Post by Brandon Esquivias, GIC Peer Mentor 2021
Irvine has a lot of opportunities when saving money. Here is a list of my favorite ones.
• Ask for student discounts at restaurants and stores.
• Groceries stores have a spot for products that are out of season or expiring soon, they tend to be at the corner of stores.
• Look for your favorite place apps. Usually, you get discounts or promotions on the apps just by downloading or earning points.
• FRESH Hub is a great place to get access to students’ basic needs, like groceries or toiletries. Visit their website for more information https://basicneeds.uci.edu/.
• Take advantage of UCI’s library for getting your books, but you need to be fast, they get loaned quickly. Library website https://www.lib.uci. edu/.
• Look for used books on the internet, they tend to be in good shape and at a lower price.
• UCI also offers ebooks for loan at this website https://ucirvinemain. overdrive.com/.
• Amazon will be your best friend to buy stuff and you can get Prime students for a fair price.
• A nice website for looking for online deals will be https://slickdeals. net/.
• Orange County has a variety of outdoor activities, I recommend looking into UCI Anteater Recreation Center for this. Spots tend to fill out pretty quickly so make sure to check them out at the start of every quarter. https://www.campusrec.uci.edu/.
• Take a look at https://parking.uci.edu/ for packages on buses or other means of transportation.
• You can get cheap bicycles at the UCI bike fair at the start of every quarter. https://www.bike.uci.edu/events-private/recycle-program/.
I always make a list of items I will need for my studies and also a wish list of stuff for me. This helps me plan when to buy it and save money. For example, electronics and clothes can be bought cheaper during black Friday or off-season events.