This column does not reflect the views of The Daily Reveille.
I bet every student on campus is regularly thinking about how to save money — whether it’s one of your New Year’s resolutions, or you are saving up for that spring break trip. Sometimes finding ways to save money require you to think outside of the box. Here are some ways to save money you might not have thought of before:
1. Cut costs on food
Everyone knows Ramen is the college food staple, but did you know that you could buy 20 pounds of rice for $20? Go check your local Wal-Mart. You can also find places, like Amazon.com, that sell oatmeal for a dollar a pound.
2. Utilize Student Discounts
Ask about student discounts everywhere you go. You might be surprised how many places will give you a discount. Off the top of my head, I know that some Buffalo Wild Wings will give you 10 percent off and some Chipotle stores offer free drinks with a meal.
3. go Thrift shopping
Thrift shops were a great place to find cheap clothes before Macklemore had to go and tell everyone. You’d be surprised at the quality of clothes you can find at Goodwill.
4. Be creative
If you run vodka through a Brita filter a few times, it will taste like the top-shelf stuff. Just don’t use the same filter for water, unless you want vodka-flavored water.
5. try DIY wine
Two to three gallons of wine would cost $12. You can find several guides online. Disclaimer: You can hurt yourself when brewing alcohol improperly. Not sterilizing everything will let bacteria grow and can make you sick, so follow the instructions. Also, if you’re making wine in your apartment, don’t complain to me when it tastes bad.
6. enjoy Free entertainment
LSU has world-class sports teams that play year round. LSU gymnastics is ranked No. 2 in the nation, and the baseball team is ranked No. 4 in the nation in preseason polls. Why waste money going to a movie theater when you can go see those teams play for free?
7. Split costs
A Netflix subscription allows two simultaneous streams to be played at once. If you and a couple friends chip in, you can all use Netflix for a fraction of the cost.
8. Push the boundaries
Pirate movies, or you could borrow movies from a library in Baton Rouge, like the River Center Library downtown. Whatever your criminal tolerance is.
9. Save on textbooks
You didn’t hear this from me, but you can download many of your textbooks online. This only takes a small amount of Internet savvy. Just ask that friend who pirates movies all the time to help.
10. Be open-minded
The dumpsters around the dorms will usually have perfectly good furniture like lamps after the year ends and everyone is moving out. You may think that dumpster diving is a last resort, but it can’t hurt to drive by and look after the semester is over.
Jay Cranford is a 20-year-old finance junior from St. Simons Island, Georgia. You can reach him on Twitter @hjcranford.