If you’re a college student, or have one in the family, cost cutting is probably your No. 1 priority right now. If so, you’ll probably find the tips offered in a recent Kiplinger article by Marc A. Wojno indispensable.

Here are a few things he insists college students don’t need:

Overdraft protection. Now that we’re given the ability to opt out, college students should. When the money’s gone, it’s gone. And if you don’t have the money to cover a purchase or withdrawal, you certainly don’t have money to cover a $35 overdraft fee. Just remember that you can’t opt out of coverage for recurring payments and checks.

The school’s health insurance. If the student is still covered on a parent’s insurance plan, there’s no need for additional campus coverage. The parent’s plan is probably better anyway. But if the student will be using medical services away from the covered network of providers, make sure the plan covers out-of-network costs.

The expensive meal plan. Most meal plan funds don’t roll over from semester to semester, so any leftover money is forfeited. Of course, no college student with dozens of hungry friends would ever let that happen. So start with a conservative budget, see how much is really needed and go from there.

A credit card. Students under 21 years old now need a parent’s signature to apply for credit cards. Don’t do it! American college graduates are drowning in debt today. Opt for a debit card instead and give your young adult a financially healthy start on the future.

ATM withdrawal fees. Find out which banks have ATMs on or near campus, and open an account at one of them. Otherwise, out-of-network ATM fees will add up quickly.

Cable TV. Students spend so much time on computers anyway, why shouldn’t they get their entertainment there? Most TV networks stream episodes free on their Web sites. Netflix offers DVD rentals and unlimited on-demand viewing for about $8 a month. And between Web sites such as Hulu.com, YouTube.com and FanCast.com, students should be able to meet their movie and TV show needs for free.

A car. Depending on how pedestrian-friendly the college community is, a car may be an unnecessary expense. During the academic year, the average car driven 10,000 miles incurs about $5,800 in gas, maintenance and insurance expenses. Parking tickets, permits, accidents and mechanical breakdown could send that tally skyrocketing.

If you do decide to leave the car at home, be sure to call your insurance company to see if it will adjust your bill. In fact, even if the student doesn’t have a car, letting the insurance company know a younger than 25-year-old driver will be out of the house for nine months could very well lower the premium.

A pricey computer. Kiplinger suggests the affordable Asus K50IJ-BBZ5 laptop, with a 15.6-inch screen, four gigabytes of memory and a 320 GB hard drive. Best Buy sells it for $530.

A printer. You’re already paying for printing privileges on the campus computers, why not use them? Invest in a $10 flash drive, save your papers to it, then print them out in the computer lab.