Monday, March 14, 2016

Stephan Alcorn Dealspotr Couponing in College Scholarship


Being an adult learner, I have found that it’s a struggle to save money on day to day needs as well as needs for school.  I live in Craig Colorado, and this community is very well rounded with a savings plan for local college students’ financing through financial Aid and numerous scholarship opportunities, but further savings in terms of day to day expenses and needs for school are always in demand. In my essay I am going to cover ideas for savings on living expenses, personal uses of coupons and rewards points, and new ideas for companies in their infancy. These resources and comments are being written for the Dealspotr Couponing in College Scholarship, found at https://dealspotr.com/scholarship-giveaway.

                Living in the Craig community there are many sources and means to keep a tight budget. My personal favorite is a points rewards system that is used by the local grocery store. Every time you spend money at any City Market or Loaf N Jug Convenience Store you get points toward the purchase of gasoline at Loaf N Jug. For every one hundred points there is a ten cent reduction off of one dollar of gas; up to three hundred points. This allows me to get cheaper gas by buying groceries and supplies at City Market, money I would have spent anyway!  There are also emailed coupons from City Market for rewards members.

                I also use local thrift stores for clothing and supplies. Everything is donated by the community. If one is in need, all an individual has to do is fill out an application explaining what you need and why, and items can be granted at no charge.  A person can receive household items, clothing or even cash. This can be utilized by college students that are in serious financial crisis that need immediate help. The Community Budget Center is a non-profit organization that grants low income individuals supplies to survive.   When items are donated a receipt is supplied so that the donation can be used as a deduction on income taxes, yet another savings for a college student.

                I feel that as a college student, using a credit card is simply unnecessary. At a young age the usage of credit cards is basically borrowing money at a very high interest rate, sometimes as high as twenty-four percent! If an individual uses a credit card during college to pay for school supplies I think another way should be found.  For poorer college students, this is a temptation that could leave the student swimming in debt, which college can cause in itself. To find a local supply of cheap or used college supplies is healthier than breaking the bank.

Use your student discount for everything! I use mine to go to the local gym, which is normally a thirty-dollar monthly membership fee.  Membership is free for me because I am a college student. Your college will post charts of college events for entertainment, local events and free trials that are only linked to the college, this is much easier to use then to pay for out of college costs.

College students are always looking for more time, and here are some ways to save some. A student could create search engines with a database of general facts on each individual for yearly school supplies, with reminders so that things could be ordered in advance and delivered automatically at a discounted rate. This would be a time savings as well as a monetary savings for the student.  Another way to save would be instead of students taking the time to go to their school or log onto Amazon.com they could go to a site like www.dealspotr.com, enter in yearly school supply and book needs, and have them delivered at the most cost effective price, researched by the site and delivered at the appropriate time and place. The more one buys through a site like this, the cheaper the products become over time through a points or rewards system gaining the company more credit, consumers, money and rewards for the public.

Stephan Alcorn