I’m in a life phase now where it’s just hard to save money. My child is about to start her freshman year at a university about 250 miles from home. Over the years, we’ve been putting money into a 529 plan and other accounts for the big expenses—tuition, room, board—so we feel somewhat prepared on that front. But the incidental costs—travel, new gear, cell phone expenses, etc.—can add up to lots of additional dollars. We’ve traveled back and forth twice so far and are planning her big move in a few weeks. So while we’re spending, I’m still looking for ways to save.

We don’t have a car large enough to transport the three of us and all her clothes and things down to college, so we’re renting a minivan. First I used Expedia and Travelocity to locate rentals, but wasn’t able to find anything cheaper than about $600 for four days. I tried searching all the major car rental agencies within a 10 mile radius of my home through their own Web sites, then tinkered with the pickup and drop-off times, the car model, and the branch office to see which variables affected the rental rate. I found my best price at Budget but rather than book through the Web site, I called the local office to see if I couldn’t get a better rate. The woman assured me that she couldn’t match the online rate I found. Before I booked, though, I did a Google search for “Budget Rental” and “coupon.” I got an additional $25 off and ended up with a rate of about $375 with unlimited miles.

I’ve been saving Bed Bath & Beyond coupons—some $5 off, some 20% off—to use when we buy dorm furnishings: bed linens, towels, storage containers, decorative items, and bath supplies. We plan to buy as much of that as possible near where she’ll be going to school so we don’t have to transport it all from here. The sales tax is lower there, too.

To avoid unnecessary bank fees, I checked out the banks in her college town and found one close to campus that also has a branch in my hometown. We’ll open an account there so that she’ll have a debit card and access to an ATM that she can use without paying a fee, and I’ll be able to easily transfer cash and monitor her spending.

She’s not taking her car to campus, which will save us some money on our auto insurance. Since her group of “best friends forever” are splitting up and going to different colleges, I’ll also monitor her cell phone and text message usage to make sure she stays within the limits we’ve set; any additional costs will come out of her money. Now we’re checking online sources for textbooks to see if we can’t find the required books at lower prices than her college bookstore offers.

I’m still looking for more ways to save. Readers with tips on how to keep the incidental costs of college in check are invited (please!) to post their comments here.—Noreen Perrotta, money editor