As each child headed to college or tech school, I thought I was prepared. Mentally, I was ready, but emotionally, I was a mess. Our daughters chose schools on the East Coast while we were living in Kansas. Our trusty van seemed to be able to expand when my husband started packing it. Each nook and cranny was full, but our suspension held out, and we did not pop out any windows when we headed out for each trip.
We started the summer figuring out what they would need for their dorm rooms. Our list included bedding, towels, a laundry basket, and supplies. Then, we had to plan for bathroom needs, food, and décor. The list grew longer and longer. I realized we needed to buy a few things at a time because our family budget could not absorb the whole list without serious sales shopping and thrift store trips.
We started visiting thrift stores looking for small sets of dishes and things to help with organizing supplies. We even found trash cans that coordinated with their décor. Cute dishes, glasses, and fun decor pieces were easy to find at steep discounts.
July came in with Amazon Prime days, Target days, and Walmart sales. I was looking for technology. On the other hand, my daughters have learned how to shop for deals. They found deals on bedding, towels, and bathroom supplies.
As things began arriving, we realized they needed ways to organize all these supplies. My husband is a master Tetris packer, so he took bins and started organizing to maximize the cargo space in our van. He used bedding instead of packing paper. He thought of necessary items like lightbulbs, batteries, and command strips to hang things. Each girl has a tool kit to help them fix and hang things.
When we arrived at each college, we realized what we had forgotten—things like a rug for cold winter floors, shelves for books, and a bath mat. Each roommate came with their things, so unloading the car meant figuring out where things would go. With our first daughter, we forgot hangers for her clothes, but we had lots of office supplies. With our second daughter, we remembered hangers but forgot cleaning supplies.
Trips to stores during moving-in time are a right of passage. It is the most expensive time to shop, and the stores are low on inventory, but no matter how well I planned, we always missed something.
Sticking to a budget is possible, but it takes planning. To stay within your budget, hitting thrift stores and sales is crucial.
At the end of the first year, we invested in storage areas so the girls could leave the large items close to their campus instead of bringing stuff back and forth when we were not local. Each of them found friends to share the cost of the unit, which made it very reasonable.
As we left them, I realized they were well prepared. Keeping within our budget was hard but worth it. Teaching them to shop for deals and sales helped immensely. Buying gently used things also cut back on costs.
What strategies did you use to prepare for college and stay within your budget?
