• Don’t buy bottled water (or bottled drinks in general). So many bottles add up in landfills, and your wallet doesn’t appreciate forking out $30 a case every couple of weeks. That’s a lot of money! If you really can’t stand tap water, just get a filter. Although it still creates waste, it’s a lot better for the environment than bottles.
• Actually, don’t buy disposable things in general. While there are exceptions to this rule, for the most part, buying something more permanent is easier on your checking account and better for the earth. I’m thinking about things like styrofoam cups and plates (don’t get me started on styrofoam…), paper plates, those one-use tupperware containers (what’s the point? just buy a real container!), plastic utensils, etc. You’ll save money and won’t create as much trash.
• Don’t waste paper. Print double sided and see if your teacher will let you single space your essays. This saves a lot of paper. Find out if printers in your school can do double sided, and if so, use that option. Also, use the “fast” or “quick” print setting, and you’ll use less ink!
• Only buy food you know you’ll eat in a reasonable amount of time. Don’t get three pounds of potatoes if you only eat one potato every two weeks…the rest of them will start growing eyes and you’ll get freaked out and throw them away. Wasting food is a bad thing. For one, think about how much work went into producing the food in the first place, all the people who traveled to the food production site, and then getting the food from the site to the store you bought it at. That could potentionally add up to a big carbon footprint (for instance, bananas or oranges from Brazil). Then think about how much money you wasted by not actually eating the food you bought. You could have used that money for either other food you would have eaten, or could be saving it, or you could be using it for textbooks, etc.
• Also, buy local. If you have a farmer’s market, go to it and use it! It’ll probably be cheaper and the food will be super healthy. (At least around here, I know the people I’m buying from don’t use any pesticides or hormones or anything. It’s so awesome!) If you have local shops, like gift shops or locally-owned restaurants, go to them. It’ll help the local economy and it’s usually a pretty good quality, so you’ll get definitely get your money’s worth.

Do you have any other tips? Share them in the comments! I hope these help you to save a little more money — and help you think about what you’re buying and the consequences it might have before you buy it!

About this Contributor: Maria Schwartzman is a senior computer science major with a Spanish minor at a small liberal arts school in Indiana. She’ll be writing a lot about how to save money by living a sustainable lifestyle! Check out her website and then follow her on Twitter.

Never throw away aluminum cans, plastic or glass bottles, newspapers, paper from class, cardboard from your cereal boxes, or any plastic that can be recycled.

This is a fairly easy, effective concept that can be overlooked. The place I worked over the summer did not have one recycling bin on the whole campus. The apartment building I lived in did not have any recycling available, and the person I lived with simply didn’t recycle. We can save landfill space and reuse materials just by recycling all that we can.

If you live in a state with a recycling program that gives you back some cash for turning in bottles, take advantage of it! Although it’s technically not that much money, it’s still money you didn’t have before.

Some other ways to save money – albeit indirectly from recycling – is simply to cut back on what you purchase. Get a reusable water bottle so you don’t buy so much bottled water. Think twice about buying that can of soda – your wallet, your health, and the world will thank you for it. Think about your purchases before you make one, and you will be helping not only yourself but also the planet.

About this Contributor: Maria Schwartzman is a senior computer science major with a Spanish minor at a small liberal arts school in Indiana. She’ll be writing a lot about how to save money by living a sustainable lifestyle! Check out her website and then follow her on Twitter.

• Do you commute to campus?
• More ways to go green while a student!
• There’s a new tax credit for college students!
• Parking on campus sucks!

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!

Benefits of having plants:

• Brightens up any room
• Cleans your air
• Depending on your plant, you could have flowers!
• Depending on your plant, you could have food!
• If you’ve studied any Feng Shui, you know that plants will add life energy to a room and, strategically placed, will absorb negative energy

Before running to the landscaping place, there are a few things to think about before getting a plant:

• Are you allergic to anything? (Certain flowers, for instance?)
• Do you want a plant that simply looks nice, or would you like it to help produce some kind of food?
• How much light do you have in your room?
• How much space do you have to give up to a plant?
• Will you remember to water your plant?
• What sort of climate do you live in?

Here are a few ideas to get you started. Before investing in any plant, make sure to do some research to get exactly what you want and are able take care of!

• Desert plants like aloe don’t need much attention and they are easy to care for. Aloe adds the benefit of having an instant skin soother at your disposal as well!
• Flowering plants can really brighten up a space, but make sure you’re not allergic to them.
• Greenery like ivy or spider plants are fun and look nice.
• Herbs like thyme and basil taste so much better fresh!
• Small vegetables like peas or cherry tomatoes can also be grown easily in a dorm room.

Enjoy! Let me know how your plants are doing!

About this Contributor: Maria Schwartzman is a senior computer science major with a Spanish minor at a small liberal arts school in Indiana. She’ll be writing a lot about how to save money by living a sustainable lifestyle! Check out her website and then follow her on Twitter.

