College might be the best years of your life, but for many students, it’s also a time of financial hardship. Even if a student manages to secure one or more scholarships, the cost of living nationwide continues to increase and without the money made from a full-time job, it can be hard to truly make the most of your college years.
However, affordable tech is changing that phenomenon. No matter what your financial situation looks like, there are countless cheap tech tools available that are fun, can boost your quality of life, and mitigate some of the challenges you face during those extremely important college years.
The following tech will allow you to:
- Have fun
- Work productively
- Find peace and quiet
- Make it easy to clean your living space
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Noise Canceling Earbuds
People tend to agree that freshman year is iconic. For many, it’s the first time they’ve lived away from home. They make new friends, go on dates, and experience life on their own while juggling the rigors of a college education.
However, no one really prepares you for how noisy it’s going to be. While most dorms enforce noise level restrictions following a certain hour, your roommate’s snoring might ruin your ability to sleep. With that in mind, countless companies have rolled out noise-canceling earbuds, which can be used to help you sleep and work productively regardless of the constant chatter.
Portable Speakers
Sometimes you want to wash out the noise, but other times you’re going to want to add to it. Enter portable speakers.
Wherever you and your friends go, portable speakers almost always enhance the occasion. They’re also incredibly affordable. Because they’re in such high demand, companies are in constant competition to try and build the highest quality speakers at the lowest possible price. The output of this competitiveness is affordability.
Robo Vacuums
If there’s one thing college dorms and houses are not known for, it’s their cleanliness. There are many reasons (read: excuses) for this, but if there’s one thing that’s true, it’s that clean-living is conducive to relaxation and productivity.
While investing in an air purifier may seem excessive, a simpler alternative, like a robo vacuum, can do wonders in terms of keeping your space clean. All you have to do is turn the unit on and voila! They’ll start wandering the room and cleaning the floor.
Affordable Laptops
Every college student needs a laptop. Yet, the new MacBook priced upwards of $3k might not be in the budget. In fact, it probably isn’t. But that won’t stop you from being able to afford a quality laptop. If you’re looking for the hardware you’ll use throughout the year, then be sure to search for these qualities:
- Affordability: It’s possible to find the best laptop under 500 dollars if you’re willing to look for the right deals and promotions.
- Portability: When you’re jumping between classrooms, coffee shops, and your home, lugging around a large laptop can be an enormous hassle. Finding one that’s slim and can easily slip into a backpack or bag should be your goal.
- Processing Power: College projects often require you to have multiple tabs open on your computer. You may have to jump between researching, writing, and even designing charts and graphics. Ensuring your computer can handle all of these tasks will allow you to be as productive as possible.
Drones
It’s hard to understate how exciting it is to pilot a drone. And today, you can find drones under 400 dollars that can do what bulkier, multi-thousand dollars units did only a few years prior.
While your priority is obtaining an excellent education, that doesn’t mean that you can’t revel in the freedom that is your college years. A drone can provide tons of recreational fun and amazing aerial photography that you’ll be glad you captured. The older generations had film, the iPhone generation had digital, now you can have aerial.
Being a Broke, Tech-Loving College Student
As you can see from this list, it doesn’t require thousands of dollars to enjoy tech on a budget. College might be an expensive time but if you’re crafty enough, you can buy everything you need and want without going into debt doing so.