Are you graduating high school and heading to college soon? College can be expensive, this is why we should try to save where we can. Here are 12 things to never buy if you are a college student.
Table of Contents
1. Car
I know, having a car can give you a sense of freedom. I mean you can use the car to take yourself anywhere! Not to mention how cool your new college friends may find you!
Stop right there. Maintaining a car can be expensive. You have to pay for gas ($100–300+/month), parking (it costs $500 per semester in my school), car insurance (If you aren’t on the same plan as your parents it can get very expensive. Think $8000/year expensive. And if you are on the same plan as your parents, it’ll still cost you $400/month roughly), maintenance ($100/month), accessories (winter tires, car freshener, etc), car wash, etc, the list goes on.
You may spend up to $1000 per month just by owning a car. That’s $12,000 per year you spend on a car alone!
Instead, what you should do is to live closer to school. Try to choose a location where it’s close to the bus stop so you can easily hop on a bus and get groceries. The place you rent should also be within a 15 minutes walk from school.
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2. Renting a room from your college
Many college students want to have the college experience of living in a dorm with other people from school. It may seem like a lot of fun when in reality you’d be paying a lot more for a lot less space.
You can rent a place 10–15 minutes walking distance from school that is much cheaper and larger. You may have to share common space with other college students which can be quite fun if you get along.
As an example, my friend paid $1200/month to rent a small dorm room in college (and she had to share it with another girl). She moved out of the college dorm in her second year. She only paid $750 per month for her new place. It’s not as beautifully decorated but it was decent and she saved a lot of money! (Side note, her rent did increase to $950/month in the third year).
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3. Books
A lot of college professors like to assign a lot of books to students at the beginning of the semester. You’re advised to buy all the books but it’s not a must. In fact, no one is going to check whether you have the books with you or not and no one is going to take attendance. Your professor just wants you to buy the books because they may earn a commission for every purchase the students make.
Oftentimes, you’d only need to read a few pages from each book so it’s not worth it to buy the whole book.
You can either get it secondhand or try to find a pdf version of it online for free. I went through most of my college experience with free pdf books people found on the internet and shared in group chats. (Yes, mingle with people in group chats. They’ll remind you of deadlines, share free pdf of textbooks they found, and force you to look at memes).
One more thing you can do is to share a textbook with somebody in class. It may not be fun but that’s something you can do to cut costs.
Something to note though is that sometimes professors require you to buy access codes where there will be quizzes to take. Those access codes can’t be bought secondhand as it is already tied to someone else’s account. You’ll have no choice but to buy it. Access codes include e-textbooks as well so you don’t have to buy the physical version of it.
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4. Printer
I made the mistake of buying a printer for school. It was only $20 so I thought why not? Big mistake. The printer ink is ridiculously expensive and it runs out of ink very fast. I would maybe print out a few pages before it runs out of ink again. I ended up not using my printer and had to carry it back home with me.
Don’t buy a printer. You won’t need it. If you need to print something, print it at school for 10 cents a page. It’s much cheaper than spending $300 on a laser printer or $20 for a printer that runs on a $50 cartridge of inks that need a replacement every few pages.
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5. Newest iPhone or tech gadgets
Many people want to impress others around them with the latest tech gadgets and the latest iPhones. Don’t, the kind of people who would be impressed by that aren’t the people you should want to connect with.
People buy the latest gadgets for the status symbol. It’s a way for them to say “Look, I’m not poor. I’m rich!”. No one is saying you’re poor, you don’t have to prove your wealth to anyone.
Buying the latest iPhone won’t make you rich, instead, it may make you broke while trying to look rich.
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6. Brand name clothes
You’re going to school to study and learn things. You’re not going to a fashion show. You don’t have to dress in brand-name clothes.
Again, it’s the idea of how you shouldn’t go broke while trying to look rich. Brand name items are created to be marketed to middle-class people who have some money to spare so they spend it on these overpriced clothes to look rich when they aren’t actually rich.
Brand name clothes really just scream “middle class” and at times “lower class”. You don’t need to wear brand-name clothes to prove anything to anybody.
