In a few short months, your teenaged child will be packing the car, taking most of his belongings with him as he begins his first year of college. You can’t help but feel sad as you walk past his room, imagining the day when it will be empty and forgotten.

Your mind flashes forward, and you find yourself wondering about his dorm room. What will it look like? Will he remember to put his dirty socks in the hamper? How will he survive without you to clean up after him? Then, more importantly, how will you pay for all of the things he’ll need (and want) for his new digs?

Fortunately there are a few easy ways to deck out his dorm room without spending a lot of your hard-earned money.

Check out Craigslist
Current college students often get rid of the things they can’t fit into their cars or won’t need at home. Craigslist is basically a free online classified site, so college students use it to post items for sale. If you are proactive and start looking now, you may be able to find furniture, electronics, refrigerators, and other small appliances for great prices. It might also be a good idea to stalk the dumpster areas at local apartment complexes or dormitories, because students are always leaving things behind when they move out.

Shop the sales
Big box stores like JCPenney, Target, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond often have coupons for 20% off or more, which are great when you are looking for bedding, storage, shoes, appliances, etc. Check out www.retailmenot.com to search for coupon codes for online shopping or printable coupons that you can bring with you to the stores. You can also watch for back-to-school sales that begin in August. Go to the stores at the beginning of the week because super cheap back-to-school deals often sell out quickly.

Stock up with coupons
Use coupons to stock up on food and personal care items that your student will want to bring. One way is to use Target’s coupons at www.target.com. Scroll halfway down and click on the “Get Coupons” link on the left-hand side of the page. Target accepts one Target coupon and one manufacturer’s coupon per item, so if you match your coupons right, you can get great deals on cereals, snacks, shampoo, laundry detergent, and more.

Don’t buy everything
The back-to-school shopping ads are enticing. They show happy students in colorful dorm rooms with everything brand-new. But the truth is, you don’t have to buy everything for your student’s new dorm room. You can send your student off to college with bedding, appliances, and storage units from your home. If you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense to spend money on things that you already own.

Wait to buy textbooks
Having shiny, new textbooks may seem exciting, but you can always find used books for sale online or at college after classes begin. With this approach, your student may have to settle for a previous edition of a book.  The page numbers may be slightly different and there may be updated sections, but using a book one or two editions earlier isn’t usually a problem.

While you want to send your kid to college in style, you can do it without breaking the bank. That means looking for used items, shopping the sales, and most importantly, making smart decisions with your money.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 27th, 2010 and is filed under Paying for college.