1. Plan Your Meals in Advance

Before going grocery shopping, decide what meals you’ll eat over the coming week. This will mean you only purchase ingredients you’ll use, which will prevent both temptations when you’re at the store and wasted food. When you return home, it’s worth preparing some meals in advance and freezing them to save time on cooking later in the week.

2. Choose a Part-Time Job with Perks

If you want to work a part-time job while you’re at college, search for one that provides extra perks. For instance, working at a restaurant may provide you with a meal per shift, whereas working at a store that you normally purchase from will mean you can take advantage of employee discounts on things you’d be buying anyway.

3. Check Your Spending on a Monthly Basis

It’s important to set a budget to avoid spending more than you can afford. However, after setting your budget, it’s crucial to check that you’re sticking to it. Review your finances on a monthly basis to see if you need to cut back anywhere or if you need to assign more money to a particular category (which will mean reducing your funds for another).

4. Put Money into a Savings Account

Saving any money may sound like an impossibility, but it’s feasible when you save just a small amount a day. A challenge to try is to increase the amount you save by 1¢ each day. If you save 1¢ on the first day, this will mean saving 2¢ on the second and 3¢ on the third, until you’re saving $3.65 on the final day of the year. Although you never need to save a large amount on any given day, you’ll have saved $667.95 by the end of the year.

5. Stay Fit Without a Gym Membership

Look for cheaper options than paying for a gym membership. You have many: you could use the facilities on campus (this may include fitness classes as well as a gym), move into student housing that has a fitness center, exercise in your bedroom, go running in the park, or join an intramural sports team.

6. Limit Your Study Time

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need to study for as long as possible, especially when you start college and you’re not used to dedicating so much time to studying on your own. In fact, it’s important to take breaks to maintain your concentration. Set a timer to ensure you take breaks at regular intervals — and then get right back into studying when your break is over.

7. Use Citation Searching for Your Assignments

If you’re struggling to find enough sources for your assignments, try citation searching. This involves checking the reference lists for papers you’re already using as well as looking at what papers have referenced these papers. The latter is great for finding more recent sources.

One more crucial thing to do is find housing you actually enjoy living in. You’re unlikely to be comfortable in campus dorms, where you’ll lack privacy, need to share a bathroom with countless other students, and have no way of cooking a decent meal. A great alternative to Niagara College residence is Regent. We provide you with a fully-furnished apartment with all-inclusive rent. You’ll have your own bedroom, a living room with a smart TV, a kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and an onsite fitness center. Plus, our electronic locking system keeps you secure while eliminating the need for keys. Book a tour now.