how do you live cheap to the max during uni... living off campus ..


from food to clothes to school supplies, etc

cook yourself, find pdf textbooks online, refrain from drinking coffee, find basement room far from campus, zero partying and keep studying, etc.

Or some may say, don't go to university at all

Under no circumstances should you start to believe that it's ok to cook yourself :/

Live+sleep in the student centre, and take showers in the gym.

Originally Posted by FutureMEDRAD

how do you live cheap to the max during uni... living off campus ..


from food to clothes to school supplies, etc

Do some thinking yourself. See what your expenses are, and see if you can find cheaper alternatives or altogether not incur that expense at all.

Originally Posted by Suspect

Under no circumstances should you start to believe that it's ok to cook yourself :/

I think that member meant cook for yourself, seeing as the rest of their post was legitimate.

Originally Posted by Serene

Live+sleep in the student centre, and take showers in the gym.

Well if water is included in your housing, you're kinda just letting what you paid for go to waste, aren't ya?

Cooking for yourself is the best advice. Pretty much everything on campus is over-priced, and buying tv-dinners or prepared food at the grocery store isn't as cost-efficient as doing it from scratch..

I would recommend :
- always cooking at home, buy when things are in season and on sale. There is a farmers market near Fortinos with Fruit/Veg relatively cheap.
-Buy your own coffee and make it at home/bring to school (will save you money instead of buying Tims etc)
- If you drink, buy in larger quantities/dont drink at bars
- use the bus to get around Hamilton instead of cabs
- Never eat on campus (SO expensive)
- Books always buy used (if possible) or get online
- School Supplies (dollarama)
- Dont go clothes shopping often, buy things for all seasons

Get a roommate and share expenses. I save a ton of money by preparing meals for two and sharing the costs rather than making cooking for just myself and having a ton of leftovers. Never go shopping on an empty stomach because you'll buy stuff you don't need. I can feed both of us on about $40 a week.

TV costs a lot of money and most of us can do without it.

Buy school supplies and things like toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc at
Walmart, Basics or No Frills. Much cheaper than Shoppers, Metro, etc.

If you drink coffee or smoke, quit. Try to drink only water, and get a reusable water bottle. Avoid eating overpriced campus food and pack sandwiches instead.

If you drink, get lucky night at snootys is your best friend. If you like movies, cheap Tuesdays. Low cost activities in Hamilton... hiking in Cootes, art crawl, roller blading at the bay front, pool at Skyline if you split the cost with a few friends. Always check the last bus time in advance and know how to get home from where you are so you don't have to pay expensive cabs.

I don't do this myself but I work at Walmart and am consistently shocked by how much money some customers save by price matching and coupon clipping.

Originally Posted by FutureMEDRAD

how do you live cheap to the max during uni... living off campus ..


from food to clothes to school supplies, etc

buy less; save more

Originally Posted by tortorf

I would recommend :
- always cooking at home, buy when things are in season and on sale. There is a farmers market near Fortinos with Fruit/Veg relatively cheap.

hey! i hear about this but whenever I went by Fortinos I never could see it... where is it exactly and what is it called? lol thanks