Being a college student is expensive whether you’re fresh out of high school or a re-entry student. Just buying books is enough to make your wallet cry.

While community college is cheaper than a university, tuition can still strain a student’s tight budget. Paying for life’s necessities and pleasures can be enough to make students question if getting a degree is financially possible.

Many students don’t know about the ever-growing discounts available to them. Santa Rosa Junior College has its own discount program called Cub Card+.

Cub Card+ is a student membership program that comes with many perks. It gives students access to discounts in the bookstore plus cafeteria vouchers for a bite to eat.

Members qualify for discounts on parking passes and receive free admission to home sporting events and theater productions. Cub Card+ also qualifies students for off-campus discounts.

Acur-It Auto Repair offers Cub Cub+ members free safety inspections and tiered discounts on auto repair to keep students safe on their drive to campus.

UPS also offers CubCard+ members up to 30 percent off shipping needs.

“The Cub Card+ is a great value because it supports the student’s activities,” said SRJC President Dr. Frank Chong. “It’s one of the ways to fund student government, and I encourage all students to support it.”

SRJC students can purchase a yearlong Cub Card+ membership for $15.

Community discounts are also offered to students without the Cub Card+ membership, but those discounts are more difficult to find.

The Sonoma County Transit System offers free rides to any routed stop in the county. Students do not need a special pass but must present their student ID card to the driver when boarding. Public transit also helps alleviate the stress of finding a parking spot on campus.

Lytle’s Beauty College and Salon offers free haircuts to SRJC students every Tuesday and Friday with a SRJC student ID card. Everyone wins when students help other students.

“Peanuts” fans can flash their student ID card for discounted admission to the Charles M. Schulz Museum before catching the SRJC Polar Bears heat up the ice across the street.

Even huge corporations like Spotify and Amazon offer discounts to college students. Students can receive 50 percent off Spotify’s premium streaming service if they create their account with an email address ending in .edu.

Amazon Prime offers students the first six months free then offers 50 percent off the service after.  As with Spotify, all you need is an .edu email address when creating an Amazon account.

Discounts are great, but some students are left wanting more.

SRJC student Tyler Marcott, 22, believes every business should offer a student discount. “It would encourage more business, as well as help students get more of what they need with their limited budgets. It’s beneficial for both parties,” he said.

Second year SRJC student Taylor Brown, 20, agrees with Marcott, but he says discounts also help students who aren’t able to work as many hours due to school.

“Businesses should support their local college community because their college community supports them,” Brown said.

With ever-inflating prices for everything from books to bagels, student discounts are the only thing keeping some of us afloat.