How to be a Sustainable Student on a Budget

If you are a student like me, you are looking to save as much money as possible because college is expensive. Here are my top tips on how to navigate being sustainable without spending a ton of money as a student:

UNiDAYS:

UNiDAYS is a website for students to find student discounts. You do have to verify that you are a student to join. However, I find their app extremely useful when I'm on the go.

Link: https://www.myunidays.com/US/en-US

Thrive Market:

Thrive market is an online grocery store that has organic, vegan, vegetarian, and many more ethically sourced and sustainable products. It's very useful when the dining hall doesn't have the options you want. However, there is a membership with a membership fee that can be pretty steep. What most students don't know is that they can apply for a free Thrive Market membership. There is also a verification process for this. You will find that they are common because without it anyone could claim to be a student.

Application for a free membership: https://thrivemarket.com/givingapp

My referral code: http://thrv.me/asGTQP

Local CO-OP:

A CO-OP is a cooperatively owned business. The Stevens Point Area CO-OP that I am a working member for sells everything from groceries to jewelry. If you don't have a local CO-OP the alternatives are places like zero waste stores or low waste stores. I am blessed to have a CO-OP, makers market, and low waste store in my area. Most CO-OPs have student discounts. Mine has a 15% discount for students. However, it is completely different wherever you go. I can't encourage you enough to look for local businesses to support, especially in times like this when Covid has hurt so many small businesses.

Farmers Markets:

One of the biggest excuses I hear from my fellow students about eating healthy is that it's too expensive. They must not know about farmers markets. The produce at farmers market is usually cheaper than the grocery store, locally grown, and way more fresh. This means that the produce you buy there will save you money and last longer. Farmers markets usually have websites where you can find their hours. However, I have found some by looking up "farmers market near me."

Ecosia:

If you're anything like me, you do a lot of Googling, especially for school. Ecosia is a free Google Chrome extension that plants trees when people have it on their browser while they search. Does it sound too good to be true? Here is an article backing it up: https://cariki.co.uk/blogs/the-green-road/is-ecosia-legit-or-fake. You can make a difference by using Ecosia yourself, telling your family and friends about it, and/or encouraging your school to install the extension on their school computers. Link: www.ecoasia.org

Couponing:

Although it never really left, couponing did decrease in popularity during the start of the digital age. It no longer makes a lot of sense to carry around a stack of paper coupons when you have your phone on you at all times. Recently, I have seen an increase in couponers on social media platforms. My favorite is https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMRb7dAa3/ on Tik Tok. Obviously, there are drawbacks to couponing apps as well. The biggest one is that you will not get cashback from all of these options for every purchase. Most of them only work at big chain stores. The exception here is Fetch. They give you 25 points for any receipt you submit. Here is a list of my favorite couponing apps and browser extensions with my honest opinions about them:

Swagbucks: Available as an app or browser extension, I like Swagbucks because it lets you know on your phone if there is an opportunity for you to get cashback from them whenever you open a website that qualifies. I do not like their interface as much as the others because I think it can be confusing and takes the longest for you to get points back from. However, it is still a solid option of you are looking to start couponing online. Link: http://www.swagbucks.com/?cmd=sb-register&rb=59297518&cmp=197&cxid=2003-app

Fetch Rewards: Although Fetch is only available in app form, it does have the cutest little dog logo and is the easiest to use. No clipping coupons before going to the store, worrying about how to add another browser extension to your computer, or any other nonsense. Fetch means business. Simply go to any store that qualifies on their app, take a picture of the receipt, and earn cashback. If you only want to get one app from this list, get Fetch. Link: https://fetchrewards.onelink.me/vvv3/referraltext?code=4NXVVC

Ibotta: Available in app or browser extension format, Ibotta has the easiest interface to use in my opinion. How it works: before you go to the store, select the store or stores you are going to. Then, clip any coupons you might use. When you are done with your trip to the store, take a picture of your receipt or link your store account to get cashback.

Link: https://ibotta.onelink.me/iUfE/8cc13c64?friend_code=xtmwcmqhttps://ibotta.onelink.me/iUfE/8cc13c64?friend_code=xtmwcmq

Honey: Both a browser extension and app, Honey is easiest to use in the browser extension format. Here's how it works: add Honey as a browser extension on your computer, shop like normal, and honey will alert you with any coupon codes they have in their database that might work on the website you are on. They even apply the codes for you. They also have cashback options. If you are only going to get one browser extension in this list, get Honey. Link: joinhoney.com/ref/h60igqm

Coupert: Last but not least is Coupert, similar to Honey, I have the least experience with this browser extension. It seems like it has a similar database of coupons to Honey. However, it does not work as smoothly in my opinion. I believe Coupert has cashback as well. However, I cannot speak to how easy it is to withdraw. They also have an app but I have not used it. Link: https://www.coupert.com/ref/jevcoe