If you’re in college, between tuition, textbooks, and a limited number of hours available to work between classes and studying, you are probably on a tight budget. Here are some simple ways to save money on a college student budget.

1. Buy International Edition Textbooks. International editions are exactly the same as the US editions, except that usually have different covers and sometimes are printed on cheaper paper. The actual content is exactly the same. You can find the international editions on websites like eBay and various textbook selling websites. Even though they say that they are for use outside of the United States and Canada, it’s perfectly legal to use them within the US. You can usually even find them from US sellers and save on shipping costs.

2. Buy textbooks online. Even if there is no international edition available for textbooks that you need, you can still save a lot of money by buying your books online from websites such as half.com and amazon.com. College bookstores overcharge, even for used books, and even after shipping and handling charges, it’s still usually cheaper to buy online. You can also usually get more money back by selling online rather than settling for the pittance that the college bookstore offers for your used textbooks.

3. Get a Sam’s Club membership. A collegiate membership at Sam’s Club is $40 for two membership cards, so if you share your membership with your boyfriend/girlfriend/roommate/whomever, you each only pay $20. College students also get a $15 gift card when enrolling in the program. With a Sam’s Club membership, you can save a lot of money on gas, food, and almost everything else. 

4. Don’t take unnecessary classes. If you are filling your schedule with a lot of unnecessary electives, you are wasting money that could be better spent elsewhere (unless you have full scholarships or grants to cover all of your tuition and textbooks). Depending on your major, there are plenty of electives built into the curriculum. You don’t need extras. 

5. Carpool. If you live off campus, you can save a lot of money on gas by carpooling with a friend on days that you both have classes.

6. Avoid interest on credit cards. If you use a credit card, make sure you only spend what you can afford to pay off each month to avoid having to pay interest. If at all possible, use cash or debit (only if you have the money in your checking account).

7. Save your change. Whenever you get coins back from cash purchases, put it away in a piggy bank. Once the bank is full, roll the coins yourself (to avoid change machine charges). Since you probably don’t pay much attention to that extra change anyway, it will feel like free money once you take it to the bank and trade it for “real money.”

8. Take advantage of lunch specials and happy hour. Some restaurants offer special prices during certain hours.

9. Eat at home whenever possible. Even the cheapest of fast food can still end up being more expensive than a home-cooked meal.

10. Use coupons. Look for coupons in the Sunday newspaper and keep the ones for things that you would purchase anyway (for example, if you already buy the store brand cereal, skip the coupon for a name brand that would still end up costing more than your usual brand. Also, don’t buy items you wouldn’t normally buy just because you have a coupon).

11. Live with your parents. If your college is close to home, there is no need to move out and pay rent or student housing costs.

12. Don’t pay full price for entertainment. Buy your video games, CDs, and DVDs at local used music stores, and get books from a used bookstore. You can also get all of these things on websites half.com or amazon.com, though you will have to pay for shipping and handling.

13. When you have access to the internet, communicate via instant messenger instead of texting.

14. Don’t waste money at the salon. If you must have perfect nails, you can always do them yourself (or have a friend do them) for free rather than paying for a manicure. You also don’t need to have your hair dyed or professionally styled. You can either do this at home cheaper, or simply trim your own hair for free if you’re not so shallow that your world revolves around having a “trendy” hair style. Don’t spend $20 for a bottle of shampoo either: the $1 brand works exactly the same.

15. Ask for things that you actually need, or even cash, for Christmas and birthday gifts. 

16. Don’t spend money on the weekends. You can stay in and watch movies with a friend (or alone) for free.

17. Take advantage of student discounts. Many local businesses offer discounts for college students.

18. Don’t drink. Booze is expensive. If you are underage and get caught, or if you get caught driving after you’ve had a few, you will have to pay even more in fines and court costs.

19. Look for scholarships. Apply for as many as possible. You can find scholarship applications online, at your college, and various other places. Your high school may even offer alumni scholarships. If you have your tuition paid for, you will have that much more money available to spend on other things.

20. If you need a computer, buy one from a company that offers student discounts, such as Apple, Dell, or HP. You may also want to look into buying a refurbished computer. If you decide to buy a refurbished computer, make sure you buy it from a reputable seller and get a warranty.