If you’re like many of the other readers of this blog, you’re either going to be starting or continuing your college education this fall. And that (unfortunately) means you’ll be thinking about tuition bills again in a few months. You may not want to even acknowledge that fact right now, but it’s something that should be in the back of your mind throughout the summer. Going to school isn’t cheap, so you should be mindful of your expenses throughout the summer. While proper financial planning is a much bigger issue than I can cover in a single blog, I will give you a few tips for saving cash in the summer so that you don’t get to school with empty pockets.

First, and most importantly, work! If you didn’t have a job during the school year (or it ended at the end of the semester), start looking for one as soon as possible. You’ll need some sort of income if you plan on saving any money. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy (and probably won’t be, judging by the current economic conditions). Just something that pays at least decently and has flexible enough hours that you can have fun more than you work. Make sure your paychecks go straight to your bank account so you’re not tempted to spend all of your cash right away.

Once the paychecks start rolling in, make sure that you make it a priority to save. Set a certain percentage that will go directly to your savings account, or create a budget that you’ll stick to—just make sure that you’re putting away money every time you get paid. It doesn’t need to be a whole lot. Just enough to ensure that you’ll have some cash when you get to school in the fall (or enough to make a significant down payment on your tuition). How much you need to save depends on your financial situation. But no matter what, you should make a point to save quite a bit. More than you think you’ll need, in fact, because that’s always what you end up needing!

One of the best ways to ensure that you’ll have some cash at the end of the summer is to not spend. And while it’s a little unrealistic to try to not spend any money, you can really minimize your costs. Share rides to concerts and movies. Go to the beach and pack your own lunch. Rent movies with your friends instead of going out (and buy popcorn, soda, and candy at the grocery store instead of the theatre). There are many ways in which you can save money and still have fun during the summer. Play frisbee, or find a pick-up game of basketball. Go to baseball games on student nights. If you can really minimize your spending, you’ll be well on your way to not being poor once the semester starts! (Obviously, this is no guarantee that you’ll not be poor throughout the rest of the year, but it’s a start!)

As always, if you have any questions, comments or funny stories you'd like me to share about college or the blog, email me at stu@stuvu.com