By Amanda Valentovic
ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

It’s halfway through the semester, and while you’re counting down the days until Thanksgiving break, you’re also probably running out of a few things – patience, sleep, dining points and school and dorm supplies. You’ll have to figure out when to take a nap on your own, but we can help you with a few of the other things. Here’s how to get what you need to last until finals week without breaking the bank.

 Use Amazon Student for online shopping.

Amazon has a service similar to their Prime service that is specifically for college students. If you sign up with an .edu email address, the joys of free shipping are yours for the next six months. Textbooks can be found for very low prices on Amazon using the student account. If buying books isn’t your thing, you can rent them for the semester – just save the box and send them back after you hand in your final.

Don’t count dollar stores out.

If you’re running out of notebook space or your friend didn’t give back that pen they promised to return, you’re going to need some supplies to get you through the rest of your midterms. Staples and other office supply stores are great, but pretty much any dollar store will have the same thing at a much cheaper price. Stock up and you’ll be good to go for the next year.

Eat off campus every once in awhile.

Be honest, you don’t want to spend your dining dollars or cash on food every day. But you will get hungry eventually. To stretch your meal plan until the end of the semester, it’s okay to venture off campus for some dinner. There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance that aren’t too expensive like Napolini’s and Chipotle. If you want to have some fun with friends, make a night out of half-priced appetizers at Applebee’s after 10 p.m.

It might seem stressful now, but don’t worry – there are ways to save money that you probably haven’t even realized. Think outside the box and you might come up with a few more of your own.