The college life is a financial struggle for many, between trying to balance tuition and recreation, so here are a few money hacks that saved my butt while spending my first year of college eight hours away from home.
1. Lysol Concentrate
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One capful of this stuff mixed with a spray bottle full of water gives you all the disinfectant you will need to clean an entire kitchen or bathroom. It only takes a little, so it lasts a very long time, and you don't have to buy all different kinds of expensive cleaners. BONUS: You can soak in a bathtub full of water and one capful of this stuff, and it works wonders by helping clear up any cuts or scrapes, and I've noticed that my colds clear up faster when I bathe in this when my symptoms first show up.
2. Food gift cards
Having loose cash in your wallet isn't always that great when you need to keep some of it to make sure you have food to eat. Most likely that $10 your mom gave you will be spent downtown, and when it comes time to get lunch the next day, you have to spend extra money just to eat. If you get your family members to invest in giftcards to Subway, Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell and anywhere else you love to eat, you'll be able to use your own cash downtown without having to shell out more for food.
3. Shampoo as soap
We've all ran out of body soap, and shampoo has always done the trick for me as a stand-in until I could get to the store.
4. Sunscreen and foundation
This is a great way to make your liquid foundation last twice as long! I mix a pump of my favorite facial sunscreen with a squirt of my foundation and mix it together. It makes my foundation last longer because I am not using as much as I used to, AND I get great sun protection! TIP: I usually go one shade darker than my normal foundation color because mixing it with the sunscreen normally makes it lighter.
5. French press
A French press was by far my biggest money- and time-saver in my first year of college. I found a single cup French press at my local World Market, and I saved so much money and time with my morning coffee routine. Instead of having to stock up on expensive Keurig cups, just buying a bag of ground coffee beans will take you through an entire semester. Heating up water for two minutes in the microwave and pouring it over two tiny scoops of coffee grounds in your press is a lot less time consuming if you are in a rush to get to class
6. Baby Oil
For the people who use waterproof makeup, this is the cheapest solution to makeup removal! Baby oil is relatively cheap compared to fancy makeup removers and one bottle will last you the entire school year. Squirt a little on a tiny cotton round and scrub that makeup away! Not only does it remove mascara, and that stubborn red lipstick, but it also moisturizes your skin. Tip: Take out your contacts before removing mascara or you will be trying to clean the oil off of them for the next week. Also, remember to wash your skin off with soap and water to remove the oil completely.
7. Baking soda
Baking soda is the most versatile thing I have ever bought. Not only can it help you bake a cake, but it is also the perfect solution to getting out any and every hair product you use on your hair for a big night out. All that crispy hairspray that you coated on to hold your curls can take three palm-fulls of shampoo to get stripped away, but sprinkling a little bit of baking soda in your palm of shampoo will help you get your hair squeaky clean with just one wash. Not wasting shampoo was such a relief to me with this trick! EXTRA TIP: Any time you go to a hotel, ALWAYS take those little bottles of shampoo and conditioner! Bring a little stash of them with you to school, and you will always have a backup for when you run out of shampoo and haven't gone to the store.
8. Fountain soda
I found out about this trick too late in the semester to actually use it, and I wish I had known earlier! When you go to any convenient store around your campus, ask if they give discounted refills on their soda fountain with the cup you originally bought. The Cracker Barrel across from my freshman dorms did this, and if I had known I could get a fountain soda for only fifty cents by keeping my original cup I bought at the beginning of the semester, I would have saved so much money at the vending machines around campus!
Happy hacking!
