I'm beginning a part-time evening MBA program this month (6 credits)
at a top 50 business school in New England (I will finish this 60
credit program in the spring of 2008).  Although my employer is
reimbursing me for the tuition, I am looking for creative ways to save
money because of my new "student" status.

I have two examples from today as I reviewed our family's finances to
eliminate unneeded expenses:

1.  Called my undergraduate student loan to apply for a deferment(60
months max, but more likely not that long)

2.  Called the NY Times to cancel my Sunday-only subscription
($23/month) and the operator asked if I was a student ... my new rate
is $8/month)

My wife and I are in our late 20s with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. 
She quit her full-time telecommuting job earlier this year to focus on
the kids and I got a substantial raise to help offset the difference,
but finances are still tight.

We're already in the process of refinancing our mortgage to pay off
credit card and other debts, but we'll still need to reduce our
monthly expenses to make ends meet.

Google Answers ... we're looking for creative ways to save money
including lists of discounts offered to students.

1.  Switch your wireline phone service to voice-over-IP.  (Vonage,
BroadVoice -- though the latter is cheaper.)
2.  If your cars are older than 5 years old, consider dropping
collision/damage insurance.
3.  Consider whether you can get by with one car.
4.  Consider borrowing against life insurance or retirement plans to
cover living expenses.
5.  See if your metro transit system has a student pass.
6.  If you belong to a YMCA or workout club, consider using the
university facilities instead.
7.  Rent out a room in your house.
8.  Take tax classes early -- then do tax preparation work January - April 15.

Best regards -- from someone who did several of the above while at the
University of Chicago's GSB (though we cheated and bought a 4-flat in
anticipation of the time at school).

Omnivorous-GA

Consolidating debts with the refinance of your home looks like the
best idea there.  The question is which loan program will suit your
current situation...

There is a loan program in existence called a "pay option arm".  This
program allows you to pick from 4 payments.  Minimum "neg amrt" an int
only, and 30 amrt and the 15 year amrt.  If you want to reduce your
monthly payment, the minimum payment seems best for you at this
moment.  You pay less than 2K a month on a 600K mortgage.  The neg
amrt sounds bad, but so long as your home appreciates faster than the
interest, you still make money.  The structure of this loan is a
little tricky, but it should be fine and save you 1-2k in monthly
mortgage payments and mortgage int are tax deductable.  Refinance
every year or so to allow yourself the minimum payment once the
payment goes up.  This is but a brief description, make sure your loan
agent describes things clearly so that you are confortable.


Good Luck.

Thank you omnivorous and hvmax for your helpful feedback.  I was
already working on / considering many of your suggestions, so your
comments confirm that I was on the right path.

I'm still eager to read if a researcher has any other creative ideas.

Is your wife familiar with computers at all?  I paid my way through
college with eBay, and she could way easily start doing that on the
side to make a couple hundred a month.  If she's interested or capable
of doing that, I can suggest things that she could easily buy and sell
to make a profit.

Funny you mention eBay ...  In addition to her telecommuting job, she
had been reselling children's clothing (ex. Gymboree, Hanna Andersson,
etc.), but it was a very low margin operation.  Rather than purchasing
stock during sales at the end of a season and holding it until the
following year, we decided to explore other options since it was
taking far too long to recover our investment.

She still maintains all of her contacts with that "community," but for
the moment we've suspended that endeavor.

I appreciate the advice, feuerbach.