College is expensive. It’s not easy to save money when you hardly have any, but here are a few realistic tips to ease the financial burden:

– Use cash instead of credit cards. Sure plastic is easier to use and oftentimes more readily available, but unless you pay off your balance in full each month, over time you’ll literally pay for the convenience in hefty interest rates.

– Before you fill up your gas tank, check out AkronGasPrices.com and see where the cheapest gas in the area is. Even if it’s only a 10-cent-per-gallon difference, it adds up over time.

– Keep the change. Rather than giving exact change when you buy something, use bills for every purchase. At the end of the day dump all of your pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters into a “piggy bank.” You’d be surprised how much you don’t miss a few coins but how quickly they add up.

– Don’t eat out. Sure it’s quick and seems cheap, but eating out gets expensive. Even fast food costs about $5 a meal; do that for lunch each weekday and you’re $25 poorer by the weekend.

– Don’t go to the mall and buy clothes. Gabriel Brother’s is just down the road, and they have name brand clothes and shoes for less money. Also, there are always thrift stores to check into.

– Drink water. It doesn’t matter if you splurge on a Starkbucks’ coffee or just buy a pop from the vending machine every day, you’re probably throwing away at least $10 a week on drinks. Water is free and better for you anyway.

– Don’t spend money on the Akron Beacon Journal or Record Courier: You can read the Stater for free.

— Meranda Watling