One hallmark of the college experience is being a poor starving student, but even with a tight budget there are ways to have all TV show, music and video games you want. Find ways to beat the system and save a buck, while still having fun.
One thing hard to find in college is a cheap way to watch your favorite TV shows or movies. Many students use Netflix or Hulu to to make it work, but cringe when the $10 charge comes around every month. Instead, The Houstonian suggests making a group of friends and all spilt the bill. Also, swapping between services to keep the content varied. If four friends all split a monthly bill, that is only a few bucks and a manageable addition to a college budget.
Don’t just limit it to Netflix and Hulu either, for fewer choices with higher quality programs spend a month or two with HBO Now. Amazon Prime offers a free month to students with a completely different suite of offerings. Into Anime? Try out Crunchyroll. If you and your friends have a collection of good Youtube series to show each other then give Youtube Red a shot. Swap it up as each service cycles out new seasons and movies and a year from now you’ll have gotten everything you wanted for a fraction of the cost.
Music can be just as easy. Both Spotify and Apple Music have family accounts; on Spotify six people can have the premium service for only 15 dollars total a month. Once everyone is on the same service it becomes even easier to share playlists and collaborate. For those without 5 other people standing nearby, make sure to sign up with the university email address and the price is reduced as well, down to only 5 dollars.
One current example of a way to get days of fun for cheap is the website Humble Bundle, which is hosting a Capcom videogame sale for PlayStation 3 and 4. Humble Bundle is a website that puts together “bundles” of videogames, books, music and more every month that any user can choose to pay what they want. The price is whatever the costumer chooses even allowing prices down to one cent. What’s even better is that when someone purchases any of the site’s bundles they are allowed to choose where the money goes, being able to split it between various charities, the content creators and Humble Bundle.
Another great way to save money on video games is to hold off on buying a game right at release, instead check out a streamer playing it on Twitch. Watching streamers can save you from wasting money on a bad game, and as you get familiar with certain streamers you can also find lesser known games that they recommend. Additionally, Twitch streamers are entertaining in their own right, and many also donate to charity.
After all the entertainment needs have been satisfied, the university Student Money Management Center has numerous resources on their website to help students manage limited funding. Be sure to see the Houstonian Online’s useful links section their free food calendar. The Student Money Management Centers primary role is to assist students with broader budgeting questions primary.
“The award-winning SMMC has 3 full-time employees and 3 Peer Coaches that are all trained Certified Personal Financial Coaches,” said Patsy Collins, Director of the SMMC. “They are trained to help students with budgeting and credit issues. In the game of life, financial strategy and preparation are essential to success. We work with students to develop an action plan to help ensure their financial and academic success.”
The SMMC is located in the Student Service Annex at 919 Bearkat Blvd. across from Lone Star Hall.