Ways to save money at Southern

Melanie Sabol – Copy Editor

        Saving money is a lot easier said than done, trust me. Between buying books, late night deliveries, and all of the online shopping that will happen this year, the money you have saved up will disappear quickly if you are not careful.

        One thing that I was not prepared for my freshman year was budgeting money. I have always been a saver. I worked all summer and I saved and saved, but by the ended of my fall semester freshman year, my money was gone. For those of you who only have summer jobs, like I once did, taking half of that summers pay and putting it towards the spring semester was one of the smarter saving ideas I have come up with.

        Take full advantage of your meal plan and know what it has to offer you. As a freshman, your meal plan gives you many options. Most freshmen will have the Platinum meal plan. This gives you unlimited swipes into Conn Hall – which is all you can eat. Six anywhere meals that can be used at Dunkin’, the Bagel Wagon, or various other places around campus as well as eight guest meal swipes to Conn. Also, you get $150 in Food Loot per semester, which you can use in the Student Center, North Market, and the Bagel Wagon.

        If you are still trying to find cheaper ways to get food, a lot of events on campus will provide food if you attend. You might also get a free t-shirt out of it. Free t-shirts are a great way to add clothes to your wardrobe.

        Buying books each semester is always an expensive task. While the Southern Bookstore will always provide you with the books that you need, they may not always be the cheapest. When I shop for books, it’s a process. To make sure that you are getting the best price don’t be afraid to shop around. Chegg.com and Amazon.com are websites that I use to compare prices to our bookstore. Keep in mind that you can rent or buy from our bookstore, where as with Chegg.com you do have to send them back at the end of the semester. Signing up for Amazon Student will also open you up to free shipping which is always a great thing to have!

        Groupon is a great website to use that will provide you with coupons with great deals on places to eat as well as random shopping places around the New Haven area. Livingsocial is another great website which provides you with awesome deals on restaurants, sports and fitness, and things to do. Just go online and put in New Haven County and you will see tons of great things to do and places to go at a discounted price!

        You will want to go out and buy your own groceries so invest in a Stop and Shop card. They are always having sales and the more points you rack up the better deals you can get.

        Getting to the movies can be tough on a college budget. Luckily Southern offers movie nights in the Student Center Theater showing newer movies that have just left theaters but are not out on DVD yet. It’s a great way to get your friends together for a movie night without having to shell out all the cash.

        Not having a car as a freshman can really put a damper on getting around. Bright side is, you save money on gas. The Southern shuttle service goes around to the Milford mall, Wal-Mart in Hamden, as well as Union Station. Using the shuttle service, you can at least get off campus and not have to pay for a taxi or city bus. Just be aware of the shuttle’s hours and how often they do drop offs and pickups.