How to Save Money as a University Student (With Tips That You Haven’t Already Seen 3043702 Times Before)
When I was younger, I was obsessed with the game Webkinz. My 6-year-old self would log on and join the virtual world almost every day. I loved this game more than any other, because with the joy of owning a Webkinz also came the responsibility of caring for it. See, my Webkinz were not immune to the needs of hunger, shelter, and entertainment, and it was up to me to manage my game cash to provide for their needs and make them happy. It excited me to find different ways I could satisfy my Webkinz and give them the finest luxuries in the game, while still saving money and playing with the same elements given to any other player. While my 6-year-old self’s budgeting philosophy may have been rooted in games and prize money, my 20-year-old self’s is rooted in less-fun things like tuition, rent, and paying the grocery bill. My time in the virtual world gave me a glimpse at how fun saving money could be, and with that, I set out on a quest to discover the saving tactics that work best in the real world.
This blog post could be alternatively called “How to Stack Deals to the Supreme”, via credit card rewards, coupon codes, promotions, and cash-back sites, because that’s essentially what I’m going to show you today. You can combine multiple ways of saving on each purchase, especially if shopping online, and save over 10% of the ticket price every time.
Let’s walk through an example. First, let’s use the site creditcardGenius to find a credit card that works for you and your spending habits. I use my card mostly for groceries and transportation, so I looked for a card that had good rewards in those two categories. I found my Tangerine Mastercard, which gives me 2% back in up to three categories of my choice, and my Scotiabank card, which I mainly use for travel.
Many cards provide opening bonuses, and you can combine this with extra bonuses from creditcardGenius themselves if you sign up for the card using their affiliate link (I got $200 + $200 for opening my Scotiabank card!). By being selective about what credit card you use for each type of purchase, you can maximize your save-to-spend ratio. For instance, my Scotiabank card provides 6x points on travel, no foreign exchange fees, and discounts on certain car rentals, airlines, and hotels, so I use that card exclusively for travel.
Next, sign up for cash-back sites like Rakuten and Mr. Rebates. Now I’m not going to lie, when I first found out about these, I was a little sussed out. Why would sites simply send you money for shopping? Especially Mr. Rebates, which doesn't look like it's been updated since 2005.
However, I discovered these sites are actually 100% legit, and not full of viruses like I feared. These cash-back sites make money by sending customers through their affiliate links. As a thank you, they split the rewards with you (the customer). Because of this model, the amount of rebate varies per site, usually between 2%-10%, and that’s why I’ve found it helpful to have both so you can see which one is higher. If you install the browser extension, it will automatically notify you every time there is a cash-back opportunity. Simply click on the pop-up, and you will automatically be redirected back to the website to continue your shopping via their portal.
Once you are close to purchasing, search the web for coupon codes via sites like Coupons Plus Deals or by using the Honey browser extension. Oftentimes this turns out successful, but if not, try going back to the landing page and seeing if there is a 10–15% off discount code for signing up for the newsletter.
Finally, try to buy mostly sale items or during promotional events, to further increase your value-for-cash spend.
The best part about this is that these methods are not mutually exclusive. Often I find that I can use anywhere between 3–4 of these ways on each purchase, hence coming to the ~10%+ figure of savings as above.
I hope you learned a new savings technique or two from this blog post. As a university student with large tuition bills to pay, I have certainly learned the value in it. But saving is hard. It is rarely taught in school, and it requires diligence and thought on behalf of the buyer. However, techniques like the ones I’ve shown here can lead to massive savings per year and are fairly easy to incorporate into your routine. Did you find this helpful? Let me know! Or if you have other tips feel free to share them below.
