This week we are happy to bring you another great guest post. Ritika Puri is a savings strategist at CouponMountain.com, a website that specializes in deals, promotional codes, and online coupons. In addition to her specialty in shopping and deals, Ritika enjoys connecting with moms, students, and young consumers to share valuable tips and great stories. Here are her thought on a few creative ways to save this school year.
This morning in Los Angeles, the freeways were congested beyond the usual traffic levels. Every year, when this happens, I’m reminded that it’s that time of year when students return to school. Happy first week of school, everybody!
This year will be the first when I won’t be returning to school in the foreseeable future, which makes me a little sad. At the same time, I am so happy for the students who are returning to the classrooms this week. To me, school is one of the most rewarding life experiences, and in my mind, it’s important to make the most of each and every learning opportunity. I think that it’s so important for this next generation of learners to have a valuable educational experience—there’s so much to learn, but it can be tough to do in budget-strapped America, no matter how good your school is.
Having lived as a budget-strapped college student, grad student, and now-graduate, I’ve mastered the art of making the most out of very little. As a child, I remember that many of my peers had the luxury of expensive tutors, computers, and whatnot. I had none of those, and I’m glad that I didn’t – it forced me to work harder, learn more, and innovate. Here are three creative ways that I’ve learned how to save.
If you can’t afford a tutor, organize a monitored study group. Group study sessions are great alternatives to tutoring because they force students to learn together. By learning how to explain concepts and working through a challenge, students gain an even more thorough understanding of class materials. Of course, for younger kids, it’s important to monitor these study groups to ensure that all students are contributing to the learning process and that all students are benefiting. Students of any level can learn from one another, and working as a group will teach students life lessons about the value of cooperation and teamwork.
Carpools are valuable beyond money and time. One of my favorite childhood memories involved carpooling with my best friend. We had so much fun together—cracking jokes, singing songs, and playing games. To this day, we are still friends, and oddly enough, we crack the same jokes. Looking back on the situation, I realize that our working mothers probably saved a fair amount of time and money by arranging this carpool. Really though, the experience that my friend and I had was priceless. I know that our mothers would agree.
Consider using online coupon codes to help with small and major purchases. As a complement to sites like 4our2cents, Coupon Mountain specializes in online coupon codes. So, our specialty isn’t item-specific discounts. Rather, we feature coupon codes to specific stores. For instance, we have a popular $5 off $50 Target coupon code that customers can use on a variety of purchases. These coupon codes are a great way to trim expenses. The economy today requires consumers to think creatively and use an arsenal of money saving resources. Maybe you are shopping online for something specific or maybe you saw a 4our2cents post about an online store and are “window shopping”. Whatever the case, be sure to check out Coupon Mountain first! They may have the perfect promotional code (% off, $off$$, or Free shipping) to increase your savings. Now that makes “cents”!
Ritika and 4our2cents participated in a “post swap”. Check out the post we wrote for Coupon Mountain: Walgreens 101