• Thinking about buying a new computer? Read this first.
• Here’s how to make a playlist for the next party you throw.
• It’s hard to balance the college schedule. Here’s how to do it better.
• True or False: “Liquor before beer keeps you in the clear!”
• Ladies: Need fashion but are on a budget? Look here.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!

Here are some notes so far:

• We don’t have air conditioning, so that’s not a problem, but we do keep our fans on and windows open almost all the time.
• Our refrigerator, which was at least 30 years old, completely broke and the university replaced it with a new, energy-efficient one.
• We have no dishwasher.
• I bought a green bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant, two homemade jams, and bread & butter pickles (no high fructose corn syrup!!) at the farmers’ market last week.
• We are trying to buy items that contain no high fructose corn syrup. Do you know how hard this is?!?
• For foodstuff, the farmers’ market is generally cheaper than the grocery store.

If you have any ideas for us, let me know in the comments section!

About this Contributor: Maria Schwartzman is a senior computer science major with a Spanish minor at a small liberal arts school in Indiana. She’ll be writing a lot about how to save money by living a sustainable lifestyle! Check out her website and then follow her on Twitter.

• Stop wasting your money by doing these ten things.
• Over 100 tips on how to survive college.
• Does your dorm room suck? Here’s how to make it better!
• Start your year off right when it comes to your health.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!

Here are a few tips to eliminate some expenses when moving to school. Not all of these may work for you (and you’ve probably thought of a few others!), but hopefully they will help you out a little bit during this crazy move-in time!

• Boxes: Ask for boxes from your local grocery store. I say grocery store because they receive so much produce that arrives in boxes. Many places will either just throw these boxes out or recycle them, so before you buy boxes ask around to see if you can’t get some for free.
• Only take what you need: Trust me on this one – you really don’t need that much stuff at college, especially if you’re living in the dorms. Girls, you don’t need 15 pairs of shoes. Guys, you don’t need your entire vintage record collection. Think about what you use on a daily basis, plus those few other things you’ll need for special occasions. You will undoubtedly return home with far more than you brought to school anyway, so try not to bring too much to start off with.
• Be organized: Make sure you know exactly what you’re taking and where it is. This makes sure you don’t need to run to the store once you get to school because you forgot your tape or hangers or whatnot. A lot of people waste money on things they already have but simply cannot find.
• Decorate with free or cheap stuff: You don’t have to buy posters. Decorate with pictures of your friends, artwork you’ve made, and free posters that get handed out around campus or at concerts you’ve been to, that sort of thing. Bring some of your decorations from home so you don’t have to buy all-new stuff when you get to school. Also, thrift stores are a great place to find some really neat decorations.
• You probably don’t need to rent a Uhaul: If you’re bringing a Uhaul, you probably didn’t listen to the “only bring what you really need” advice. (This doesn’t apply if you had to rent a Uhaul to bring up a bike or futon because your family’s car isn’t big enough to carry one up.) You should be able to fit most or all your stuff in your or your parents’ car. If you can’t, you’re bringing way too much stuff. Bringing that much will just be a hassle, plus you’ve used up money on renting the Uhaul. You’ll also have to rent a Uhaul to get all that stuff back home, so that cost is really hitting you twice.

I’d love to hear any other suggestions and advice in the comments!

About this Contributor: Maria Schwartzman is a senior computer science major with a Spanish minor at a small liberal arts school in Indiana. She’ll be writing a lot about how to save money by living a sustainable lifestyle! Check out her website and then follow her on Twitter.

Here’s a little introduction from Maria:

Hello to all the College Students are Poor readers! My name is Maria Schwartzman, and I’m a senior computer science major with a Spanish minor at a small liberal arts school in Indiana. Around campus I am very involved and am on the cross country and track teams, run the knitting group, participate as a tour guide, and am the head computer science tutor, among many other activities currently and over the past years.

For CSAP, I’ll be writing a lot about how to save money by living a sustainable lifestyle! This will include dorm room gardening tips, cooking and recipe ideas, farmer’s markets and other locally-grown food options, and other ways to go green as a college student. Greening up your lifestyle is a great way to save some money and become healthier in the process. I can’t wait to share things I’ve learned with you all and am really looking forward to hearing your ideas and feedback!

I’m very much excited to have Maria writing for the site! She is going to bring a ton of great insight for you all to read! Go and take a look at Maria’s website and also make sure you are following her on Twitter! Also, please leave a comment and welcome Maria to CSAP!

• Want to maximize your dorm space? Try these ideas.
• Do NOT bring these things to college with you!
• A quick read about some big-time college sports scandals.
• Smile!
• More reasons not to buy things from your college bookstore.

That’s it for this week. Be sure to follow those sites on twitter and subscribe to their feeds! Also, leave a comment here and tell me what you think!