Teaching College Students To Buy For Cheap and Eat For Less

By Alexandra Vrugt

Despite finally being "on their own", with the financial stress and economy crisis that is going on around the world, parents may find that they need to reach out more, financially, to their college bound children. While you have taught them the importance of work and saving, they may need more help when it comes to working out a budget for one of a college student's favorite pastimes...eating! Help your college student learn to buy for cheap and eat for less with these great tips: Establish a workable financial plan. Encourage your college student to set a realistic budget that will allow them to get the foods that they want and still have money for necessities. Don't allow them to make huge jumps in their budget and don't finance beyond what you establish with them. This economy crisis will offer them a great chance to learn some financial responsibility. Go with them on shopping expeditions. Saving on gas is just as important as saving on groceries. So, during this economy crisis, teach your college student to do both. Help them to learn to buy for cheap so that they won't spend frivolously on unnecessary stuff. Also, give them the chance to compare the brand names with the generics. Let them work out their decisions on their own, but just help them to stay within their budget! Teach them how to save with coupons. For most people on a tight budget, coupons provide an extra source of "financing". If you present the coupons in a cool way so that your college student can see these little clips of paper as being as valuable as cash, then, they will most likely be willing to use them. They could also teach their friends and start a coupon swap with them so that they everybody gets the coupons for the foods that they want to buy for cheap. Find and use frugal recipes! Your college kid can buy for cheap and cook for cheap also by doing some research for frugal recipes that they can enjoy. Once they get their frugal recipe collection up, then, they can get their buddies involved. Young people are always coming up with some cheap and fun way to make something. If your college kid is a freshman, warn them about the "freshman 15"! In college, students have a lot of idle or down time. Encourage your college student not to spend that time eating. This will allow for their food to last longer, but also for them to avoid those costly pounds that they may regret later. Encourage your college student to take advantage of EVERY CHEAP college student discount that is offered when eating out. It will help them to really "stretch" their pocket money while still being able to eat out from time to time. Saving, cost-cutting, and avoiding packing on extra pounds can make the college experience healthier and happier for you, your kid, and your wallet!

About the Author:

As a wel-known connoisseur on saving money in daily life, Alexandra Vrugt has written many articles on how to manage on less. You can get a free copy of her Ebook '15 Top Ways to Save Money' by visiting her MakeEndsMeetOnline.com website. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service