College Tips

[Denmo]

Just thought we could all share in the wealth of college knowledge (lol).

I have a question for starters - Is it more economical to buy straight plates and bowls and wash them continuously or get the disposable stuff?

Since at this point in your life you're mostly spending money on food, I have a few tips:

- Buy sandwhich meats and bread

- Ramen is your friend.

- Bargain prices is the way to go, but avoid bargain priced perishable foods (ones that only last a week).

- Open a savings account and put your extra money into it each paycheck.

- If you have friends, try to avoid renting the same house with them or be prepared to lose their friendship over petty financial problems. It's easier to live with someone you don't care about and keep your friends. I say this from experiences my friends at work have had.

- Find a job that fits around your schedule instead of cramming all the work into the weekend. I miss my weekends.

- If you're living on campus, keep your personal hygiene in check, if not for yourself, for the sake of your roommate.

- Just because you have your headphones on and the brightness turned down does not mean you're not keeping your dormmate up with your late night gaming habits.

- Join a campus club. Find friends with similar interests.

- Help out the local art students and possibly earn some money while still keeping some of your dignity. Pose nude for drawing class.

[highwind]

Re: College Tips

Don't buy books if you don't read them.

You'll save lots of money like I did.

[Denmo]

Re: College Tips

That reminds me - Sell your books online. You'll get more back for them than the school would buy them for and you'll be giving someone else a bargain compared to what they normally sell for.

[Red Dragon]

Re: College Tips

That reminds me - Sell your books online. You'll get more back for them than the school would buy them for and you'll be giving someone else a bargain compared to what they normally sell for.

Where would you suggest selling them? I got some books I might be able to sell.

[IRC]

Re: College Tips

Up until this summer I'd never eaten ramen noodles. I was tricked into getting some at a ramen shop during my trip to Japan.

I still consider my record intact.

[jvrlopez]

Re: College Tips

-Live at home and have your parents do most of the stuff like always.

[IRC]

Re: College Tips

Yeah but you have to live at home with your parents for that to work.

[DarkwingChuck]

Re: College Tips

And you have to have parents who take care of at least some of the housework and don't steal your wallet while you're sleeping to get high on... But I'm not bitter.

[DK]

Re: College Tips

Oh, okay.

-Communting sucks but at least in the long run I'll be saving a lot of money.

[The_Real_Crunk]

Re: College Tips

I tried the ramen thing for about a week. It was disgusting after the a couple days.

What I did instead was make a big vat of pasta and tomato sauce and keep it in the fridge.

Pasta-$2 for a big friggin bag from the bulk section
Sauce-$1.89 and its good sauce too in a big jar
Bag of onions-$3
Bag of garlic-$2
Meat-$8 optional.

Cook it all up, keep the sauce and pasta seperate, and reheat when your hungry. Cost a little more, but oh so much better for you, and tastes better too. If ya wanna get riszy throw in some grated cheese and a bun and your stylin'.

[d2king10]

Re: College Tips

Theres this stuff called Chow Mein that costs 88 cents, and tastes WAY better then ramen. Ive only tried the Teriyaki Beef Flavor though, which is sooo good @.@

[irate giraffe]

Re: College Tips

I'm with Crunk on this one. Any of those pre-made ramen/noodles things are nasty and not healthy at all. You need to make food, and food you can make and then save to eat over a few days is the best. Pasta is a great idea. For me it was anything with potatoes (Cause they are super cheap, and super filling). My favorite was shephards pie, which is like mashed potatoes, ground beef, and some vegetables all cooked together. A big dish of that costs under $10, will last a week, and is healthy for you.

Plus, college is a good time for you to learn to cook your own meals, and not rely on junk like ramen.

[Kefka Jr.]

Re: College Tips

I have a meal plan with the school. I haven't calculated it, but I'm pretty sure it's a rip-off.



As for tips, I would suggest killing yourself.

[Nixon]

Re: College Tips

- watch your laundry
- don't buy all the books they say you need unless you REALLY need/use them
- you should be there to learn and pass all your classes
- meal plans range from awful to decent
- dorm life sucks
- only join a frat/sorority if you have way too much money and difficulty making friends (unless it's a loser frat like the computer science group or something)

[John Mora]

Re: College Tips

My meal plan with the school is pretty awesome. I get about $40 a week to spend either on the cafeteria or a bunch of other participating locations around the campus. If I'm lucky I can avoid eating nasty cafeteria stuff all week if I want to.