The financial crunch is being felt in many places. This means that you will need to take some wise shortcuts in order to save money while you are at college. Here are a couple of tips to help you reduce your college and living costs while in school.

1. Get all the scholarships you can. Scholarships can greatly reduce your college costs - and may even be able to eliminate them altogether. This will require that you do some serious online searching to find them, but there still are plenty out there. Take time to fill out the paperwork carefully - including any essays that may be required.

2. Buy your essentials from discount stores. Most everyone knows that you can get clothes at a good price at stores like Wal-Mart. In order to get the best prices, though, and save money, you want to buy the store brands.

3. Buy used books. College books do not have to be new to be in good shape. You can save over 50% of the new book costs by looking for places to buy them used. Then, when you do not need the books anymore - sell them to someone who will need them.

4. Look for discounts or used. If you are going to buy something you need - or want - check with the stores that sell items used. This can lead to great savings and in many cases, the items will be in good shape.