Here are some tips from the Frugal (careful about not wasting money) Language Learner to help students on a budget (with a limited amount of money) afford quality lessons.  You can read the full article with all of the tips  at <a href="http://learningenglishdls.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-frugal-language-learner-tips-on-how.html" style="line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">learningenglishdls.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-frugal-language-learner-tips-on-how.html</a>

 Know your goals and develop a plan of action

 If you have clear goals and a good plan, it can help you to save time and money on the road to achieving your goals. When making goals, it’s useful to remember the popular acronym SMART, which stands for specific, manageable, achievable, realistic, and time-based.  <o:p></o:p>

Another tip related to goals and plans is to focus on specific topics or areas of study with a teacher. For example, some students may want to improve their general language skills, but don’t have the funds to cover all these topics. Instead they can focus on their speaking skills with a teacher, and focus on other areas of a language, like grammar, listening and reading, on their own, with language partners or with a less expensive teacher or tutor.<o:p></o:p>

Ask about deals and options

Don’t be afraid to ask a teacher about possible deals or different price options for lessons. Although most teachers can’t afford to go lower that their current rates  they sometimes offer package lessons with discounts, or other special rates or deals.<o:p></o:p>

In addition, teachers may have other options that can help students to save money. <o:p></o:p>

 Commit to a language challenge for a short but intense period<o:p></o:p>

In general, frequency is better than intensity for learning, but some intense periods of learning can be helpful. <a href="https://www.italki.com/languagechallenge">Italki’s language challenge</a> can be a great way to stay committed to your learning goals and to save money. Many students take the language challenge to start learning languages, but it can also be used to commit to a short but intense period of study. This can be useful for brushing up (reviewing and improving your knowledge and skills) your language skills, and perhaps getting the extra push you need to reach the next level of competency. 

 Use Italki’s referral system<o:p></o:p>

Italki has an excellent <a href="http://support.italki.com/hc/en-us/articles/206353188-Does-italki-have-a-referral-system-">referral system</a>, which allows you to earn Italki credits (ITC) when you invite friends to join Italki.  <o:p></o:p>

Try a teacher new to Italki<o:p></o:p>

 New teachers will often start with lower lesson prices in order to develop their ratings and get new students. If you try a new teacher, you might be able to get lower prices on potentially excellent teachers. But, remember, as teachers get more and better rating, they will almost always slowly increase their prices to what is competitive for other quality, experienced teachers on Italki. <o:p></o:p>

 Try small, group lessons<o:p></o:p>

Small, group lessons can be an excellent way to have lessons with an experienced, professional teacher that one might normally not be able afford. <o:p></o:p>

Some students think that they may not get as much attention as they would in one-on-one lessons, but a small group still allows a teacher to pay attention to each of the student’s needs. 

What else?<o:p></o:p>

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Feel free to share your own ideas for how to have lessons on a budget. What do you think?