Comments on: 10 Tips – Back to School Savings For College Students

By: Midnight Meanderings – Back To The Basics | No Credit Needed

Midnight Meanderings – Back To The Basics | No Credit Needed — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:29:54 +0000

[...] Four Pillars presents 10 Tips – Saving Advice For College Students [...]

By: Sampson

Sampson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:20:12 +0000

The rest of the suggestions are quite good – and apply to students and non-students alike.

I think the most important message is tho live within one’s means. Not only are student incomes paltry, but a few mistakes financially during that period can really have major impacts on the next few decades of one’s life – debt is the obvious one, but spending habits are largely formed in this period.

@Mike – The ONLY reason I made it through grad school was because I was surrounded by alcohol

By: Shevy

Shevy — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:24:04 +0000

I’ve tasted non-alcoholic beer. I’d rather buy a case of A&W root beer, thanks. At least it tastes good and I can get a sugar buzz. If you like caffeine, go for Barq’s instead.

As for your other points, by all means check out all the flyers and buy as much of your school supplies and hygiene products at the cheapest price possible. However, make sure that the supplies you’re buying are okay with your instructors. Don’t load up on $0.10 reams of lined paper when it turns out that you’ve bought narrow lined and your instructor demands wide (or whatever).

I couldn’t imagine getting through a course without my own textbooks. I happen to be a bibliophile and don’t like my books marked up so it’s new for me. If I was desperate to save money I’d either buy used or buy new and sell them once I passed the courses.

I’m not familiar with cell phone retention plans (possibly I should be)but I agree that a landline is not necessary. Bundling services definitely saves money. Even if it’s only $5/month, that adds up month after month, year after year.

And I’ve found WestJet to be much cheaper than Air Canada. Depending on where home is and where you’re going to school, sometimes it saves money to cross the line, fly out of Bellingham or Seattle and take something like Jet Blue, even when you take the exchange rate into consideration.

As for the laptop, *some* people can get away with a netbook. If you’re one of them, you can save maybe $350 over the cost of a laptop. You could buy a lot of (real) beer with those savings!

By: Henry

Henry — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:44:54 +0000

To Everyone: Everyone seems to have issues with the non-alcoholic beer. I get the picture.

How about the other points in the post?

By: Commander Trent

Commander Trent — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:35:12 +0000

I think a better way to save money on beer is to go with a cheap beer (lucky lager). You can get a 24 of cheap bear for 26.40 including deposit of $0.10 per bottle.

One major problem with the non-alcoholic beer is if you ever tried to drink it in front of other people you would have to explain yourslef every single time. Whereas university is one of the few times when you won’t have to explain yourself for drinking those cheap beers.

By: El Cid

El Cid — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:58:06 +0000

There are perhaps five people in Canada who drink non-alcoholic beer and it seems most of them read Four Pillars. I have seen all of one person buy, order or drink one since they’ve been introduced.

By: Henry

Henry — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:36:10 +0000

Brian: Read the rest. Non-aloholic beer is a reasonable alternative for people like me.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:56:25 +0000

I stopped reading after “Molson non-alcoholic beer costs…”

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:29:24 +0000

Sampson – is that why you never made it past grade 7?

By: Mrs Pillars

Mrs Pillars — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:40:12 +0000

Mike is a fine one to talk. He married me in part because of my (then) non-alcoholic trait, which made me a cheap date.