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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at LUM chapter.

As we are nearing the end of the spring semester, we are running out of energy and our bank accounts are running out of money. Being a college student is not cheap. Whether you are paying for food delivery, rides, activities, shopping, beauty maintenance or travel plans—everything adds up! Here are some tips on how to save your money better! 

Cook Your Meals 

Everybody loves a good Chick-fil-A or Chipotle meal after a long school day, but let’s face it—fast food can get expensive. Try to find some new recipes or meal prep for the week. Cutting your deliveries in half will save you lots of money. Your wallet will thank you…and so will your body. The same goes for eating out. Staying home may not be an appealing option, but it can save you a lot.  

Coffee 

Starbucks has become an addiction for many of us. However, spending $6-8 on a drink every day is not sustainable. You can make the coffee at home! Buy premade iced coffee and just pour it on the go, or use a Keurig or Nespresso machine for a fancy touch. You can add as much garnish, syrups, drizzles, foams, and whipped creams as you want.  

Monitor Your Spending 

Giving yourself a shopping budget per month can help you limit your spending. You don’t want to create bad habits. Let’s say you make $100 a week. You could put away $70 and keep the rest! This way you are not entirely limiting yourself, but there is control. Knowing your wants and needs is also an important thing to keep in mind when deciding if something is worth purchasing.  

Get a Part Time Job 

The easiest way to keep up with your spending is working. Balancing school and work can be tricky, but it’s important to remember that school comes first, and being a part-time employee is okay. Whether you work on your school campus, online, or a nearby business, having some cash flow in every so often will be helpful.  

Good luck!

Talia Navarro is a freshman at Loyola University of Maryland. She was born and raised in New Jersey. She attended Middletown High School South, the place where she found her interest in studying law. She took Business Ethics, Creative Writing, and Effective Oral Communication electives. At the end of her senior year in high school, she won three different awards for submitting writing entries. The pieces included topics of being a child of a first responder, growing up as a dancer, and her dream of becoming a lawyer. Her journaling fascination was sparked by her Dad at a young age. If she ever had a school paper, she would report straight to him. They would sit in the dining room for hours and work through her corrections and how to improve her skills. Whether it is a simplistic story about rescuing her dog or writing about the causes of World War II, he was able to excel. She still continues to aspire to have her father’s ability and reach his level of composing mastery. In her personal life, she has incorporated journaling into her everyday routine, to reflect on her gratitude and make affirmations to herself. She enjoys helping her friends and classmates edit their school papers. She does not have a professional background just yet, however, she hopes to build it soon! She loves to read books in her free time. Her favorite genres are fiction and romance, but recently she has found interest in thrillers. She enjoys exercising and staying active, whether that includes going for a walk outdoors or going to an instructed class. A guilty pleasure of Talia's is shopping. If you ever offer a shopping trip, just know her answer is yes! She also has a passion for hair and makeup. She is always watching tutorials and testing various makeup techniques. She loves to try out new hairstyles and find the best hair care products on the market.