Parading around in the best costume can be difficult as a college student—since you have around $20 to your name. How can you possibly show up your friends and colleagues when you can’t afford the new Iron Man MKIII armor? I’ll tell you how.

Once we arrived, organic beverages in hand, the energy of the crowd overwhelmed us. The hyper-enthusiastic cheerleaders and dance team bounced around while the Spirit of the West Marching Band played music from the Phantom of the Opera. An admitted musical nerd, I was highly entertained by their song selection. After chasing down our mascot, Champ, for an obligatory Bobcat pride picture, we mingled our way through the crowd to view the front part of the stage.

Over half of all recent MSU graduates hold a student-loan debt of $24,000 dollars or more. To put things into perspective, that’s 3,000 hours of working at a minimum-wage job, one-tenth the cost of an average home, or 48,000 tacos. Put another way: twenty-four grand is a shit-ton of cash.

College should be a fun and rewarding experience, not a time to worry about falling into crippling debt—so start pinching pennies now instead of taking out more loans. Here’s a list of practical and creative methods to save some cash.

Remember that you’re in college to learn (we hope). Inevitably you’ll have to spend more money on books than you want to. Besides giving yourself time to shop around for the best prices, try a few of these tricks:

·      Ask if a friend owns the book you’re looking for. Bribe that friend with a case of beer, wash his or her car, etc. Do whatever you need to do.

·      Check out the library. Most professors will place a copy of your textbook on reserve. Read it there, take notes, or make a few photo copies to take home.

·      Make friends the first few days of class and split the costs of a single textbook. Take turns with the book or hold group study sessions.

·      Wing it like Maverick and Goose on Top Gun. Legend speaks of a chosen few who have made it through class without a book. It’s not easy, and we’re not advocating this to just anyone, but it can be done.

Biking, on the other hand, is away of lifefor many Bozemanites, as many ride to class year-round. What you lose in convenience, you’ll make up for in savings—the cost of maintaining a bike for a year averages a paltry three hundred bucks, compared to eight grand for a car. Not to mention that pesky MSU parking permit—$160 buys a lot of frozen burritos.

·      Use coupons. You can only eat PB&J twice a day for so long, so enhance your intake with coups. In addition to the various coupon books found around MSU and Bozeman, the MSU Pocket Guide has nearly 50 cash-saving coupons,  many of which let you eat like a king on a pauper’s wage. Play “restaurant roulette” the next time you hit the town—flip through your Pocket Guide, find a coupon, invite some friends, and live beyond your means for a night.

·      The U.S. Department of Health notes that college students spend about $5.5 billion per year on alcohol, mostly beer. If you find yourself heading to the bar, bring only a predetermined amount of cash. Twenty bucks should be enough for a decent evening, especially at the Molly Brown, the Haufbrau, or the Eagles (check out the 2-for-1 drink coupon in this year’s Pocket Guide). It’s easy to get swept up in the moment and buy a round for everyone, but while this may make you a popular friend, it won’t do much for your wallet.

Your new home… yawn. Time to decorate!

As an impoverished college student, coupons and thrift stores are your two best friends. But that doesn’t mean you have to live a Spartan existence, devoid of comfort and style. Here are some affordable ways to spice up your dorm room—or your off-campus bedroom—on a limited budget.

Add interesting lamps for some nice mood lighting. Dorm-room lights are usually florescent and can hurt your eyes after hours of studying. Hit up local thrift stores to find funky lamps and shades. Get small Christmas lights, rope lights, or other decorative string lighting to hang on the walls and ceiling. This adds a nice touch and will make your room seem like a penthouse suite compared to those boring rooms with only an overhead light.

Climbing shoes + hook = decor

Use outdoor gear as decoration. Instead of stashing your skis under the bed, prop them somewhere visible and useful—maybe in a corner, where they can double as a coat rack. Hang up a hook for your climbing shoes. Like the classic old snowshoes on the cabin wall, outdoor items add individuality to your room—and keep you from having to search the closet when it’s time to head outside. Just don’t forget that gear is for activity first and decoration second.

Make it new again with artwork. Art can come in all forms and it doesn’t have to cost thousands of dollars to make your room look awesome. Once again, Bozeman’s numerous thrift stores often have cool paintings for under $10. Rummage through the fabric bin and find a makeshift tapestry. Don’t forget about garage sales; scour Craigslist and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle for locations each weekend. If you can’t find anything you like, make something yourself. You don’t have to be Picasso or Rodin; just pick a medium and go crazy. You can also alter thrift-store pieces to make them more to your liking.

Thrift stores have cool stuff for cheap

 

Use old fabric as a throw for your bed—just make sure it’s been washed. Make a collage with photos of friends and family (you might not miss your parents at first, but homesickness will eventually set in). Get a small potted plant to bring life and color to your room. And when they hand out free posters on campus, look at them from an aesthetic perspective; they might just be worth hanging up.