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7. Brand name bags
Oh yes, you don’t need an expensive bag. It’s not a fashion show you’re going to, it’s school. Don’t get rubbed. There are a lot of students who have incentives to rob you considering how expensive tuition is (it’s a light joke 🙂 ) Try to blend into the crowd. Most people carry a $40 backpack. That’s what you should carry as well. There’s nothing like starting a conversation with “Oh hey! I have the same bag!”.
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8. Kitchen tools
I wanted to bring 4 bowls, 4 plates, 4 spoons, 4 forks, 4 knives, 4 cups, 4 cupcake cups, 4 pairs of chopsticks, 1 ladle, 1 flipper, 1 small bowl with me when I was preparing to move out for college. Thankfully, my mom advised me to not bring so many kitchen tools because I won’t need them all.
(I thought I would have time to invite my friends over for an afternoon of tea parties once in a while lol)
In the end, the only kitchen tools I used were a small pot, a small bowl, 1 cup, 2 spoons, 1 fork, 1 pair of chopsticks, and 1 knife.
You don’t need an entire chef’s selection of kitchen tools because you won’t have time to cook and experiment with food. You’ll also be too lazy to wash and clean all those dishes.
Don’t buy a whole bunch of kitchen tools for school. Trust me, you won’t have time to use it.
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9. Meal plan at school
Some schools offer meal plans that you can purchase. A typical meal plan is paid upfront. It could be between $1000–3000+ per school year. When you buy a meal plan, you may be given credits that you can use to redeem for food in the cafeteria. You’ll eat whatever they have that day.
In most cases, schools don’t offer nutritionally balanced meals. There’ll be a lot of greasy fast foods that although high in calories isn’t going to fill your stomach for long and will leave you feeling hungry despite consuming so many calories. This in turn means that it’s easier for you to pile on the pounds when you have meal plans at school.
The food will also be overpriced. You end up paying thousands for food that you could’ve gotten cheaper elsewhere. Many students would try and use up all the meal plan credit points they have leftover before the school year is over causing them to consume a lot of fast food in a short period of time. Definitely not good for health.
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10. Ticket to every school activities
Schools do sell tickets to many of their events. I remember contemplating whether I should buy the tickets and go to certain school events. In the end, I didn’t buy those tickets and I’m glad I didn’t. Before you know it, it’ll be exam season or assignments due. You won’t have as much time as you think to go to all those school events.
You can certainly go to a few of those activities but it really is kind of a waste of money. You are offered a place to hang out with those who go to the same school as you, maybe eat some pizza, there’ll be music, take a few pictures, run around playing games, buy food at the events, etc. The experience itself can be fun and to you, it may be worth the $80 or $150 that you paid for but that cost can quickly add up when you attend a few of those events per year.
Pick 1–2 of those school activities to participate in per school year. Don’t go overboard. There are other free activities on campus that you can participate in. Clubs for instance are free and it does offer that dose of social interaction that is the hallmark of the college experience.
Side note: I’ve never actually gone to any school parties throughout all those 4 years in uni or even those 4 years in high school so I saved a lot on the entertainment budget. No, saving money wasn’t the only reason I decided not to go, the school I went to weren’t big on parties. Almost everyone studied their asses off.
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11. Television
Don’t think you’ll have time to lounge around the sofa watching television. Haha, no, that won’t happen. Unless you major in English?
Television is a waste of space and frankly a waste of time as well. You’ll most likely watch all shows on your laptop as you eat your dinner alone in your dorm room while everyone is busy with their own things.
You don’t need a television. It’s bulky, takes up space, it’s expensive, and needs a replacement every few years. You won’t even use it as much as you think you will. Watch your shows on your laptop. Plug in that earphone. No one will overhear whatever weird show you’re watching 🙂
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12. Room decor
Keep room decor at a minimum. Some people jazz up their entire room with lights, polaroid pictures, posters, dressers, 3 truckloads of stuffed animals, etc. You’ll find it a nuisance when you have to move which will happen sooner than you think.
You don’t need to buy a whole bunch of room decors. I like the idea of minimalism, it’ll be easy to tidy up, your room will look a lot nicer, and your mood will also be uplifted. There’s simply no need to shop for room decor.
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Final thought
College can be an exciting time. Many of you will want to make it the best experience you can and you can totally live the typical college experience without going broke.
Tell me, what else do you think college students shouldn’t buy? Comment down below! 🙂
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