4 Simple Ways for College Graduates to Save Money

Emery

As a recent college graduate who just started her first real job I understand living on a budget can be difficult. My favorite indulgences are eating out, buying books, watching movies, and enjoying the daily cup of java to get my morning started. Once my student loan payments started coming in and my weekly budget quickly sizzled I knew I needed to look at my extra costs and cut them down. After a month of changing my habits and expenses I easily began saving money. The arabica coffee blend suppliers will provide the simple ways for blending of the coffee beans. There will be reduction in the additional cost of the person to spend at the coffee making. 

Plan Your Meals

I used to be notorious for buying fresh meat and veggies with the hope of doing something with them eventually but every night by the time I came home I was simply too tired to think about cooking so I’d order out or go out to a restaurant. I was not only wasting money on groceries but I was also wasting $10-$13 every time I ate out. This isn’t including the lunches out I was regularly purchasing that easily cost $5-$10. What a waste of money!

I began making a food calendar and started planning my meals. On days I knew I would be working extra long shifts I would throw something in the crockpot in the morning so my meal would be ready by the time I came home. Instead of eating lunch out during my lunch break I started preparing my lunches the night before.I also started making extra servings of my favorite dishes and putting them in tupperware containers in order to make meals last 2-3 days. Not only did my food costs go down but I began eating healthier when I started preparing my own meals.

Visit Your Local Library

I’m a pretty huge book nerd. Even with the invention of e-readers, tablet computers, and the ability to find books for cheap on Amazon, I love buying books at my local bookstore. The problem is I’m a fast reader and once I’m done with a book in a few days I’m ready to move on and read something else. At $13-$20 for each book this can get pretty expensive. I also enjoy watching movies either at the theater or renting from the local video store. Between books and movies I was spending roughly $25 a week on entertainment. I decided to visit my local library.

Once I stepped foot inside, I was completely enamored. Every book or movie I wanted was available—for free! This concept was amazing to me, even though I had gone to libraries regularly as a child. Since then I visit my library every week and have saved $100 a month by doing so. I still see some movies at the theater but for the most part I wait for them to come out on DVD.

Make Your Own Coffee

If you love drinking coffee like I do and you’re on a budget it seems the natural choice is to begin brewing your own blend of coffee at home. I knew at $4 a drink I could cut costs by eliminating my daily coffee run but I’ll admit, I was stubborn. I’ve never been someone who enjoyed bland ol’ coffee at home. I could just never get it to the same flavor or taste as the fabulous local baristas.

After browsing the creamer isle at a grocery store and various blends and brands of coffee beans I decided to try making my own. After a few test runs I finally had the perfect coffee mix down. I began brewing my coffee in the morning and taking it to work with me saving roughly $100+ a month.

Filter Your Own Water

About a year ago I was in the grocery store loading up a package of bottled water when a woman came up to me and said, “you should really just buy a filter for your faucet. You’ll save money and help the environment.” Her comments irritated me. Who was this woman to boss me around? Filtering my own water seemed like a headache and I loved the convenience of grabbing a bottle of water on my way out to go workout. After I did some research and realized a water filter and a reusable eco-friendly water bottle would only cost me about $30 maximum I decided to make the change. I went from spending $40 a month on water to $0.

Next Post

Setting Up Your Home Aquarium: The Complete Guide

Step 1: Decide whether you are ready to take the plunge: Having a fish tank to call your own can become the focal point of any room in your home, but it takes effort on your part in order to keep it looking the best that it can. Aquarium keeping […]

Subscribe US Now