University students shop thrifty, save money for tuition
After paying for tuition, rent, food and books, freshman Maryanne Baker is in a tight spot financially.
“My roommates and I are always taking anything we can get from friends and family,” Baker said. “Sometimes you have to shop at thrift stores, their prices are a little bit lower, and students need to save their money for food and gas.”
Baker is one of many students who juggle their budget. With students trying to manage their money more effectively, a new trend is emerging: students are shopping at discount stores as a lower-cost alternative for furniture and accessories, students and business owners said.
Shopping at discount stores is an opportunity to save some money while still finding good quality furniture or accessories, said Rick Roff, The Salvation Army Director of Retail. For example, The Salvation Army sells a set which includes a couch, love seat and four chairs with rollers for $65.
“(Shopping at thrift stores) teaches a very good lesson about how to get the biggest bang for your dollar,” Roff said.
Roff is responsible for tracking consumer trends and accommodating any changes. For example, dressers, couches and chairs are displayed in the front of the store to attract college students.
“By just observing the consumers there tends to be a rising trend in the number of college students coming in,” Roff said.
The downside to shopping at thrift stores is that they run on a donor-based system, he said. The inventory comes from donations, rather than from a distribution center, which limits selection.
“You just have to have an open mind when going to those types of stores,” Baker said. “It is okay if everything doesn’t match.”
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September 10th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
This article is mighty admirable and all that, but it fails to mention the best way to save money: buy your textbooks online! The
Highway Robbery CentralASUN Bookstore charges as much as they can get away with - and they get away with quite a bit, seeing how nobody ever stood up to them. go on Half.com, Amazon, Alibris - any one of those sites - and find your books for fraction of the price the ASUN demands. If you need your book ASAP, pay for the priority shipping, or go on Reno’s craigslist page.And then, of course, there’s always the library. Yes, this may sound too damn obvious, but evidently, herds of
sheeplesophomores never heard about that concept. Instead of checking out centuries-old Core Humanities texts from the Knowledge Center (or downloading them), they pay the top buck.