Friday, April 20, 2012

HOW TO SAVE YOUR CASH

As a college student, you’re already well aware that affording an education can be quite expensive, that’s why it’s so important to save money. Saving money doesn’t just mean keeping your extra money in a savings account and having it sit there, but it means proactively finding new ways to spend less! Here are a few tips to save money while at UT Arlington:
  1. Avoid that daily Starbucks Frappaccino or Caramel Macchiato. Instead, make coffee and flavor it at home, or buy a less expensive coffee from the POD in the University Center.
  2. Instead of buying new textbooks, try and find them used at the UTA Bookstore, or borrow them from a friend. Don’t forget about E-Books, they may be cheaper but you don’t get anything back since you can’t sell them back at the end of the semester, like hard copies.
  3. Attending On Campus University events! You pay for them as part of your tuition, you might as well attend them. UTA puts on many events throughout each semester.  There are even free events in your apartment or residence hall community. Attending these allows you to save money by possibly getting a free meal while being entertained at the same time. 

I had to learn how to budget and manage my money as a student who had to transition from living in a residence hall, to moving into an apartment independently. One of the ways you can help better manage your monthly funds is to set your due dates for your monthly-recurring bills to the time of the month that you get paid, that way your bills are taken care of and whatever is left is yours for the month.

Housing Ambassador, 
Dakota

Hi, my name is Lauren, and I am a Housing Ambassador as well as a Resident Assistant for UT Arlington! I enjoy both of my jobs because I truly do love living on campus. My goal is to help students have the great experience with living on campus just like I did!  One thing that I love about living on campus is having my friends so close by. People I met here at UTA by living on campus have become my best friends. Another great reason for living on campus is the convenience of how close I am to everything that I am involved in.  College is my life now and by living on campus I am able to be fully involved and connected. For example I live in the building I work in as a Resident Assistant, my second job is just a 10 minute walk away, and best of all I can wake up 15 minutes before a class and still be on time! Needless to say I absolutely  love living on campus, and I have a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm about UT Arlington! Go Mavs!!
 

-Lauren