Want to shop, eat and have fun on a student budget? Here’s your South Florida cheat sheet
Students, if you’re looking for a cheat sheet on how to live on a student budget, save this page.
Here are some ways you can shop, eat and have fun for a discounted price in South Florida, where the cost of living is pricey.
And the best part?
Everything on this list, with the exception of a few back-to-school promotions, is typically available year-round although discounts can change.
Back-to-school discounts
If you weren’t able to get everything you need during Prime Day, make sure to take advantage of Florida’s back-to-school sales tax holiday.
From Aug. 2-6, select school supplies will be tax-free. So will qualifying clothing, footwear, technology and accessories.
Most major retailers typically have back-to-school sales, too, and are already sharing their promotions online so you can start planning your “first day of school” outfit or decorating your dorm.
Student Tech Deals
Apple
The tech giant’s back-to-school promotion is giving college students free Beats headphones with every qualifying Mac or iPad purchase and a 20 percent discount for Apple Care.
College students are also eligible for special rates all year long on various Apple products including Macs and iPads. The new 13-inch MacBook Air, for example, starts at $999 for students instead of $1,099. You can get the student rate online at Apple’s Education Store or by visiting the store. You can also find these rates at any authorized campus seller.
Microsoft
In terms of back-to-school sales, students can save up to $300 on select Surface devices. During the rest of the year, students can save 10 percent on PCs and up to 10 percent on other store products online at Microsoft’s Education store or by visiting the store.
Students can also get the complete Office 365 software for free. All you need is a valid school email address to enroll.
Once you sign up, you’ll have access to Microsoft favorites such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. But be careful: Once you’re no longer a student, you won’t be able to edit or create new documents.
Recent college graduates can also get a subscription discount for the first year.
Shop Around
There are other brands you can choose. Sometimes, you might even find what you’re looking for — cheaper — at another retailer like Best Buy, Walmart or Target.
Best Buy also offers student deals year-round on a variety of electronics, including cameras, TVs and accessories. All you need to do is create a free My Best Buy account and enroll. The deals will come via email.
Adobe
Creatives, this is for you.
While Adobe’s Creative Cloud costs about $50 a month for individuals who want to access Adobe’s entire software collection, students who sign up with a .edu email will get the entire collection — including Photoshop, Premiere Pro and InDesign— for around $20 a month the first year. After that, it’ll cost about $30.
If you’re a musician or filmmaker, you could also check out Apple’s Pro Bundle for Education. Depending on your needs, this one-time $200 purchase might be a better deal if you’re a Mac user.
However, you should check with your school first before you click “Buy.” Some software could be installed in computer labs, classrooms or might even be provided to students for free.
Broward residents should also pay a visit to their public library. Some libraries are providing access to select Adobe software.
Take advantage of your student status
Cheap Food
#FoodIsLife is more than a hashtag for students, especially once you’re tired of eating at the school dining hall.
So, whenever you get the chance, flash your college ID at local restaurants and ask if they offer discounts. Some of them do. PDQ, for example, offers a 10 percent discount to Florida International University students while the Big Cheese gives 10 percent off to University of Miami students.
Other restaurants offer a discount to any college or university student. Select Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, for example, offer students 15 percent off.
In the store
Some stores also give students discounts online. Dockers, for example, gives students 20 percent off, Nike gives 10 percent off and H&M offers 15 percent off to students who verify their status using Unidays.
If online shopping is a habit, you might want to check out Amazon’s Student Prime membership. After your six-month trial ends, you get free two-day shipping plus unlimited access to Amazon’s collection of shows, movies, books and music for $59 a year. For non-students, the Amazon Prime membership costs $119 a year.
Drive and save
It pays to have good grades.
Car insurance companies like Geico, Allstate and State Farm offer students cheaper rates for being responsible, having good grades and being involved.
Those with Geico, for example, can save up to 15 percent off with Geico’s good student discount, but they must be full-time students between 16-24 with a “B” average or better. Students may also be eligible for good driver discounts, or savings for being part of a qualifying honor society, fraternity, sorority or student organization.
Allstate offers discounts for students under 25 who are not married and have good grades (B- or above or a GPA of 2.7 or above), and who have successfully completed the teenSMART driver education program or attend school at least 100 miles away from where the car is based.
State Farm’s good student discount is for those under 25 who either ranked in the upper 20 percent of their class, have a grade average of B or higher, a grade point average of 3.0 or higher or made the dean’s list or honor roll.
You’ll have to check with your insurance to see if you’re eligible for any savings and be prepared to show documented proof of your grades or status if they ask.
Going out on a budget
Outings don’t always have to be expensive. In fact, they can be free if you have a public library card in Miami-Dade.
You can check out passes at your local branch to a variety of different museums and attractions, like Vizcaya’s Museum and Gardens, Zoo Miami and the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science.
Each pass is for one-time use, good for up to a family of four and is valid for seven days after pickup, but availability is limited so check online first at mdpls.org by clicking “Museum Pass” under the “Using the Library” tab on the home page.
Movie lovers should also inquire about student discounts whenever they visit the theater. Select Regal and AMC theaters offer student tickets.
The Regal South Beach in Miami Beach and the Regal Shadowood in Boca Raton, for example, are some of the Regal Florida theaters that provide student rates at the box office with a valid school ID. Prices can also vary depending on the theater, but tickets are usually up to 15 percent cheaper than an adult ticket.
If you like supporting local movie theaters like the Coral Gables Art Cinema or the O Cinema in North Beach, you still have a chance of getting a student rate. Student tickets for the Coral Gables Art Cinema, for example, are $10 while O Cinema’s are just shy of $10.
Want to visit a play?
The Adrienne Arsht Center in downtown Miami has a program called “Arsht UTIX” where they post discounted tickets for students. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale also offers student rates for those under 25. The Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables also has student rush deals and a weekly “Pay your age” special.
If you want to bowl or go to an arcade, jump online and see what promotions your favorite place is offering. Most places hold various specials throughout the week like “College Night,” unlimited bowling or eat and play combos.
School is expensive, but if you flash your ID right, and do some research, you may save more than you expected.
This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 6:52 AM.
