The costs of college are enough to make anyone depressed. Aside from the cost of tuition, you have to pay for food, books, car expenses like $4 per gallon gasoline, clothing, and entertainment. How can you save money with these costs? This article will give you money-saving tips for college costs.

1. Live on campus. It might have been cheaper to commute years ago when gas was only $2 or even $3 a gallon. Today, however, those commuting costs are going to build up. If you stay on campus, you’ll only have to pay for gas on weekends. If you don’t go home on weekends, you could even get by without a car at all, saving you additional money on insurance costs for the car. This will help decrease your overall college costs.
2. Get on a meal plan. Even if you don’t live on campus, most colleges will allow you to get a meal plan for the college cafeteria. If you get on a meal plan just for lunch and actually eat lunch in the cafeteria every day, your meals may end up costing you only about $3 or $4 each. Compare this to even a $5 value meal at McDonald’s, or a $6 sub and chips with a beverage at Subway. And you have to drive and use gas to go get the food. You may not like the menu and think the food quality is low, but you are getting a generally healthy meal which will almost always include a salad bar and vegetables. Dessert is usually included as well.
3. Wait to purchase your clothes for college in the sale. If you just have to look fabulous on the first day of class, consider purchasing one outfit at a regular price and then waiting for the sales. Sign up online to be sent emails from the places you shop notifying you about sales. Some stores that usually have awesome sales often on their clothes are Kohls and Macy’s.
4. Make a budget and stick to it. If you make a budget of how much you have to spend on what each month, you’ll be surprised how much money you end up saving. I’ll bet you didn’t even realize that you spent $400 last month on entertainment and food. If you budget it to $200 and keep track, that’s $200 that will go into your pocket. You can even try out as a primary science tutor that will help you in earning a little extra cash and experience as you pursue your college. 
5. Buy ebooks whenever you can. Some of your books may be available as ebooks, which cost less than textbooks and can be viewed online or downloaded to your computer.
6. Find free or low-cost entertainment, and enjoy it. You might want to spend $20 going to the movies every Friday night. However, there are other just as viable options. Most colleges have free film nights at least once per month. You can also attend other free events put on by the college. Attending a sporting event at the college may still cost less than dinner and a movie, even if you buy a hot dog and cheese fries at the game.