The start of the fall 2019 college semester is right around the corner. Whether you’re a new or returning student back to school season comes with some financial costs beyond that of the typical tuition, room and board, and books. As you shop for dorm “essentials” try to keep your costs low. Consider shopping at yard sales and Goodwill to get quality items at a fraction of the cost of buying new. You can put the money you saved from doing this towards your student loans. Another option is to save the money for future semesters to reduce the amount of student loans you will need to take out later on. This option should only be used by those who are “savers” as it takes a lot of willpower to not spend the extra cash.