[null, null, {"document_url": "http://www.thefoodette.com/2013/03/like-college-kid-with-maxed-out-credit.html", "unformatted_src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6kCt5QUW0Fk/UUSMPd_9H1I/AAAAAAAABuY/7XcgAmkPE9Q/s400/blog.collage.jpg", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6kCt5QUW0Fk/UUSMPd_9H1I/AAAAAAAABuY/7XcgAmkPE9Q/s400/blog.collage.jpg", "formatted_filename": "blog", "rendered_width": 400, "rendered_height": 391}, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://www.thefoodette.com/2013/03/like-college-kid-with-maxed-out-credit.html", "unformatted_src": "//lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DqTZZXr4l04/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAACY0/qaFtD39rWyQ/s80-c/photo.jpg", "src": "http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DqTZZXr4l04/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAACY0/qaFtD39rWyQ/s80-c/photo.jpg", "formatted_filename": "photo", "alt_text": "My photo", "rendered_width": 80, "rendered_height": 80}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "http://www.thefoodette.com/2013/03/like-college-kid-with-maxed-out-credit.html", "unformatted_src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-newbAta7oC4/UdTqDoSXdrI/AAAAAAAACKE/SuDcrzjYkXY/s300/manners.png", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-newbAta7oC4/UdTqDoSXdrI/AAAAAAAACKE/SuDcrzjYkXY/s300/manners.png", "formatted_filename": "manners", "alt_text": "Use Your Manners", "rendered_width": 255, "rendered_height": 200}]

Like a College Kid with a Maxed Out Credit Card

One of the things I am most proud of about myself is that I was independent during college. I knew that I didn't want to leave college with mounds and mounds of student loan debt, and for many reasons scholarships and grants did not work out for me.

I started college at Austin Community College- on purpose. I didn't even apply to any Universities because I had a plan. I paid for each and every semester of Community College out of my own pocket and took as many classes as I could transfer. I even paid for a summer study abroad trip to Italy.

After I finished at the Community College, I went to Texas State where I started to dip into my Texas Tomorrow Fund to pay for my courses, but books, supplies, and general living expenses were all my responsibility. I had rent, car payment, cell phone, electricity, gas, food, etc. to pay for. I worked a minimum 30 hour/week, donated plasma on my two days off a week, and babysat when I could.

Fun Fact: I worked at a bra store in college... I am a certified bra fitter. There's a conversation starter! I did take out some student loans... there's just no way to do everything when you're working for minimum wage. I got so good at being frugal that I took a trip to England for spring break and even came home with some money leftover!

The point of this post is to share one of the biggest things that helped me to save money in college.
TEXT BOOK RENTALS. Yes, renting text books! How insane are the prices of text books? Especially new ones!? This is why when CampusBookRentals.com reached out to me to spread the word, I jumped on it!

The perks of renting text books through CampusBookRentals.com:

If you're in college and looking for some easy ways to save on expenses, renting text books is one of the smartest and easiest ways to do it!
Posted by Susan Nerenberg at 10:31 AM Labels: college living, rentback.com, saving money, textbookrentals.com