How to Save on College (from Ramen Noodles to Razors)

(Disclaimer: Compensation was provided by Gillette via MomTrends.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Gillette or MomTrends. #shavingrebuilt #spon)

College is expensive, no matter how you look at it, between the tuition, the books, the travel back and forth home…and we haven’t even hit on the little incidentals, like everything from ramen noodles to razors.

 (This is how my son packs his car to go back and forth…just throw it in the back)

Take heart, though.  There ARE ways to save.

After two years with a kid on campus (at an out of state school to further increase expenses!!), we’ve discovered all kinds of ways to cut back on that uber-expensive higher education experience.

First, control what you can control—and that leaves out the tuition.  You’re not going to be able to talk your way down to paying less at most state schools, or private schools for that matter, though you might find an extra scholarship or two going uncollected.  For my son, that was money he was given for performing in the school marching band (ironically called the Million Dollar Band at the University of Alabama).  They actually pay him a few bucks to perform, so that’s a plus.

Rent your books.  That’s right.  With books running two or three hundred dollars each, and some classes requiring you to buy three or four of them, you’re going to want to check out sites that let you rent books, from Chegg to Amazon.  If you can’t rent, buy used. If you can’t buy used, just cry while you hand over the credit card, because it’s unlikely you’ll get much when you try to sell that book back to the book store at the end of the semester.

These days, many schools require students to live on campus, but once you can get to an apartment, be sure your young adult knows about keeping the thermostat set at reasonable levels, living without every cable channel available and other surprise expenses.

And with those surprises will come the shock of what every day expenses can add up to, from food to fashion.  One way you can easily save a few bucks is to sign up for subscription plans…they exist for everyday essentials, even items like razor blades.  Trust me, if your student will have to pick between buying a few Monster energy drinks to help him make it to his early class or picking up razor blades the next time he’s at the store, the blades will be the item still sitting on the shelf when he leaves.  You can save your son from becoming a scraggly mess if you sign him up for the plan offered through Gillette’s new subscription service.   He can use the new Gillette Fusion ProGlide with FlexBall Technology (they have this cool roller ball technology that rocks all angles) which are perfect for keeping the student looking sharp, and with the service, you won’t have to worry about him reallocating that expense into the other ‘priorities’ on his list. It won’t break the bank, either, at about a buck a week for most students (depending on how often they shave).  Other subscription services exist for everything from fruit to meat (if you want him eating more than the aforementioned ramen noodles).

Now, if someone would just make a subscription service that takes care of the ‘remembering to study’ issue that so many students (mine included) seem to struggle with.  I’d pay a whole lot more than a dollar a week for that!