While the college experience can be quite a wild ride, it takes a little creative budgeting to have so much fun without coming out dead broke, or worse, in serious debt. As Ben Franklin famously advised, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” And while Franklin wasn’t exactly known for following his own advice (has there ever been a greater lover of French prostitutes?), that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

Here are a few tips on cutting corners so you still have some dough to go out and have a blast:

Be thrifty with utilities. Nobody likes extreme weather, but suck it up! In the winter, don’t blast the heater, just put Add New another shirt on. Or, if it simply gets too cold, invest in a space heater so you only have to pay to heat the rooms you occupy the most. You’ll save a bundle by not heating every room in the house all the time. The same goes for the AC in the summer. Use ceiling fans, or buy some cheap desktop fans.

Try to cut down on your shower time too. Everyone likes long showers, but that water isn’t free. And if you really like practicing your terrible singing that much, try karaoke.

Lastly, if your parents are anything like mine, you’ve heard this practically your entire life, but, just as a reminder: Turn off the lights when you leave a room!

Don’t buy name brands. Of course knock-off brands rarely possess the quality of their brand-name brethren, but they sure are cheaper. Besides, are you telling me you can tell the difference between Coke and Faygo Cola? If you can, you’re drinking too much soda. You should cut that out of your budget while you’re at it. Plus, if you acclimate yourself to the cheap stuff, the occasional indulgence in a good old Coca-Cola while be like drinking the nectar of the Gods.

Quit buying so many drugs. Seriously, quit buying so many drugs.

Get creative when it comes to textbooks. Textbooks are notoriously expensive, and often suck up a giant part of a student’s budget. More and more services are springing up which offer textbook rentals. This way you can pay a relatively low price for books only when you need them, rather than letting them collect dust on the shelf.

Also, if you’re taking a class with a close friend or roommate, consider splitting the cost of the textbook and studying together.

Budgeting isn’t always easy, and it’s far from fun, but there’s so much money to be saved if you’re willing to rough it now and then. And if you ask me, that’s a big part of the college life. I think Mr. Franklin would agree.