Hey, I’m Jack 👋

I run Dorm on a Dime, and I’ll be straight with you about what this site is: it’s one college student trying to help other college students stop wasting money on overpriced gear.

I’m a rising sophomore at Bates College (Class of 2029) in Lewiston, Maine, where I run on the cross country and track teams and study economics. Between training, classes, and a student budget, I don’t have money or time to waste on gear that doesn’t work.

And in Maine, gear really has to work. My first year I lived in Frye House — which I loved, except it’s a solid half-mile from the dining hall and the athletics facilities. Making that walk in January when it’s snowing sideways teaches you fast which of your stuff actually holds up. (The flip side: Maine in the fall is unreal, the spring brings lakes and beaches, and the ski hills nearby make winter almost worth it.)

Why I started this

Like a lot of students, I showed up to college with a list of “dorm essentials” and a budget that didn’t come close to covering it. I quickly learned that most of those glossy “must-have” lists are written by people trying to sell you the most expensive version of everything.

So I started doing what broke students do: obsessively researching the cheaper option before every purchase. Reading hundreds of reviews. Comparing specs. Figuring out where the $20 version is genuinely just as good as the $80 one — and where it absolutely isn’t. Dorm on a Dime is where I put all that research so you don’t have to redo it.

How I actually research this stuff

I want to be honest about my process, because a lot of “review” sites pretend to lab-test things they never touched. Here’s what I really do:

  • Deep review research. I read through real customer reviews, spec sheets, and reputable independent reviews across Amazon, Reddit, and major tech/home sites — looking for patterns, common complaints, and which products hold up over time.
  • Personal experience where I have it. Some of this gear I genuinely own and use — my shower caddy, an electric kettle I run constantly for tea and coffee, a mattress topper that makes the cheap Bates mattress bearable, Command strips holding my vinyl records on the wall, power strips for the absurd number of devices a college kid has, and my JBL speakers. When I’m writing from firsthand use, I’ll say so. When I’m summarizing research, I won’t pretend otherwise.
  • A strict budget lens. Every pick is filtered through one question: is this the best value for a student who is counting dollars? I set price ceilings on purpose and call out when spending a little more is genuinely worth it.
  • Honesty about trade-offs. No product is perfect at a budget price. I try to tell you exactly where each pick cuts corners so you can decide if that corner matters to you.

How this site makes money

Dorm on a Dime uses Amazon affiliate links. If you buy something through a link here, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That’s what keeps the site running.

To be clear: commissions never decide my recommendations. I’d rather send you to a cheaper product that’s right for you than a pricier one that pays more — a site that loses your trust is worthless.

Get in touch

Got a product category you want me to dig into? Found something better than what I recommended? Think I got something wrong? I genuinely want to hear it — reach me on the contact page.

— Jack, Dorm on a Dime