*Editor's Note: The print publication has an error. Skipping class for in-state students will cost them $200 per credit hour, not $2 as stated in print.

Monday Mornin’ Rain is Fallin’: New college students love attendance policies. Many professors don’t even take attendance. Skipping class is tempting, but don’t. A student paying in-state tuition can waste $200 per credit hour. An out of state student wastes even more by skipping a class - $631.10.

There’s a rumble in my tummy: Students who have a meal plan need to be aware of just how much money you can lose by not being intentional about how you use it. Your meal plan gives you a certain amount of meals and meal points per semester. Meals do not rollover from week to week and meal points do not rollover from semester to semester. Two meals left at the end of the week means you waste $16. The same waste goes for meal points. Meal points are $1 per point, so if you have 600 points for the semester, you have $600 you need to spend on campus. One way to budget is to figure out how many points you have per week and make sure you do no go over. But don’t be too stingy or you’ll have too many points at the end of the semester.

“Any way you can avoid spending cash on campus food is worth it,” says Josie Roberts, engineering physics sophomore. “I brought my own breakfast and lunch to school all but once a week ... groceries are much less expensive than Union food.”

Workin’ on my fitness: Before joining a gym, consider the Houston Huffman Center first. It’s included in tuition. You could save an additional $120 per semester by not getting a gym membership.

That’s Entertainment: When you are not studying, you might want to entertain yourself. Let’s face it, entertainment is expensive. If you are used to buying music fromiTunes for $1.29 per song, consider using pandora.com, a free online radio station where you can customize your own station with music suited specifically to your taste. Amazon.com is another great place to shop for music. You can often get albums used in good condition for a discounted price. Remember to include shipping in your estimates.

If you are more of a movie-goer, you can also save. You can watch movies for free at the Union on Friday nights. The movies are semi-new releases, like the Harry Potter series, Thor and Hangover 2. Redbox is another option with locations close to campus charging a $1.00 per day until the movie is returned.