As college approaches, seniors need to start thinking about finances. How will they pay for college and what things can they do to ensure that by the time they graduate, they will have the least amount of debt they can have?

One of the things a student should be careful with is credit. A credit card is not free money. It never has been, and it never will be. It is best to limit yourself. Try not to spend more than 500-1,000 dollars on it a month. You’ll always need to pay it back and when you don’t have any money to pay the bill, late fees tend to start attacking you and then you’re stuck with more debt that you do not need.

One of the things college students spend the most money on is textbooks. College is not like high school, your professors definitely do not provide books for you. Most students pay up to 1,000 dollars a year for textbooks.

Buying new textbooks isn’t always needed, it normally doesn’t hurt if the book is two to five years old. Renting textbooks also may work in your favor; some great sites are Valorebooks.com and Bookbyte.com. Always keep in mind: at the end of the semester, sell your books, someone else needs them at a low price, just like you did in the beginning of the semester, and a little extra money in your pocket never hurts.

Abuse the power of your student discounts! Local venues and restaurants near your campus most likely offer student discounts that could help you save as much money as you can. There are also other stores that offer student discounts such as: TopShop, Spotify, Dell, and more.

One last thing you as a student should consider when spending money are meal plans. Meal plans are prepaid accounts that allow you to make purchases in your college dining hall. When it comes to choosing your meal plan, pick one that best fits you. It is important to evaluate yourself and your eating habits. Keep in mind that you may eat less or more than your peers. If you don’t eat much, you won’t need to spend an abundant amount of money on a meal plan versus someone who does eat a larger amount of food.

As a student entering college in the 2016-2017 year, I hope these tips have helped and make you think about how you can save money. There are many more things you can do to save money. If you have anymore questions, feel free to stop by the college career center; Ms. Murphy is there to answer all of your questions concerning college.