One of the hidden talents that most college students possess is the ability to find deals on everything from food, to clothes and books. Due to a limited income, students are often forced to find the best deals on necessities.
�I have $6 in my account,� said Mary Deer, a sophomore.
However, being on a tight budget doesn’tmean one must cut out all luxuries. The trick is to spend wisely.
Greensburg offers many choices for the budget-conscious student. The not-so-surprising favorite is the discount retailer, Wal-Mart. Students can find almost anything they need and usually at low prices, such as 14 cent Ramen noodles, the ultimate college food staple.
By Stormy Knight,
News Editor
and
Vanessa Kolberg,
Arts and Entertainment Editor
One of the hidden talents that most college students possess is the ability to find deals on everything from food, to clothes and books. Due to a limited income, students are often forced to find the best deals on necessities.
�I have $6 in my account,� said Mary Deer, a sophomore.
However, being on a tight budget doesn’tmean one must cut out all luxuries. The trick is to spend wisely.
Greensburg offers many choices for the budget-conscious student. The not-so-surprising favorite is the discount retailer, Wal-Mart. Students can find almost anything they need and usually at low prices, such as 14 cent Ramen noodles, the ultimate college food staple.
�Being a college student I don’thave a lot of money to spend on things.
Wal-Mart is great because it has everything I need and it doesn’thurt the college student budget�, said Dave Lauff, a sophomore.
Two-liter bottles of Sam’s Choice soda, in an array of flavors, can be found at Wal-Mart for 50 cents a piece – that’s less than a can of soda from a vending machine.
In desperate need of more room for shampoo bottles in the shower of your dorm suite? Wal-Mart stocks a variety of shower caddies for around $15, or you can opt for a generic comparable version for 94 cents.
Foregoing brand names is ideal for penny-pinching and today’s generic products are very comparable to their brand-name competitors.
Target is also another excellent choice, according to sophomore Lindsey Skorupan.
�You can never loose with Target. It has become my new favorite for everything from clothes to stuff for your room,� said Skorupan.
These stores are open late at night, or all day, as anyone who has ever made a 3:00 a.m. Wal-Mart run for soda will tell you.
For even cheaper necessities, students can choose from any one of the many dollar stores on Route 30, the Mecca for cheap items. One can find almost anything they need in a dollar store. Pick any one in the area, and one will see pens, notebooks, bottled water, plastic bowls and cups. The quality is often just as comparable to any other store, though products such as the $1 hair dye should be bought with caution.
There are several discount retailers in the Greensburg area. Ollies, Aldi, and Save-A-Lot are all located on East Pittsburgh Street in downtown Greensburg. Ollies can be compared to a smaller version of K-Mart, with even cheaper prices.
Aldi and Save-A-Lot are both drastically discounted grocers, which are great alternatives as long as one doesn’tmind bagging one’s own groceries.
In addition to going to less expensive stores, there are also several shopping techniques for staying on budget. Look for coupons or only go during a sale. Start shopping in the back of a clothing store, where the sale items usually are placed.
George Brattina, a junior, offered his advice.
�Don’timpulse buy. Also, wait for the end of the week – the price usually drops around this time and then goes up in the beginning of the week,� Brattina said.
Most retail stores run sales or specials every week. When spotting a must-have item, take a moment to reflect. Is buying a $60 pair of jeans today really worth waiting a week and potentially saving 50-75 percent?
Pay attention to the condition of the clothes. Most stores will give at least 10 percent off of even slightly damaged merchandise. Also pay attention to sales after you have made a purchase. Typical retail policy is to honor a sale price up to ten days after purchase, and some stores will even match their competitor’s price by 10 percent or more.
Being a tough customer is definitely worth staying within budget, especially for students. By using a combination of cheap stores with shopper-savvy techniques, any college student can afford to shop and pay tuition too.
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