Saving money in college can be difficult. There are always required purchases–books, computer equipment, food, etc.–that must be made. The good news is that there are many different sites online that can help college and university students cut costs and make ends meet. Here are 20 sites guaranteed to help you save money while you’re in college.
Upromise – Upromise offers a unique way to save money for college. Users can earn up to 8 percent on restaurant purchases, up to 25 percent on online purchases, and up to 10 percent on grocery and drugstore purchases. Earned money can be put into a savings account or 529 plan or directly reimbursed with a check.
Student Advantage – This student discount card program helps students save on food, travel, school supplies and more. The card is accepted by hundreds of colleges, universities, and campus organizations and thousands of national chains and local stores.
Student Savings Club – Designed specifically for college and university students, this student savings club provides discounts that can be used at local and national businesses. Discounts are available for restaurants, fast food, entertainment, travel, school supplies, and much more.
STA Travel – STA Travel is the world’s largest student travel agency. The company offers discounts on airfare, care rentals, hotel stays, insurance, cell service, and more.
CouponMom – CouponMom is a great place to find printable grocery coupons and restaurant coupons. The site is also a good source of coupon codes for department stores, home improvement stores, computer stores, and more.
FatWallet.com – FatWallet.com is a community of savvy shoppers who share deals and coupons over the web. The site can also be used to compare prices on millions of products.
Feed the Pig – Feed the Pig is a non-profit site that was created to help individuals between the ages of 25 and 34 take control of their personal finances. Site resources include free savings tips, savings tools, and community forums.
Campus Tech – Campus Tech has partnered with numerous companies, such as Barnes and Noble, Google, Adobe, and Microsoft, to help students save money on everything from books and backpacks to computer hardware and software.
Zilok – Zilok is an online marketplace that can be used to locate anything you want to rent. Site users can rent almost anything imaginable, including cars, apartments, vacation spots, electronics, DVDs, event supplies, and tools.
PriceGrabber – Considered the leader in online comparison shopping, PriceGrabber allows users to compare prices on everything from books and electronics to clothing and furniture. The site also provides a back-to-school shopping guide.
BookMooch – BookMooch is a great place to save money on reading material. The site allows users to exchange books they no longer want for books they need.
eCampus.com – This site offers up to 90 percent savings on college textbooks. eCampus.com visitors can choose to either rent or buy textbooks and can later return the books for cash when they are no longer needed.
Cengage Brain – In addition to selling and renting entire textbooks, Cengage Brain also allows students to purchase single chapters. eChapters can be purchased for as little as $1.99 each.
Textbook Revolt – Textbook Revolt is a student-to-student textbook renting site. Users can compare rental rates, rent the books they need, and return books at the end of the semester for free.
CourseSmart – College and university students can save up to 50 percent on their textbook purchases by buying digital textbooks from CourseSmart. Textbooks can be read on the computer, an iPhone, or an iPad.
Textbook Revolution – Textbook Revolution is a student-run site that provides links to free textbooks and select educational materials. The goal of the site is to get free textbooks into classrooms so that college students can save money on school supplies.
BIGWORDS – This search engines makes it easy to compare prices on textbooks, books, DVDs, music, and games. BIGWORDS searches multiple stores, compares prices, and shows you where you can get the best deal on the item you are looking for. The average shopper saves $70 per textbook.
Public Library Locator – This U.S. Department of Education site offers a unique search engine that can be used to locate public libraries in your area. Public libraries are a good place to find free books, music, and movies.
Mint – Mint is a popular online finance service that helps users establish a budget, track expenses, reduce debt, track investments, and more. The service also offers a blog and advice on paying off students loans, using credit cards, buying a car, and saving for retirement.
Bob’s Budget Planner – Scotland’s Building Society provides free budgeting software that is easy to download and use. The software works well for tracking weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual income and expenditures.
Karen Schweitzer is an education writer who specializes in writing about business education. She is the Business School Guide for About.com. She also writes about pharmacy technician education for PharmacyTechnicianCertification.com.
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