One of my favorite things about living in St Petersburg is the fun events available for free or inexpensive.

Let’s start with some cool things on campus.

We have a 100 foot pool on campus located at what is known as the Waterfront that is free to use.

Students can play volleyball in the pool, layout or swim laps and hang out with friends. And some of us prefer to spend study time by the pool.

Kayaks and canoes are available for free to students and can be rented from the Waterfront office.  The fun doesn’t stop there.  Paddleboard lessons, sailing and other watersports are located on our watercraft side.

Fun places near campus

Have you ever flown in a helicopter or thought to yourself, “I’d like to fly in one but it probably costs a lot”?

The Albert Whitted Airport is located across the street from USF St. Pete and they offer helicopter rides through Safari Choppers.

I recommend the experience because the view is gorgeous and you can take pictures with your camera or cell phone and show all your friends. And of course you’ll want to Facebook or Tweet them!

Starting cost is $39 per person for a fun flight. Watching the helicopters and airplanes take off is a lot of fun and we don’t have to leave campus for that.

American Stage Theatre, located in downtown St. Pete has a “Pay What You Can” night offered for one show during each show’s run.

And, if you like comedy at an inexpensive price, check out “News of the Weird” featuring two of Tampa Bay’s local actors, Ricky Wayne and Gavin Hawk, who perform on the first Sunday of every month at American Stage’s Cabaret, and it’s “Pay What You Can”.  Check out the theatre’s website for scheduled shows, prices and “Pay What You Can” nights.

Totally free

The Salvador Dali Museum is in walking distance from our campus and best of all, it’s free to students with a USF St. Pete ID.

Every Friday night from 7-11 p.m., play shuffleboard for free at St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club located at 559 Mirror Lake Dr. North in St. Pete and a short distance from the USF St. Pete campus. For more details visit their website at www.stpeteshuffle.com .

During October to May, the Saturday Morning Market is every Saturday from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Al Lang Field parking lot on the corner of 1st St S and 1st Ave S in downtown St. Pete.

Check out live music with around 200 vendors that provide a multicultural experience of food, crafts and music.

The 600 Block of Central Ave located in downtown St. Pete, known as The 600 Block has a diverse collection of shops and businesses such as fine art and craft galleries, boutiques, body art shops, music shops, graphic design and branding centers as well as performance venues, eateries and a world class audio and visual recording studio.

Some of us might have to wait until after we graduate with our bachelor’s to generate the kind of income we desire.

However, while we work towards our educational goals, there are a ton of ways we can save money on and off-campus. We can learn how to budget by keeping an eye on our spending.

As college students, many of us like to try new restaurants and hang out with friends at our favorite dining places.

It’s all fun and games until your debit card balance reads close to zero or wallet has only $2 in it until next payday. I’ve found that food costs take more money than I’d like out of my account.

Budget Plans

I lived in downtown St. Petersburg when I transferred to USF St. Petersburg in January 2012 so I frequently spent money on dining out and daily coffee purchases. Going out became a bad habit because I spent more money than I saved and didn’t have any kind of budget plan.

After I made the decision to stop blowing money, I developed a budget plan that worked for me and want to offer tips to you so that more money can be in your account while you experience college life at USFSP.

The biggest thing I’ve done that’s helped me save money is cooking at home.  And, it’s fun with a roommate.  My roommate and I split the grocery costs and plan our weekly meals out on Sundays.  Two out of the seven days, we generally eat leftovers.  This has saved me $300 monthly.  We share budget plan ideas also.

St. Petersburg offers a variety of dining options and there are many restaurants with lunch or dinner specials.  There are deals out there that will fit your budget plan.  When I dine out, which is hardly ever since I like watching my savings account grow, I go to a restaurant with inexpensively priced specials.

Bye, Bye Coffee and Hello, Coupons!

Cutting back on daily coffee purchases has helped save more money.  I make my own coffee from my kitchen and put it in a traveler’s mug and take it to work or school.  It tastes just the same as coffee purchased from a coffee chain.  The only difference is more money in my savings account and a great budget plan.

I take advantage of coupons from newspapers, grocery stores and online to help save money.  Groupon and www.valpak.com are two of my favorite websites where I have found coupons and good deals from leisure activities to automotive repairs. Shop around online and see which ones work best for you.  Budge, budget and save more money.

If you plan to live in a residence hall then you’re in luck with saving money on food costs because USFSP offers meal plans to meet your dining needs. Check out the meal plans offered.  But I still advise creating a budget plan for yourself.

At USFSP, we don’t always have to spend money to have fun on the weekends.  There are a lot of fun free things to do on and off campus.  I have a list of my favorite free activities on my Ipad. One of my favorite free off campus activities is to meditate at Northshore Park. You could make your own list once you’ve explored the campus and the city of St. Petersburg.