One of the best money-saving ideas I suggest for college students is, “Don’t take a car to college.”
Most college campuses provide easy access to safe public transportation—and when a student really needs a car she can always call Uber. (Anyone, anywhere, can use this promo code to get $20 off their first Uber ride: jeannieb105ue.)
Worried about your daughter’s safety on campus?
She may be safer walking with a campus security escort than trying to locate her car in a dark parking lot.
Students who don’t take cars to college save big.
They save thousands on gas, oil, parking fees, insurance, and auto maintenance over four years, plus they greatly decrease their potential for being in auto accidents or getting career-crippling D.U.I.s.
But what do students without cars do when they need to shop?
Nobody wants to lug four large Target bags back to the dorm room on the bus.
Fortunately, students can order almost everything they need on Amazon.com, and get their purchases shipped to them for free in two days using Amazon Prime Student. The best news? College students pay only a fraction of what I do for Amazon Prime. And, they get a 6-month free trial when they sign up. Join Prime Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for College Students
Here are the official details about Amazon Prime Student.
As a Prime Student member, you’ll receive a 6-month trial that includes FREE Two-Day Shipping on eligible purchases, ultrafast grocery delivery (in select cities), and other student-exclusive deals and discounts. Plus, you’re allowed to link your Prime Student account with one other adult so the two of you can “share shipping, streaming access to movies and TV shows, Prime Reading, and more for free.”
After your 6-month trial ends, your Prime Student membership makes you eligible to receive 50% off Amazon Prime, including all Prime benefits, for four years or until you graduate, whichever comes first. Prime benefits include FREE two-day shipping on millions of eligible items, unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows, access to hundreds of playlists through Prime Music, access to unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos, and the ability to refer a friend to Prime Student and receive $10.
Note the fine print—it’ll continue unless you cancel.
Amazon.com says, “Unless you cancel, after you graduate or at the end of the fourth year of your Prime Student membership, whichever comes first, your subscription will automatically renew on its anniversary date into a full paid subscription for Amazon Prime at then-current rates.”
Don’t want that to happen? What some students do is create a recurring “once-a-year” calendar appointment that says, “Still want Amazon Prime Student? If not, cancel it now.”
I, Jeannie, love Amazon Prime.
It not only saves me shipping fees, but also hours of time I don’t have to spend searching for what I need in malls and discount stores.
You can sign your son or daughter up for a free trial of Amazon Prime Student here:
Join Prime Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for College Students
This blog article contains two affiliate links. Note that I only provide affiliate links for products I use and love myself.
It feels great to be setting the kids you love up for successful college and career life.
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You can see the top 9 questions parents are asking me about LAUNCH, here.
Read just one chapter of LAUNCH every 1–3 months while your child’s in middle school and high school, and you’ll know every viable strategy for debt-free college at exactly the right time to implement it.
And if your child’s already well past middle school? That’s OK; you can run to catch up. But the process of getting your kids through college debt-free goes more smoothly the earlier you start it—especially if you’re not planning to save up any money to pay for college.
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Who is Jeannie Burlowski?
Jeannie is a full-time academic strategist, podcast host, and sought-after speaker for students ages 12–26, their parents, and the professionals who serve them. Her writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free, ready to jump directly into careers they excel at and love. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, USA Today, Parents Magazine, and US News and World Report, and on CBS News.
Jeannie also helps students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school at her website GetIntoMedSchool.com.
This article was most recently updated on May 29th, 2024. No part of it was written using AI.