Money Saving Tips for First Year Students (from a Third Years Perspective)

Written by Sarah Villeneuve

First-year of college, the first true taste of freedom for many young adults. In your first year of college, there are tons of fun things to do and take advantage of that you may not even realize how much you're spending until you see your very sad bank statement.

It may seem impossible to save money while in college, but thankfully SLC provides various opportunities and services to help student slow down their daily spending.

Check out our list below to see SLC Kingston’s best kept secret money savers! 

1.  Free coffee in the SA (8:30 am – 10 am), you just have to bring your own mug. And even FREE breakfast snacks every Monday morning!

2. Another good reason to bring your own coffee mug. Both Browns and Tim’s at the college allow you to bring your own coffee cup and save 10 cents off your coffee, also get a rewards card towards a free coffee.

3.  Eco-containers help you save money and the container waste of eating in the cafeteria. They not only help the environment but that few cents you save will really add up when using Eco-containers  

4.  Want to hang with your friends but don’t want to pay to do something? The SA has tons of video games, board games, and even ping pong and pool for students to use!

5. Before you buy that recommended textbook, check out the SLC Library to see if they have a copy available. Photocopy the pages you need costs a lot less than buying a whole textbook you may never open again…. or not open in the first place.

6.  Watch out for events with cash and money-based prizes! Grocery Bingo is one of the main events that the SA puts that gives Loblaw’s gift cards as prizes.

7.  USE YOUR BUS PASS. You’ve already paid for it in your tuition, at this point it’s just free transportation. While in school it’s a great way to get around without having to worry about a car and all the stress that comes with it. 

8.  Are you a gym buff or interested in starting to go to the gym? With your SLC student card, you get free access to all of the Kingston YMCA’s locations, programs, and services. It’s a really great way to get introduced to the gym and realize what you like before you pay for it.  

In my first year, knowing about some of these great opportunities would have saved me a lot of money and stress in the long wrong. That’s why I’ve decided to share this with all of you, to see what SLC provides to help student slow down their daily spending.