Living at home is, of course, the slam-dunk option for lowering your room and board costs, unless your parents are charging you an arm and a leg or your student is eating you out of house and home. If living at home is not an option for one reason or another, you can still do a number of things to substantially lower your room and board costs. Some options are easy but come with the potential for headaches, while others can be relatively painless but require a lot of preparation and planning. All of them, though, have the potential to save you thousands, so consider picking one and trying to make it happen.

For the most part, choosing to live off-campus can save you a significant amount of money, usually 10 to 20 percent off the cost of living in a dorm. The major drawback to living off-campus is that the quality of the accommodations and the predictability of the situation become a lot more erratic. For example, when you’re living on-campus, you know exactly what you’re going to pay, can expect a certain standard of quality, and have some recourse if things aren’t going right.

Living off-campus, however, you have to deal with issues ranging from grumpy landlords to neighbors who hate college students to delayed repairs. Further, you have to deal with the fact that most landlords aren’t looking for tenants for just the 9 months that college is typically in session, but an entire 12-month lease period.

If you are going to try to cut costs by leasing off-campus, be sure to follow these tips:

One of the quickest and easiest ways to cut your costs is to take on additional roommates. Whether you have a room to rent or are willing to go so far as sharing a room with someone, the cost savings can be gigantic.

For example, in college, my wife shared a room with one of her close friends while everyone else in their house had their own rooms. She paid $350 per month to split a large master bedroom with a private bath, while the four other women each paid $500 for a private room with one shared bath. Over the course of 12 months, that put an extra $1,800 in her pocket.

Here are some tips on finding a good roommate, whether you are renting out an empty room or looking to split a room with someone else:

Not everyone wanting to do this will get a chance, but being a residential advisor can be a great deal for those who get their foot in the door. Most campuses with dorms employ students as residential advisors (RAs) who live in and oversee a dorm full of other students. In general, their job is to help keep the fun to a mild roar and alert the campus to any issues that need to be addressed. In return, they get free or discounted housing.

Many schools actually employ two RAs per dorm, with one usually being an older, more experienced advisor and the other being a sort of apprentice. With very few exceptions, these advisors are upper classmen, with juniors and seniors getting priority.

To become an RA, a student has to submit an application well ahead of the coming semester or year, as well as have a spotless academic and behavioral record. Students hoping for such a position should stay as far away from trouble as possible, while looking for opportunities to volunteer and demonstrate responsibility elsewhere on campus.

The cost effectiveness of meal plans varies widely from campus to campus, as does the quality of food that is available. Because food quality and cost generally go hand-in-hand, you can reasonably expect colleges with great cafeterias to cost more than those where there’s a large amount of mystery meat on the menu. In general, though, you can expect a full meal plan (three meals a day) to cost between $400 and $500 per month. This does not include providing your student with money for snacks or late-night pizza.

For students who will be without a kitchen, the use of the school’s cafeterias might be your only option. But that doesn’t mean you should opt for the standard meal plan. In reality, a meal plan that covers two meals per day is often a much better use of your money because many students never visit the cafeteria for breakfast (they’re either running late for class or sleeping in). If this is your student, you can probably save $50 to $100 per month by sending her some extra large boxes of cereal and opting for the two-meals-per-day plan.

For students living off-campus, however, the ability to save (or waste) money is greatly increased. Students who take the time to shop wisely, plan their meals ahead of time to maximize leftovers, and even share meals with roommates, can cut their food costs down to $250 per month. Further, in the months where they’re eating light or are off campus more than usual, you’re not wasting money on the school’s meal plan.

Two types of students are ideal for opting out of your school’s meal plan altogether—both of which need to have access to a refrigerator and/or a kitchen to save money while staying healthy. This, of course, can be a challenge, because most dorm room fridges are pretty tight on space and most campuses don’t allow any type of cooking or heating element in their standard rooms.

That aside, the first type of student who can reap some savings is the undiscerning, “quantity over quality” type eater. These students can be taught to prepare cheap, easy, and nutritious meals like pasta, chicken, and sandwiches. The other type is the picky, finicky eater, who will do fine on salads, fresh fruits, vegetables, and other light fare. Vegetarians and vegans might fall into this category as well, especially since they may be venturing off campus to find the freshest items anyway. Both of these types of students should have no problem saving money over most schools’ standard meal plans by shopping at the store and utilizing coupons.