COLUMN: Stop wasting money
Each year, we students spend hundreds of dollars stocking up our mini-fridges, catching up with friends over expensive coffees and filling our closets with clothes and shoes we might or might not need.
I am just as guilty as anyone else around campus. Starbucks practically knows me by name, and the grocery store gets a nice chunk of my paycheck each week.
No one wants to give up going out with friends or buying those little things that make our days better, but they are breaking our bank accounts.
That is why I have begun using coupons, and I recommend it to everyone.
Until I entered college and began providing for myself, I never realized how valuable coupons were. I saw an episode of TLC's "Extreme Couponing" and was amazed that people were saving over $300 every time they went shopping.
I was inspired. I didn't want the life-consuming stock pile the people on TV had, but I did want to save money.
Saving money with coupons has become easier than ever. Coupons have been made accessible to everyone who comes in contact with the Internet or the weekly newspaper. There are coupons for food and basic necessities, such as soup and toothpaste. I was amazed by how quickly those 50-cent coupons doubled and combined to save me over $30 on my weekly groceries.
When using coupons for groceries, I suggest shopping at Kroger. They double coupons up to one dollar, meaning if you come in with a 50-cent coupon for an item, they will double it and take one dollar off that item.
The newspaper also has coupons for fast food and department stores. So, you can grab a half-off burger on your way to save 15 percent at Jo-Ann Fabrics.
But, a lot of people do not have the time to sit there and clip all the coupons.
That is why department stores, such as Meijer, are now offering online coupons. All the buyer has to do is log into the store's website, click on coupons and swipe their card at the store while checking out. The coupons are added directly to your store card, making it easy to shop without worrying about losing your coupons.
Coupon sites have become much more popular in the past year, too. Sites such as TheKrazyCouponLady.com and Coupons.com allow people to find manufacturers' coupons to print. There are even coupon apps for smart phones that allows people to go through saved coupons while out shopping.
Central Michigan University also helps out with saving by offering the free Campus Special books each semester. These books hold coupons for everything from oil changes to ice cream. Campus Special booklets also offer an app for smart phones that allows people to search for coupons based on stores and products, then scan them directly from their phone.
As college students, we do not have much money to waste. Why spend $10 on something you can get for $5?
Use a coupon for that coffee or that pizza and save that money for something that is really important to you – like an awesome Spring Break getaway.
