Tips to save/manage money in school?

Thanks guys!!

Any others?

Student discounts...most places in Evanston have them since its a college town. Everything from the hair places to restaurants have discounts ranging from like 10-20%. However, they usually aren't good for alcohol. Also find the local deals...different restaurant/bars have specials e.g. dollar burger night at Bar Louie and $9 pizzas every day at whole foods.

I've got a friend who managed to get into McKinsey this way (at undergrad level). He never heard of McKinsey, didn't even know what they did, he just turned up to the event because of free food & drink, got talking to a few people, ended up with an interview and ended up with a job with them.

Awesome!!!

RF

Someone I know landed a PE job that way too. He actually went to the PE company's info session because this girl he had a crush on was going. He got the PE gig, she ended up at McKinsey and they ended up never dating

Apartment - Try to sign a 2 yr lease when you move in. Obviously you need to do more research than normal before you pick where you live. But, locking up rent for 2 years usually gets you a lower rent and in some cases additional benefits. For instance, many of us here at Ross live at a complex which gives 75% discount for 3 months between the 1st and 2nd years, if you have internship.

Clothes - Dont get sucked into the temptation to buy the most expensive shirts/trousers/accessories. While in school, many times you will think "This MBA is important to me and I want to look my best, no matter the cost". Resist the thought to buy Hicky Freeman and the like. They cost a boat load and have no impact whatsover on your recruiting.

Beer money - Pick and choose the social events you go to. You dont have to socialize every night or go to the bar every weekend. Several friends I know went out pretty much on a daily basis, and this burnt a huge hole in their pockets.

For managing money, I definitely recommend using software, such as Quicken or MSMoney. A really good one that is free online is mint.com. I'm sure people here have used it or have heard of it. You'll be surprised how much you spend on drinks/snacks...etc.

A big part of the MBA experience is networking and bonding with your fellow students and they are usually done with drinks and snacks. Therein lies the money pit.

Cut the cable!

It's expensive and my wife and I found there was never anything good on in the rare moments where we got enough time to watch TV. (It gets even worse when you can't get free time together until 11pm or midnight.)

We now get all our media from Netflix (esp. Watch It Now), Hulu, and iTunes. Way cheaper, even if we have to pay $20-25/season for season passes to some of the stuff we watch. And we can watch whenever we want without paying for a DVR. Another bonus is that when I'm traveling, I can still watch the same stuff I do at home.

My best move was getting a roommate. I was not able to move in with one until the second year (when I knew who I should or should not share an apartment with) but it helped a lot with the budget (30% savings, which can be significant in large metro areas) and also loneliness and job search depression

Some tips I've given to folks in my prior life as a financial counselor:

* If your car is worth less than ~$2500, consider cutting your coverage down to just liability
* Call around on your car insurance - costs can vary an enormous amount from one company to another
* Put your credit cards in a bowl of water and stick them in a freezer
* Combine telecommunications services
* Keep your car in shape: tune-ups, oil changes, air in tires
- the air bit alone can mean 10% savings in gas
* Park your car: bike, walk, or car pool
* Plan trips: do the groceries, pet store, post office, etc in one trip
* Pack a lunch
* Cook lots and freeze single portions

I have to say that I failed miserably on the last two during my MBA years...

Another that especially seems to apply in Durham - think about whether you need to live where the crowd does. Durham has gads of nice, affordable housing, but many Fuquans end up living in a few places that are insanely expensive, largely because the places are targeted at MBAs, JDs, and MDs from larger urban areas.

Oh, another that is especially good for students:

Many of us live on the lump sums that come from student loans a few times a year, and it can be tempting to throw it all in a checking account and just spend. Instead, consider putting those funds in another account and then "paying yourself" through regular transfers of set amounts to your checking.

And you might even consider making that savings account less liquid - put it at another institution, in a 3-month CD, or similar.

Decided to take some of aaudetat's advice to heart.....

Canceled landline phone. Will only have cellphone while in school....

Sold my car to pay off my grad school loan....and now I am probably getting a skateboard....my apt is 5 min walking distance from campus.


Done......My beloved AMEX is now frozen until I land a job in 2 years...

LOVE it!

nink: From the looks of it, that's a gold card, so your little AMEX-sicle will cost you $250 in fees over the next two years; probably better cancelling it if you're not going to use it.

Does the credit score matter while you are at school?
Does it matter for the Student Loan?

If not, you can You could probably save some money by applying for a bunch of Credit Cards and taking sign up bonuses and 0% APR offers to gain some interest. For instance Hotel, Airline, and other cards can have some lucrative sign up bonuses. If you have trips, this will save $$$ and the ding of the credit report/credit score should not matter too much as credit report inquiries stay only for 2 years, again assuming you don't need good credit score to apply for student loan your second year.

We can probably argue if this is ethical - I am not sure, but it is a game Credit Card companies are willing to play and that's what the sign up bonuses are designed for - to get you to sign up.

if you've got a solid credit history with lines that are long-standing, it's not that big of a hit.

on the other hand, you are gonna be BUSY during school, and if there is fine print, probably not in a position to deal with it. seriously, i didn't open mail for 6 months.