How to save money on entertainment while in school

Movies and TV 

Prime Video

If you have Amazon Prime, you also have access to Prime Video and its vast selection of old and new TV Shows and movies. Students can register for a six-month free trial and are eligible for 50 per cent off on regular prime memberships ($39/year for all Amazon Prime services).

Sony Crackle

Sony Crackle is a service that allows you to enjoy movies for free. Though the selection isn’t as large as some of the paid alternatives, there is plenty of choice from different genres for the casual night in. Since it isn’t available in Canada, you will need to use a VPN, which isn’t a perfect solution, but may be worth it to save some money. 

YouTube

YouTube offers a lot of user-generated content to keep you entertained wherever you are. YouTube also provides its users with the option to rent movies and TV shows individually for really low prices. This is great if you watch movies once in a while and don’t need a continuous subscription to satisfy your movie needs. 

Music 

Spotify/Apple Music

Spotify and Apple Music allow users to listen to their large music catalogues for free. However, the free tier has limited functionality compared to the paid tiers so you have limited skips and ads will disrupt you occasionally, but these are minor inconveniences to listen to your favourite music for free. Both Spotify and Apple Music also offer discounted rates for students. For $4.99/month you can get rid of the ads, get full functionality in the app, and save your data by downloading the songs onto your phone. 

YouTube

Try to remember the last time YouTube didn’t have a song that you were looking for… YouTube is free to use and offers pretty much every song ever so you can save your money to spend on more important things… like coffee during exam season. YouTube also has YouTube Music, a service similar to Spotify and Apple Music, also for $4.99/month.

Prime Music

Similar to Prime Video, Prime Music is also available to you if you have a prime membership. The catalogue isn’t as big as some of the other music streaming services but it is growing rapidly!

Books

Campus Libraries

The campus libraries are a great way to save BIG money on expensive books which you might only need twice throughout the course. Just present your student ID card and take out a book when you need it. Availability might be limited so check the library website and plan in advance when you want to take a book out. The libraries also have a huge selection of other fiction and nonfiction works spanning all genres so there is definitely something for everyone, whether it’s for academic or leisure. 

Prime Reading

Once again, if you have Amazon Prime, you also have access to Amazon Prime Reading. Prime Reading offers users an enormous rotating library of fiction, nonfiction, magazines, comics, and even audiobooks.