greenasian / FlickrI’m shining the spotlight on eight college expenses that are a big waste of money – and not necessary. Don’t forget to check out our weekly back to school deals to save money on school supplies and other back to college money savers.
- Printer – Most universities offer computer labs where your student can print their ten-page papers for free. All s/he needs is a flash drive to save the doc and transport it to the lab. Emailing yourself the doc as an attachment is even cheaper – free! Computer labs are open to all students, whether they live on or off campus.
- Pricey cell phone plans – On campus students will end up using the school’s Wi-Fi so there is no need to pay for unlimited data in a cell phone plan.
- Landline – If they have a cell phone, they can do without a landline. If your kid insists on a phone in their dorm or apartment, consider landline alternatives like Google Talk and Skype that are big money savers. Skyping with another Skype user is free, or buy a dedicated phone number for $30 a year. A YEAR! Free video chats are included.
- Pets – Don’t bring Fido. Not only will your student neglect him, they probably won’t be able to legally keep him in the dorms. If they plan on living on their own, review all the expenses of having a pet. Budget for food, a leash, bed, vet visits, doggie bags, and more.
- Microwaves, hot plates, toasters – Unless you know for sure your kid will have space and permission to bring small kitchen items, don’t buy them. A student on a meal plan won’t need one, and they are bulky to transport. I used to bring my frozen lunch to school all the time and used the microwaves around campus to warm up my food.
- New textbooks – Shop around online to find used textbook deals. If your student has an iPad or other tablet, they can download his or her textbooks to stop lugging books around.
- High-end computer – An inexpensive laptop or desktop will work just as well as an expensive one. Consider the likelihood that your student will forget, drop, or lose a laptop. Dorm theft is an issue, too. Shop around for the best computer based on your kid’s major. English major will need a basic word processing laptop, while film students will need a more powerful computer to edit projects, and engineering/architecture students may need a program like AutoCAD.
- Cable TV – College is not the time to be siting in front of the TV. Cable TV is an unnecessary expense because students will be busy cramming for tests and making friends. To stop spending money on cable try other options like Netflix, Redbox and Hulu.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
I disagree on microwaves. Even if you have a meal plan, sometimes you need that microwave to make yourself some ramen at 4 o’clock at night when you are cramming for that test…
I do highly agree with textbooks. You can even run some arbitrage like I did in school. Amazon sold my Calculus book for $40 and the bookstore gave me $70 for them. So, that was an easy $30 in my pocket!
@Jesselyn A budget alternative to a microwave is a hot pot. You fill it with water, plug it in, and get boiling water in no time. Great for a quick ramen snack or tea.
@Jesselyn I’ve seen microwaves around dorm room hallways for students to use. This of course depends on your school, but if you do decide to bring one along make sure your roommate doesn’t do the same. Having a plan with the roomie will save you money!
At my college printing is not free and costs 5 cents a page (10 cents a page for color). It’s great if your college has free printing, but not all do sadly.
I disagree with premise that printing is free.
I have taken classes at two different universities, and neither one had free printing in any computer labs or libraries. You logged on with your student number, and were billed 0.10 per sheet you printed.
It might still be cheaper than a printer, but absolutely not free.
@Tamara @Kerrie My school had free printing but I guess times are changing. Students probably think twice before hitting the print button when they pay for each page.
I teach at two major universities. A lot of these don’t make sense if the student puts a value on their time that is greater than zero. Yes there are printers in common areas, but if after the student prints out the project he or she sees a typo, then they have to drudge across campus to their computer to make the changes. Ink jet printers are cheap, often free with a new computer purchase. The ink jet cartridges are more costly, but if used prudent use of a student’s time, particularly at the end of the term when a lot of assignments are due.
A microwave bunch of popcorn late at night is a nice, inexpensive treat, and if it saves going down to the community microwave in the common area, which is usually grossly dirty, over four years the $49 cost for a microwave is not that much is it?
These are the best years of your child’s life. Don’t make him or her feel like she is being sent to a gulag.
@Kerrie and Tamara My university included a printing fee in our student fees. For me it wasn’t free as I paid for it, but I sure took advantage of it (there was no limit in most labs). If I printed in the library it would be another $.05. I avoided that lab like the plague!
I have friends in private colleges that get to print for free.
@Dean It really depends on the university you are heading to. Printers are not expensive nowadays, but ink is what kills you especially if you have to use color. I never worked on a paper at the labs so I didn’t spend time waiting for a computer, I just printed my work there.
Our microwaves were fairly clean and they were always available to us.
In California tuition is increasing at a rapid pace and making a few sacrifices is beginning to be the norm around here.
Great topic as I just returned home from driving my son (and first to attend college child) to Humboldt State University in CA. I am super cheap ‘er frugal and he’s been learning the lesson of cutting expenses for years. So we sent him with a microwave, dorm refrigerator, toaster oven and water filter system we received all free. (The toaster oven is in the community kitchen as they are not allowed in the rooms.) He has a stash of treats, and healthy snacks I stockpiled at home for free to almost free. It’s up to him now to ration it so he doesn’t eat everything the first week. We bought his laptop on sale at Fry’s (the best place for electronics). He did not get the bells and whistles system just the basics hey he’s a Freshman not a grad student. Book are being researched to purchase used online. I stocked him up with a First Aid kit filled with OTC aspirins, cold/fever meds, bandages, neosporan, thermometer, sore throat spray etc. All acquired for free stacking coupons with sales. Another great site for used text books is http://www.abebooks.com We found the co-op credit union ATM’s close by campus that do not charge a fee for usage. We found “the locals” grocery store and best of all (well not exactly) we found 3 of THE BEST thrift shops in town that offer weekly discounts for student. I have to say I’m somewhat envious and almost wish I could attend college now. Our plan and my son goal is that he graduates from college debt-free.
@Pauline Wow – how inspiring! I’d love to hear more about how you and your family are doing such a great job cutting down college expenses. Sounds like a lot of planning and effort went into it. Can you email me your story? I’m at julia at bargain babe dot com.
My sister went to Humboldt and I remember Arcada had a bunch of bikes painted green that were free for anyone to use. You didn’t have to lock them up and you could get on one anytime you saw a green bike! I wonder if the community is still like that.
Another great thing are the student deals. I joined up with Amazon Student (free if you have a college email) which gave me free 2-day shipping on the used textbooks I bought. So great…especially if you need to buy a book soon! I always bought my books on Amazon…and then at the end of the semester,I would sell them on the website. Selling the books back is such an easy process, as well…and now Amazon also offers that you can trade in your books to them.
As for laptops/ electronics, I really like Apple’s deal that they normally promote to students in the summer. I bought a MacBook, got a 8gb iPod touch and a free printer! Now, I know that Macbooks are pricey…but having dealt with PCs all my life that had problems, I can honestly say Macs are a good investment and to date, I haven’t had any problems with my Macbook that I have had since 2008.
@Brittany Apple is not doing that promotion this year. They are giving away gift cards to their app store with the purchase of a laptop.
I agree with you about Macs – I prefer them over PCs!
A lot of good things to consider!
We found out that the meal plan that our daughter was on the first year of college averaged out to the exhorbitant price of NINE dollars a meal! Needless to say, she is now cooking her own meals. …She is in a college apartment with full kitchen,(junior/senior privelege) which, of course makes it possible.
As far as computer, however, it depends on the college. She had to have a very expensive computer because the college requires a particular kind. (I guess not every computer is compatible with certain programs/documents/software) I have heard that some colleges require that you buy your computer from them.
Definitely go to amazon or abesbooks for textbooks when you can. My best buy was .75 cents for a $75.00 textbook!
Thanks for sharing!