Frugal College Tips for Teenagers

When people think of college for their kids lots of dollar signs usually pop in their heads. Frugal college tips can ad a different perspective to the idea of college being expensive. My own story of college is I knew my parents could never afford college for me, and I didn’t want them to.

I went to college a few year’s after high school when I had a full time job. As I looked for a job, one of the perks at the company had to be helping with college. The job I ended up with as a receptionist paid completely for college tuition. The entire 4 years. It was great! The pay was not great, but it gave me enough to cover basic living expenses.

Here are three ways to save money at college:

Go to a Community College

Community college’s are great for location, low tuition (still expensive) and financial help.

Classes still allow for the same degrees and graduation, just without the status of a big name. Along with big names come big price tags.

Most community colleges have a Bible study group that meets weekly.

Frugal college tip number one is too look into the the community college in your area when your teenager gets to that age.

Live at Home

College kids that go off to college pay high prices for housing whether on campus or off campus.

Creating a space where it feels like an apartment without the high rent at home will be one of the most frugal ways for a college teenager. Obviously, they can pay for an “apartment” at home where the rent will be much lower.

Separating a space in the home for a college teen will teach them responsibility, and save you money. Our son moved to the basement and paid a small amount of rent. Very small but enough to teach him about paying bills on time.

Park off Campus and Walk

On campus parking is expensive even at a community college. The frugal tip we gave to our college teen was to “walk”. As parents we wanted to help our son save the most of his hard earned money.

We knew the area around his college could be slightly dangerous in some area’s so as we viewed the campus and talked about transit this subject of safety came up. Discussing safe routes and practices gave him a feeling of being more secure, and allowed him to save money on parking.

As a bonus, he is getting great exercise. College age teens have the ability to learn frugality and independence easily. Frugal college tips for teenagers is to examine what is a high cost and see how it can be reduced.

Take a Daily Meal, Snacks and Drinks

My college age son has learn all of his frugality tricks from his parents. Since day one he has shopped weekly and taken his lunch. His weekly meal prep usually happened over the weekend.

Buying snacks and drinks to keep on hand during a transition of classes or a long time between classes is a good idea.

As a result he was able to avoid the “hangry” phase where he would randomly go buy something to eat and spend more than necessary.

Planning ahead and implementing the plan is one of the best frugal college tips for teens that I can offer. Eating out is unhealthy and expensive.

Fast forward a few year’s to see what can be done with the money saved while in college. My son has saved enough by sacrificing now to pay a down payment for a home when he graduates.

College and life can be expensive. Frugality is a choice. In conclusion, college doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Frugal college tips allow teenagers to make choices on how their money is spent during college.

Follow me on Instagram @momsarefrugal for more adventures in frugal living, homeschooling and homemaking.