Apr
07
Saving Those Pennies
Posted in General
One important lesson to learn before you even think about moving off campus, is saving your pennies. You won’t truly know the value of $5 until you want some McDonald’s, and you don’t even have that in your bank account!
The first time I experienced that was this past summer. I was living paycheck to paycheck, and lived off ramen and tortillas with peanut butter for a week. As much as you want to online shop, or go out for a bite to eat at Panchero’s, you have to resist the urge. Sure it’s a simple concept, but it’s a lot easier said than done.
Living-off campus the biggest thing I’ve struggled with (besides rent) is food. Sure you can go to the store and buy the cheapest groceries, or get some fast food, but how healthy or tasty is that? I personally love cooking, but sometimes the meals I want to make require a LOT of ingredients. So yes, buying all the cheapest things is easy, but those usually aren’t too healthy either. It’s tough also to make time in order to make those good meals. You would think buying for one would make things simpler, but you actually end up with a lot more portions of things than you would really need. Produce usually goes bad before you can even get around to eating all of it!
Then there’s all the little random things you need to pay for. For me that includes, sorority expenses, buying climbing gear, or trying to pay for a road trip to somewhere exciting! Even with loans I have taken out to pay for school and some of my living expenses, it’s important to not go too crazy spending money. Sometimes you are just really wanting a new shirt from whatever store you love, but then that’s $20 you could put towards to groceries. So then it’s up to you to decide: better meals? or that new shirt you’ll probably wear just a handful of times? So remember to save when you can, when you graduate and get a real job, then that’s the time you can spoil yourself a little more.
Go Hawks!
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