13 money-saving tricks I used when I moved to New York City for graduate school

Washington Square Park

1. Substituting legumes for meat

Because my rent, internet, and mobile phone bills were the same every month, I knew that I had to figure out a way to slash my grocery costs.

An avid cook, I was used to buying whatever ingredients I wanted during grocery runs. But after trips to multiple supermarkets in New York, I realized just how much buying animal products can add to my grocery total.

For example, a pound of ground turkey at Trader Joe's costs $2.99. A 15-ounce can of black beans or garbanzo beans costs 79 cents. For the cost of three packages of ground turkey, I could buy eight cans of beans, which would last me more meals.

Before moving to New York, I was used to eating a lot of meat, so adopting a largely vegetarian diet was definitely challenging at first.

Once my taste buds adapted, I was surprised to find that I felt a lot healthier. The habit became easier to maintain, and I learned to get extremely creative with recipes involving beans and lentils.

2. Never going anywhere on an empty stomach

Naturally, my limited budget meant that eating out and shelling out cash at bars and cafes weren't really options.

For a long time, that included not getting takeout. A $10 meal might not seem like a big purchase, but when you consider the cost of the ingredients and how much cheaper it would be to make at home, it's hard to justify.

When I did go to bars, cafes, or restaurants to meet friends, I made sure to eat beforehand so I wouldn't be tempted to buy an overpriced grilled cheese or french fries.

I would stick with drinking soda or filter coffee. Most of my friends were fellow graduate students, so there was no embarrassment around uttering the phrase, "I can't afford it."

Flickr/LongitudeLatitude

3. Allowing myself one 'cheat item' a week

Just like diets often leave you craving foods you can't eat, being on a budget also leaves you craving foods you can't afford.

I gave myself a small treat once a week, though I made sure the item wasn't too expensive. This usually took the form of a $4.99 Pound-Plus Trader Joe's chocolate bar or my biggest weakness, potato chips. Very occasionally, I also treated myself to takeout or a cheap meal, which luckily isn't hard to come by in New York!

4. Taking the time to find the best price for different products

I bought my bread, rice, pasta, milk, and eggs from one store, my dried goods and vegetables from another, my snacks from another, and my toiletries/cleaning products from another.

It was definitely time consuming. But the way I saw it, what I couldn't pay for in money, I paid for in time.

5. Visiting discount stores whenever I needed clothing, footwear, or cosmetics

It's amazing how many quality items you can find for very little, if you are just patient enough to look. One of the things that shocked me when I moved to the US was how easy it is to find things that are on sale. It made me wonder why anyone would ever pay full price for anything.

In New York, my go-to store for almost every item was Lot Less. If I couldn't find what I was looking for there, I would head to Burlington Coat Factory. Between the two stores, I would usually end up finding what I needed.

6. Eliminating mindless browsing

Whenever I'm "window shopping," I almost always find something that I really want. My self-control usually stops me from buying it, but asking myself, "Do I really need this?" is a waste of brain power.

So instead, I stopped window shopping entirely, and would only go to a store if I really needed something. I have to admit, when you go to a discount store, it takes a lot of discipline not to browse the clearance rack. But I found that when I went to the store with the intention of buying one particular thing, I didn't usually walk out with anything else.

7. When shopping online, buy in bulk to save on shipping

There were bits and pieces that I needed when I moved into my apartment that were cheaper on Amazon than anywhere else. But sometimes, the extra cost of shipping eliminated those savings.

For the first few months, I was able to take advantage of the Amazon prime six-month trial for students. After that ended, I would try to buy several things I needed at once to meet the minimum free shipping threshold.

8. Constantly thinking about how to make things multi-functional

I became very good at finding ways to make products fulfill different uses. Coconut oil became my all-purpose beauty product: moisturizer, hair mask, and make-up remover.

I even washed the leftover jars and used them as glasses, knowing that I would pay twice as much for mason-jar glasses at a department store. Yogurt and ice-cream containers were my lunchbox, and shoe boxes became my storage boxes for paperwork.

This trained me not to make unnecessary purchases. Before I threw away packaging, I was forced to think about whether I could repurpose it for something that I needed around the apartment. If the answer was yes, I would keep it.

Flickr/Evelyn Hill

10. Opting for breakfast or lunch when eating out

While I didn't eat out a lot, the occasional time that I did, I'd always go for breakfast or lunch. You can usually find great deals you'd be hard-pressed to find at dinnertime.

It was also a good way to enjoy a proper meal at a fraction of the price, as opposed to restricting myself to appetizers and water because I couldn't justify paying for a main.

10. Taking advantage of my student discount wherever I could

Since I spent three years in the working world between finishing my undergraduate degree and starting graduate school, I'd forgotten how useful a student ID can be in terms of discounts and free events.

Of course, in reality, the "free events" were actually paid for by my hefty tuition bill, which provided an extra dose of motivation to look for things where having an NYU ID card would give me some benefits. These included a discount at Bed Bath & Beyond and free movie screenings courtesy of the journalism school.

11. Finding free or very cheap alternatives for things that usually cost money

New York is full of expensive things, but fortunately for the budget-conscious among us, free things also abound.

Whenever I wanted to do an activity that cost money, I'd do a bit of Googling to see if there was a free or cheaper alternative. Most of the time, there was.

For example, as someone who loves group fitness classes but didn't have the cash for a barre or boxing studio membership, I went on meetup.com and found several fitness groups, like The Rise, that were free. I'd sign up for complimentary yoga sessions at Lululemon and kept an eye out for promotions at fitness studios.

Websites like The Skint and Nifty NYC became my go-to resources for weekend activities.

Often, the free events occurred in parts of New York that I wouldn't normally visit. This turned out to be a great way to discover neighborhoods that I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise.

12. Thinking of every purchase in terms of opportunity cost

Being on a tight budget taught me to think about the opportunity cost of every potential purchase.

For example, a $15 taxi ride one way could get me five subway trips, or two and a half round trips. A $12 burger could buy me 12 cans of beans. A night out that cost $50 could pay my gas bill for the month.

When I started looking at purchases that way, it became easier to say no to things I didn't really need. I adopted the mindset that for every purchase I make, the reward I got from it should be greater than the opportunity I'd be giving up.

13. Training myself to enjoy cheaper alternatives, even when I didn't want to

For example, on my lawyer's salary, takeout lattes were within my budget. So was buying high-quality ground coffee, which tends to be on the expensive side.

That wasn't an option when I moved to New York, so I just simply trained myself to enjoy the inexpensive filter brew from my Mr. Coffee machine at home. Like the transition to a largely vegetarian diet, I got used to it and even began to enjoy the taste.

I also discovered a positive side effect of this approach. When I did occasionally indulge in a nice cup of coffee, I was able to appreciate it so much more than when I consumed it daily.

Living on a tight budget wasn't always easy. Even with these tricks, there were times I fell off the wagon and worries about paying bills would creep up.

But over time, my frugal habits became almost second nature. Sticking to them taught me how to be resourceful when you don't have very many resources in the first place, a skill that's proven useful in the working world.

At the end of the day, my biggest takeaway has been gaining a greater understanding of what's truly important to me.

It's a lesson that I continue to be grateful for, and one that's helped me as I continue to work toward my financial goals.