Unless you go to post secondary outside of North America, chances are that University and College is not free and can be very expensive. Post secondary institutions here in Canada typically cost less than a lot of schools in the States, but nonetheless are not cheap and require many students to take out student loans. However, being a student doesn't mean you have to feel like you will endlessly be drowning in student debt for the rest of your life. There are ways to stay cost efficient and financially smart during these golden years.
First and foremost, take the time to research and be aware of ALL scholarships out there offered by your post secondary institution. Many students don't even realize how many scholarships there really are, whether it be entrance scholarships or faculty specific, until the following year or when they are graduating (that's when I made this realization). There are tons of scholarships out there, many of which that go unadvertised or exist with low awareness. Even if you feel that you don't perfectly meet the requirements, just apply anyway. It's the same thing as applying for a job. Rarely, if ever, does an employer find a candidate that perfectly fits the requirements and "nice to have" skill set listed in the job posting. Same goes for a scholarship. Just apply. What's the worst that's going to happen?
Secondly, stay away from the food court and pack a lunch. It takes 10 minutes in the morning to make and it prevents you from spending $12 every day to buy a 12" mediocre sub from Subway. Students on campus seem to love spending money on food all the time and every day. The 3 dollars coffees and 10 dollar sandwiches don't seem like much, but assuming you buy a coffee and sandwich everyday on every school day for the duration of a 4 year undergraduate program, you'd be easily spending between $6000 and $7000. Even bringing a lunch half the time would reduce your "food budget" during your undergrad program by 3 thousand dollars. Cut down on the Dominoes pizza and take it easy on the Tim Hortons large French vanillas.
Thirdly, take advantage of school health benefits programs and other automatic costs. Typically, these fees are included in the tuition costs every semester. University health and dental benefits programs are usually very cheap for what you get compared to other public and private health care plans. Along with these fees is usually some sort of transit fee or transit pass. Once again, these can be automatically included in tuition and on a per month basis are much cheaper than municipal transit passes. However, it's important that you are aware of what your tuition costs are covering. If you find yourself in no need of some of these automatic fees like transit passes and health benefits, most institutions allow you to opt out of these fees for a full refund. Might as well get your money back if you aren't going to take advantage of the offered benefits.
Lastly, and I feel like many former students will agree on this one, only buy textbooks that you really need. Yes, all textbooks are very expensive and the majority of them are not needed. Many courses recommend one or more textbooks to be purchased specific to that class. Students sometimes find themselves purchasing textbooks only to realize that the professor only suggested the books in the first place as secondary material reference, and not for direct relation to the class. By that time, you've already opened the plastic wrap and nullified the return policy of the textbook. Over a four year undergraduate program, one can find themselves spending between $5000-$8000 if every textbook was purchased (assuming an average of $150 per textbook for a series of 5 course semesters). Knowing which material is essential to a class and which ones are not can save a student a few thousand dollars over their undergraduate program. I'm sure many academics would fully disagree with this paragraph, but being realistic and having gone through the full undergrad University textbook experience, I can tell you that you can save yourself a few thousand dollars and not jeopardize your academic experience and grades. Another cost saving method is to sell old textbooks either through campus consignment services or through social media pages. There will always be a batch of new students coming after you, so why not offer your textbook to them at a discounted price to get 70% of your money back?
Saving money and being financially smart when you're a student is tough. High tuition fees and having student loans is an unavoidable reality for many young adults. Even setting aside $100 a month may seem like the impossible for some. However, even putting aside small amounts every month can add up quickly over time. Saving $100 dollars a month and earning an annual average 7% stock market return will compound into $5550 over a four year undergrad program. That's already over a semester's worth of tuition paid back for.
To add to that, fortunately, student debt does not start accumulating interest until graduation, and even then the interest rates are quite low. At the University of Alberta, there were even annual incentives or "scholarships" of up to $1000 for taking out student loans! Budgeting and setting money aside during post secondary for future student loan repayments is a good habit to develop and maintain that will come in handy when more and more life expenses become a reality later in life (how about a mortgage?).
Be smart and think ahead when it comes to post secondary costs. Don't be a sheep in line at the Subway till waiting to order a foot long.