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Accessing Free Books

The typical college student spends more than $1,200 per year on books and supplies, according to the College Board. You can save by scouting out free books. Students studying literature, philosophy, or classics can use Project Gutenberg to download copyright-free ebooks, including some of the most frequently assigned titles, such as The Elements of Style, The Republic, and Frankenstein. Your school’s library may also have the books you need, though you’ll probably have to move fast to get them before your fellow students snap them up.

Professional Memberships

Many professional associations offer free memberships to college students who are preparing for a career in a related field. With your membership, you can usually get access to perks like job boards, networking opportunities, mentoring programs, and professional publications. Associations that offer free student memberships include the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Planning Association, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Checking Account and Early Investing

Many checking accounts charge monthly maintenance fees unless you sign up for direct deposit or maintain a minimum balance. But some banks offer free checking for college students, including US Bank, Bank of America, and Chase, which can help you save an average of $5.86 a month. 

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The earlier you start investing, the better, since your wealth has more time to grow. But cash-strapped college students might assume they don’t have enough money to start investing in earnest. Not so. Acorns is an app that makes investing easy and cheap (they call it “micro investing”). You connect your accounts and cards to the app, and your purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar. The money is invested in one of the Acorns portfolios. If you want to save more aggressively, you can make additional deposits. People who have less than $5,000 pay $1 a month for the service, but if you have a .edu email address, you can use it for free for four years.