligent in using this! My D thought she was keeping up with her account. She slacked off and was just going by what it showed online in her account, all she uses is her card and never writes checks (she does have a book of checks with her, just in case). Well, we put the money in her account for the amount she told us she needed to order her sorority pin. She did not realize it did not come out right away like the other transactions. SMH!!! When they finally processed the order a month later, the funds were not there. We knew as DH watches the bank accounts like a hawk, we let it be a life lesson for her. She had to call the company and tell them she messed up and to reprocess her order.<br>
There will and could be numerous things they may order where they just fill in the payment info and it is not processed for a few days or weeks. That check register, as ancient as they think they are, does come in handy.</p>
<p>If you do not have an Amazon Prime membership, i would suggest getting one for your college student, any member of the family can use it. You can have multiple shipping addresses set up on the account. It is so worth the price of admission!! You can ship almost anything your student will need at two day Prime free shipping. Some things are not prime shipping, but most times you can find an alternate item with prime shipping.There are many groceries that you can buy online, especially dry food items and canned goods.</p>
<p>At Amazon you could get a HUGE box of frosted flakes
Frosted Flakes Cereal, 61.9-Ounce Box by Kellogg’s for
$14.23 with Free 2 day Prime shipping if you are a prime member</p>
<p>Lots of other groceries as well. Buy a cereal saver container to keep the cereal fresh or tightly close the inside bag with a clip.</p>
<p>Yeah, when we visited him at Thanksgiving and I actually saw the box he bought (to keep himself alive for 3 days while dining hall was shut), it was like 9 oz - it was the smallest, skinniest box of Tony’s best I had ever seen. The prices in that UA campus shop were apparently even worse than airport prices…for Frosty Flakes at any rate. ;)</p>
<p>There is a little shop at Lakeside Dining, I think it’s called Lakeside Market, I remember thinking that the prices were a little high (not terribly unreasonable in a pinch). The prices really didn’t surprise me but only shop there when there are no other choices.</p>
<p>One big one for me was auto insurance. Since my son does not have a car on campus I called my insurance company and since he was 4 hours away (I am not sure what the limit is) they reduced his portion of my bill by about 70% and in the Atlanta metro area that can be a big $$$ savings!!</p>
<p>Yes, some auto insurance companies will put your student on a “away” basis, based on the college’s distance from home. They assume that if your student is “XXX” distance from home, they won’t be using your cars on a regular basis. Most insurance companies will still allow the discount, even if your student is home for the holidays or the summer and will still be using the cars(s) during that time period. You should check with your insurance company and get this policy in writing.</p>
<p>I now take my S off our insurance, and then add him back on for the 1-3 weeks that he might be here during breaks. I used to have him on the “away” plan, but it was still costing me an arm (as opposed to arm + leg), so I chopped 'em off completely.</p>
<p>Maybe we should start a thread that is for the “not needed now that moving out of dorm into apartment” and/or “not needed know as graduated” for items that we are looking to sell or donate to those that may need.<br>
I know that I will not need D’s comforter set and the window treatment we made to match that fits the dorm window. Planned on selling them.</p>
<p>The number one rule about cutting costs is that sometimes the cheapest item initially is not the cheapest item in the long run. While one doesn’t need the top of the line stuff for ones dorm room, some of the cheapest items may only last a couple uses before breaking.</p>
<p>During their time at UA, students often learn quite a few tips for saving money, including:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Use coupons, especially the Publix “Penny Item” coupon where every Wednesday one can get a selected Publix item for $0.01 with a $10 purchase. The coupon is in section A of the Tuscaloosa News, which costs $0.55 and is sold at Publix.</p></li>
<li><p>If an item is BOGO at Publix, single items can be purchased for 50% off.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to eat out with friends, try going for lunch. Remember that a drink typically adds $2 or more to the cost of a meal.</p></li>
<li><p>Park legally and avoid violating traffic laws. UA police are everywhere and parking tickets typically run $50+ on campus, $15+ in Tuscaloosa.</p></li>
<li><p>For those that are 21+, going out can be expensive; pay attention to bar specials and cover charges. A bottle of Yuengling might be $1 at one bar, while next door it’s considered a $4 “import” beer. When purchasing alcohol at a store, the state-operated ABC stores and Rite Aid typically have the best prices.</p></li>
<li><p>UA is known for having lots of free food aka “heavy hors d’oeuvres” at campus events. This food is often catered by some of the best restaurants and caterers in town.</p></li>
<li><p>Be nice to the dining hall employees and pay attention to what foods they eat when on break. The employees know which foods are the best that day and will often do special orders. It’s amazing how many students at UA don’t know that one can order chopped deli meat for a salad, gyros without added hash browns, or taco salads. Like the dining hall food and one is less likely to want to pay extra money to eat out.</p></li>
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<p>If you ever have a problem at a dining hall, ask to speak with the manager on duty. They work hard so students can have a great dining experience and will fix problems ASAP. Managers are typically dressed business casual, except for the head manager of Lakeside who is also the head chef.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go to Bryant for lunch. Besides being a smaller dining hall, it’s on a separate contact with Aramark which means it often serves higher quality food. The pizza is Freschetta, the deli meat is Boars Head brand, the meatloaf is made with beef (Fresh Foods serves turkey meatloaf), and everyone can get a 32oz to-go cup. Fill the to-go cup with milk and you saved the $2.50 cost of a quart of milk. </p></li>
<li><p>Pay attention to your crimson email. UA often pays for students to attend and provides transportation for special events such as the Druid City Arts Festival, Frozen Tide (UA’s club hockey team) games in Pelham, and legislative events in Montgomery, among many other things. For awhile, the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater was selling $50+ concert tickets to students for $15.</p></li>
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