Discounts – Advertised prices are for other people. Who don’t have student loans. Flash a student I.D. at many businesses and you’ll pay a reduced price. Even online retailers are letting students save – Amazon Prime for Students
Free time – The only time I’ve had larger, uninterrupted blocks of downtime was in preschool. I’m done with class at noon every day of the week. I still gotta spend a little time hitting the books, but my schedule is way more flexible which translates to a whole bunch of free time. This free time lets me work part-time and write this blog, both of which earn me some spending money. Bonus: No one can call you lazy…because you’re a college student. It’s hard work!
Low expenses – I doubt my monthly expenses will ever be lower than they are right now. Necessities only cost me about $300 a month. That number will probably increase almost 10X after graduation. Most college students don’t pay for homeowners insurance, health insurance, food besides their own, etc. Live it up before life gets expensive!
Flexibility – In any given week: I work, study, attend class, and hang out with friends. Free time is responsible for most of this, but the great thing about college is that you can decide how much time to devote to things. Some days, I put a priority on hanging out with friends. Other times, I hit the books hard. This flexibility can be hard to come by after getting a steady job.
Tons of ways to make a buck – I see flyers all over campus asking for students to participate in paid research studies. Or you can tutor (set your own prices!) or get a job on campus so you don’t have to go very far. OR…maybe do all 3! College makes it easy to dabble in a bit of everything to fatten your wallet.
What was your favorite part of college? Did it affect your finances for better or worse?
Bonus: One last reason why college is great:
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I definitely miss the flexibility of being in college. Luckily, on the discount/perks side, some stick with you. I still get to use my mtvU credit card (which gives 5pts at Amazon), I still got a couple free student checking accounts, and most importantly, my old student ID saves me $4 each time I go to the movie theater. I’m glad my student ID doesn’t have the year anywhere on it. I might be an undergrad for a while now…
I just checked, and my my student ID doesn’t have a year either! I’ll be using that for as long as I can get away with it! The mtvU card looks like a good rewards card – of course I wasn’t approved!