Use your mealplan
Your mealplan has a wealth (yes, pun intended) of opportunity when it comes to saving your pocket money. Plus it keeps you from spending on fast food. There are some wicked ways to spend it.
Pitman cafe sells pizza in both individual slices and full pizzas. And if you have money left over at the end of the year, think of the overpriced and delicious Vitamin Water and smoothies stocked in the fridges. Stock up! If there’s cash left on your plan at the end of the year, you won’t get it back. Some students end up losing hundreds of dollars this way.
Avoid the freshman 15
In case you live under a rock, the freshman 15 is the long dreaded phenomenon of a student dropping 15 per cent of their average and gaining 15 pounds in their first semester of university. How does this happen? Mainly crappy eating habits and binge drinking. The combination of calories and late nights result in a bulging waistline and a lot of missed classes.
How can you save your average? Ration your drinking habits. We know, this sucks, and trust us, we rarely suggest this. But when it comes to your wallet, drinking drains your money and it usually results in sleeping through your alarm. Try to drink only on weekends, on weeknights when you have no class, or when you have class in the afternoon the next day. Expecially in first year, profs mark for attendance, and that extra percentage can help you out if you bomb an essay or an exam.
The solution to staying in shape? Eat well. A lot of the crap you’ll be buying consists of things you don’t really need. Like munchies, bar food and fast food. Most of that shit is over priced. Eat at home, pack a lunch, and use your mealplan. If you must munch, Metro has great fruit and veggie platters.
Buy beer in bulk
Costco saves you money — not because it’s a magical store where things cost less, but because you’re buying large quantities. Not surprisingly, this rule applies elsewhere.
A six pack of Alexander Keith’s from the beer store costs about $2.25 per beer. A 24 of Keith’s costs about $1.91 per beer. Doesn’t seem like much, but consider you drink six beers three times a week (yeah, like that would be it), every week — by going in on a 24, you could potentially save yourself over 50 bucks a year.
You could put that money towards clothes, video games, textbooks or hey! More beer!
Discounts
Even as a broke student, you have options for cheaper spending. Here are some discounts your student status can get you.
Dance Cave
529 Bloor Street West
Discount: Cover free with student card
Take a step out of the residence bubble for a night of drinking, dancing and free cover. Dance Cave is a favourite among university students from both Ryerson and U of T. The play list is usually pretty great too.
Stag Shop
239 Yonge Street
Discount: 10%
Yep. Believe it. The Stag Shop provides a discount when shown a student card. Head over and pick out some toys, condoms, lotions, novelty gifts, or even costumes around halloween (not all of them show nipple).
Elpro
3 Elm Street
Discount: 10%
For image arts students and independent photographers, Elpro provides professional grade printing with a discount for students. They also develop negatives.
SCC
50 Gould Street
Discount: Varies on item
The Student Campus Centre (SCC) is the student run building at Ryerson. It houses the Ryerson Students’ Union, the Ram and the Rye, Oakham Cafe and the Eyeopener (among others). It is also where you can get discounted prices on anything from movie tickets to reading week trips. Drop by to check out what discounts you can get for your preferred entertainment.
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