{"id":104117,"date":"2025-08-23T11:20:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T11:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/104117\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T11:20:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T11:20:23","slug":"college-students-get-creative-to-cut-costs-on-back-to-school-expenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/104117\/","title":{"rendered":"College students get creative to cut costs on back-to-school expenses\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 As college students head back to campus, the cost of settling in is putting extra pressure on budgets. Beyond tuition, room and board, and books, students can face up to $1,800 to $2,400 in expenses for personal items like dorm room essentials, toiletries, and laundry supplies, according to data from Western & Southern Financial Group.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why students and parents are looking for creative ways to stretch every dollar.<\/p>\n

At Arizona State University, freshman Trent Ashdown thought he was ready for move-in day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a whole list,\u201d Ashdown said.<\/p>\n

Then on move-in-day at the downtown Phoenix campus, reality hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think, \u2018Oh, I\u2019ll be fine. It\u2019s just going to be a desk, a table and like a bed, and that\u2019ll be it.\u2019 But there\u2019s a lot of extra factors you don\u2019t consider,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For returning students, like Nasir Glover, a junior at ASU in Tempe, the financial burden doesn\u2019t get lighter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re always going need a good laptop, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Glover said. \u201cAll those expenses do catch up. It\u2019s pretty crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help ease the financial load, major retailers are offering a range of back-to-school savings.<\/p>\n

At a Walmart in Phoenix, store lead Lisa Crush says there are deals to be found throughout the store.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is ideal for a little bit more closet space,\u201d she said, pointing to storage solutions.<\/p>\n

Crush highlighted popular dorm cooking appliances like electric burners, often seen on social media, and low-cost furniture.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor $25.94 you can have a plastic drawer that\u2019s very easy to move around,\u201d she said. \u201cI definitely think $100 or less would get you everything that you need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Null\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Are you a Smart Shopper? What are your go-to saving tips and tricks? <\/p>\n

Share your deals or ways to save here!<\/a><\/p>\n

Walmart also offers a 50 percent student discount on its Walmart+<\/a> membership, bringing the cost down to just $6.47 per month with free delivery \u2014 even to campus. For a one-stop shop, the company\u2019s dorm bundle<\/a> includes 44 items such as bedding, towels, organizers, and toiletries for $258. There is even a one-click dorm food basket<\/a> with goodies for $50.<\/p>\n

Savvy shoppers can find budget-friendly options at all kinds of retailers.<\/p>\n

Kristin McGrath, an editor at The Krazy Coupon Lady<\/a>, says Target<\/a> offers 20 percent off dorm essentials when students verify their status in the app. Her advice: Make a complete list and take full advantage of that one-time discount.<\/p>\n

For school supplies, McGrath recommends thinking beyond the big-box stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t sleep on Staples and Office Depot,\u201d she said. \u201cIn some cases, we\u2019re spotting things under 50 cents each.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smaller items like toothpaste, shampoo, and deodorant can be found for under $1, or even free, at dollar stores and drugstores when digital coupons are stacked. And for students looking for affordable tech, both Amazon<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>and Best Buy<\/a> offer refurbished electronics programs that can significantly cut costs.<\/p>\n

Back in Phoenix, Ashdown and Glover are already putting their own savings strategies to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cCheck if they have student discounts,\u201d Ashdown advised. \u201cYou would be shocked how many places give crazy deals just based on proof of being a student.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glover agrees: \u201cAlways looking at price tags, always looking at deals, downloading coupons, especially in the first couple of days of school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether furnishing a dorm room or an off-campus apartment, the key is to plan ahead, stack discounts, and shop around.<\/p>\n

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 As college students head back to campus, the cost of settling in is putting extra pressure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,147,530],"class_list":["post-104117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}