Managing funds as a student is quite a tedious task. With all the fancy things around in the market, it’s really hard to keep control of buying and spending. In my case, when I moved to The United States for my education, I was allured by the stuff at the mall and other marts. Limited availability of funds made me do some research on my shopping style. I discovered this jackpot called “student discount.” Yes! Believe it or not, most food places, shopping outlets, and even transportation services offer a discount to students. All it takes is to ask! There isn’t any harm in asking the seller if they offer a special price to students. Trust me on that, not once have I missed out on these privileged offers. I enjoy guilt-free shopping now because I searched, questioned and looked up deals. 

With a budget to pay bills and allocate funds to the right spots, shopping as a U.S. student requires some thriftiness and forethought. However, provided you manage your money well, there’s no reason why your funds shouldn’t stretch to enjoying a few of the finer things in life during your studies; be it eating out or indulging in America’s legendary retail opportunities. The culture here involves a lot more exposure to dining out, socializing and getting involved in the consumer market circle. To keep up with the culture while simultaneously balancing funds, it’s important to figure out the benefits provided to you as a student.

A Student ID is a key to unlocking discounts at quite a lot of outlets:

When shopping for Apparel and Clothing; Gap, Forever21, Steve Madden and Banana Republic have special discounts for students all year round.

Restaurants like; Olive Garden, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle, Dairy Queen, Subway and a lot more give discounts to students.

Fitness centers, namely; Anytime Fitness and Planet Fitness, have contractual gym plans for students.

Also, book stores have a cheaper set of books or an option to rent books instead of buying them. Even Amazon and eBay offer sales on books and student subscription for movies and e-books.

Movie theatres like Cineplex and Century have $5 Tuesday shows for students.

Uber, Lyft and even the public transport facility in your area could offer a special price for the pass that is precisely tailor-made so the students can get around conveniently at a very nominal cost.

Food marts, namely Sprouts and Kroger, have great deals for students.

Don’t forget the electronics! Apple, Dell, HP and Best Buy have some reduced cost electronics specifically for the student buyers. They even offer genuine refurbished products that could help students in their curriculum.

This helps international students save a lot of money during their study period in the U.S. The friendly consumer market has made it easier for the students to enjoy a great deal of resources and recreation available around them.

We know the benefits of having a Student ID. Make sure you get one made as soon as you get started with college here. Getting mad won’t help if you don’t have it handy every time you go in a store. Keep it safe and use it to the best of your advantage to get the great deals around you.

Aanchal Tangri from India is pursuing a degree in English at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada.