Best things to spend your money on:

A coffee maker for those cramming sessions.

A cell plan with unlimited texting so your bill doesn’t exceed $100 per month.

A good chain and lock for your bicycle. People steal bikes at college. It sucks, but it happens regularly. Spending $15 for a solid chain/lock is worth it compared to losing your $200 mode of transportation/exercise.

Used books. New books are rarely better than the edition from three years ago.

Netflix, Redbox, the dollar theater, matinee shows, etc. Movies and TV shows are readily available for low prices, or free on hulu.com. Opening night of movies, buying box sets of seasons, purchasing DVDs the day they come out, these are way expensive.

An umbrella. You’d be surprised how many students try to race the rain to class, then complain all day as they are soaked and their notes are ruined.

Worst things to spend your money on:

Bank overdrafts because of the “crazy time you had” the night before. Also avoid ATM fees, as they are ridiculous; plan ahead.

Court fees associated with the arrest from the “crazy time you had” a few nights ago.

Writing assistance. Having other people write a paper for you is cheating, not to mention way too expensive, and you’ll probably get busted by your professor.

Eating out, fast food, extra dining hall meals, etc. They are overpriced, your parents will send you food and groceries are inexpensive and better for you.

Fake baking, hair dye, professional styling sessions. Tan with the sun, you don’t need to be so dark during the winter anyway. You do not need to change the color of your hair every other week. There are salon academies in and around town that cut hair well enough to maintain style and do it for free or cheap. Save the pamper sessions for special occasions.

Cigarettes. Quit or cut back; they don’t make you look any cooler anyway. If you absolutely must smoke, roll your own. It’s a neat talent and saves buku bucks.