How to save your money from the Student Stores

As college students, we need to be able to ball on a budget.  While the convenience of the UNC Student Stores is nice, you’ve all probably noticed how expensive items can be. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of the Student Stores as it could be considered a ‘one-stop shop’. I mean it has books, supplies, and all the jerseys your heart could desire. That UNC shirt you bought might be cute now, but is it really worth one paycheck? Probably not.

Unfortunately the tears of a broke student aren’t an acceptable form of payment, so it’s important to examine the options that you have near campus, especially if you don’t have transportation to go off into Chapel Hill. Thank God we have Franklin Street, am I right?

While they aren’t as close as the Student Stores, CVS and Walgreens are usually more affordable when it comes to buying school supplies and other emergency needs. Not to mention their hours of operations are way more flexible, as Walgreens is open 24-hours and CVS doesn’t close until midnight.

The Students Stores do have their benefits. They offer scantrons and blue books for less than a quarter. Even better, the privatization through Barnes and Noble has actually made it easier to access textbooks. And then there are the game day football shirts. As a side note–if you attend enough events, you’ll rack up a ton of free t-shirts. Save your money.

But while I appreciate that the Student Stores is trying to make our lives more convenient, selling a mattress topper for forty bucks is unacceptable. There’s a 95 percent chance that this bad boy gets thrown away at the end of the year. Plus, I’m pretty sure that Target sells these for cheaper. (You know it’s bad when Target is the cheaper option.)

There comes a day when students realize that they didn’t buy enough notebooks when the ‘rents were in town and then they’re scrambling because the Student Stores sells 3-subject notebooks for almost ten dollars. TEN dollars.

Then you realize you need pens, which leads to the other discovery that pens at the Student Stores also costs you ten dollars.

If you’re like me, you probably don’t have a Hamilton laying around that you can just spend on for one notebook or an eight-pack of pens. Ten dollars can get you like, two slices of pizza at Benny Cappella’s. We all know that pizza > notebooks. Always.

At CVS, you could get that same 3-subject notebook for a much more reasonable price. 

You can also get a four-pack of those colorful pens for less than five dollars at Walgreens, which means more money for pizza. And who doesn’t love pizza?

Plus, both drugstores have customer reward programs that can get you even better savings on all of your necessities. The sign-up process for both is free and takes less than a few minutes to complete in store. Just ask your friendly sales clerk for more information.

While it’s great that a portion of sales from the Student Stores go to scholarships, if you really need to save some cash, but don’t have the time or resources to get to Walmart or Aldi’s, try the drugstores on Franklin Street.  Quick, convenient, and cheaper.