I am going to be honest ─ I am really passionate about this topic. These three R’s are something I live my life by, and right now I am going to tell you why you should too. I would consider myself an average college student. I don’t have an abundance of money at my disposal so I’ve had to adopt different practices to get around the money situation. In a moment of desperation for money I came up with the 3 R’s:
Repair
Seriously if it’s broke, fix it. That is the main premise for this R. Whether it’s your electronics, furniture, or clothing, fix whatever you can before buying something new. I am going to have to say I have bad luck when it comes to anything electronic; frequently I drop my phone which typically leads to a cracked screen. Instead of heading over to Apple I turn to my social media networks and throw up a status pleading for someone blessed with the ability to fix cracked screens. I am almost always successful with finding someone. $20-$40 later it’s like I have a brand new phone. Use any resources you can to fix things, just because you don’t have the skill set doesn’t mean your friends don’t either.
Reuse
Reuse everything! I can’t say that enough. And by reuse I mean sell your old stuff and use someone else’s. On a monthly basis, I go through my clothes and pick things out that I don’t wear anymore. I take them over to a consignment shop by my house called Plato’s Closet; they go through my clothes and give me money for the items they want to sell. With that money I buy clothes from there that other people brought in. You can find awesome deals and brand name clothes super cheap. Whatever clothes they don’t take I just save and bring back the next time. I love doing stuff like this because it saves me money and clears out space. I also go to my friends for things I need, especially textbooks. When I enroll in a new class, once again I head to my social media networks and see if anyone has that textbook or a similar one. I do this for pretty much anything that I might need that I foresee being costly. You can also adopt this practice for old items. Pinterest is a great way to find ways to create new things out of stuff you already have.
Refurbish
Have you ever heard of buying refurbished electronics? If not, take some time and look into it. Being a college student today requires technology. Classes are online, homework is submitted online, tests are online so basically everything is online. Buying the latest laptop can put a big dent in your wallet so don’t do that. Opt for a refurbished option. You may think because it is refurbished it won’t work as well, but that’s not true. Refurbished items were once broken, then fixed, and then resold. Or sometimes barely used, and re-stocked. Either way, they are also much cheaper. I got my Macbook Air refurbished and I’ve had it now for two years and it works perfectly fine.
The moral of this blog post is to embrace the three R’s in your life. They will save you money and ─ as a college student ─ saving money should be on top of the priority list.
As Blogger and budget aficionado, Tara K. helps students across the country enhance their knowledge about money management and everyday life. She is constantly looking for new ideas to transform into great advice for you. Pursuing a journalism major, Tara K. has a passion for the art of inquiry, which is conveyed through her writing.