Budget Busters: Student Discounts You Need to Be Taking Advantage of Right Now

By Ian Donnelly

*Insert clever introduction about broke students here* I wish I was kidding, but with so many clichés out there about students living on tight budgets, you’ve probably heard enough of them. We all know how college students are accustomed to cutting corners, whether it’s stocking up on ramen for a week of sodium-infused meals or bypassing a TV cable subscription—because it’s not like you really need ESPN, anyway.

If you’re trying to cut corners without necessarily sacrificing any comforts, student discounts are one of the best ways to get what you want at a fraction of the usual price. See, we told you there were real perks to being a student—you need something to make the hours of study, nights of lost sleep, and stress-inducing assignments worth it in the long run. Well, I guess there is ultimately your degree, but c’mon, everyone needs a little relief before their graduation day!

Here’s our top list of student discounts for 2018.

Entertainment

Spotify

Whether you’re trying to buckle down and study for an exam or driving around your favorite neighborhood with a few friends, everyone needs awesome jams to enjoy. Luckily enough for your empty wallet, Spotify offers students 50 percent off their Premium subscription. Now you can pay $4.99 as opposed to $9.99 a month for unlimited access to Spotify’s extensive library—best of all, there are absolutely no ads.

AMC Theatres

AMC Theatres, a popular U.S. theater chain you’ve probably heard of, offers a student discount every Thursday (at select theaters)—a whole dollar off their usual adult ticket fee. So, now for a mere $12.69, you can enjoy The Rock and Kevin Hart’s latest comedic excursion, or that weird art house film your girlfriend wants to see…but you’ll have to cough up an additional $12.69 for her ticket, too—plus tax. And maybe dinner afterward…yikes, maybe you should fly solo on this one then.

Amazon

If you think about it, Amazon could technically be categorized as entertainment. I mean, that’s where all my blu-rays, books, and cookware come from anyway, and I don’t know about you, but if you’re living in the 21st century like me, chances are that your interests and hobbies are fueled by the e-commerce giant. For college students, there is Amazon Prime Student, a Prime membership program created specifically for the likes of you. As a Prime Student Member, you’ll receive all the perks of a prime membership at half the cost, which is $5.49 a month for a grand total of $65.88 for the entire year. With that kind of rate, you might want to hop on that free 6-month trial, like right now. (See blog title.)

Technology

Apple

Do you love Apple products, but find them to be a little pricey for your tight student budget? Well, for starters, Apple music is available for a discounted student rate of $4.99 a month—hey, someone has to compete with Spotify. Better yet, Apple offers Apple Education Pricing on their products, which is available to newly accepted college students and their parents, making a new laptop more affordable amidst all the tuition, miscellaneous fees, and textbook costs. Apple also offers refurbished products as well as special financing, so you’ve got plenty of thrifty options—new student or not.

Microsoft Office

I am having some serious FOMO right now because this student discount is one I wish I would have known about myself. Students can get access to Office 365—which includes hard-hitters such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote—for free with a valid student email address. GoogleDocs may be the way of the future, but this deal is really not worth passing up, especially if you need to cater to your older professors that taught before the cloud technology was really a thing. Additionally, Microsoft offers a 10 percent student discount on Windows devices for students.

Adobe

This discount is perfect for anyone pursuing a degree in graphic design—or even an aspiring marketer, writer, or photographer looking to enhance their Photoshop skills. For a mere $9.99 a month, students can access Lightroom and Photoshop. If you really want to flex your creative muscles, for $19.99 a month, you can access Adobe’s 20-plus apps, which is half the usual cost of $49.99 a month. You don’t have many financial benefits as a student, and this is definitely one you will not want to pass up!

News

The New York Times

Let’s face the hard facts: we all need to keep up-to-date on the latest, breaking news during the Trump era. When you look at the news, it seems like there’s something catastrophic occurring on the hour, every hour. To ease your mind, stay “in the know” with a discounted subscription to one of the most credible sources of news in the country, The New York Times. Instead of paying the standard $3.75 a week for unlimited access to The NY Times website, you can enjoy discounted access at $1.00 per week, which totals $4.00 a month and $48.00 a year respectively.

The Washington Post

Again, with all these student discounts on the best #fakenews in the country, there is no excuse not to be up-to-snuff on both domestic and foreign issues. Check this out: The Washington Post bests The New York Times with a free subscription to any student with a valid .edu email address—that means even new alumni may even be able to take advantage of this deal! All you have to do is sign-up, confirm your email, then bam—you’re in business.

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