Money In My Pocket

Clothes on Loan

Though my friends and I (especially those of us who live together) have always shared clothes since we have been in college, I have only just now realized what a money saver it has ended up being.  If we have an event to go to and do not have the appropriate attire whether it is just a blouse or even a nice dress, our closet door is always open for a new wardrobe selection.  It was not until this morning when a friend came by my room to borrow a blazer before she went out and about that I realized what a great system we have going.  Instead of buying new clothes each time we need them for only a single event, we just borrow each others, which saves us tons of money.  While it helps that we are around the same size, things like jackets are a little more flexible.  I don’t know what I will do when I graduate, though.  I guess arranging to have great roommates is in order.

Let's Eat!

I am currently the Vice President of a professional organization on campus. My main responsibility is to plan the monthly meeting. The agenda includes contacting speakers, organizing announcements, setting up the room with required equipment, and arranging the food. The first three are fairly simple but the fourth was the hardest for the last meeting I planned.

All companies love the opportunity to represent themselves in front of possible new employees or clients, therefore speakers are very easy to recruit. I also allow the companies to bring pamphlets, promos, and literature for our members. They also cover their own travel arrangements. A simple email to the other officers handles the announcements. By using department printers, our organization does not have to pay for office supplies. The department also supplies the projector and any required chords for the speaker’s presentations.

The largest headache is involved in arranging the food. As I told you in a previous entry, I attend meetings for “free” food. On the flip side, our organization attracts members with “free” food. Consequently, each “free” has different meanings to both sides. For a common member, “free” enticement means they may or may not have to pay their dues in order to receive food. “Free” to the officers’ means we would prefer for the companies to sponsor the dinner. If the company does not want to sponsor the food, our organization has to tap into our weak budget and pay for an inexpensive dinner.

For the last meeting, I persuaded the speaker’s company to donate money in order to cover a portion of the food. But I also persuaded a local restaurant to cut a very good catering deal. By being resourceful, I was able to escape a large ticket for our monthly meeting.

In regard to our budget, I believe the school’s student government association has funds for all student organizations. I need to check into this, because we might deserve some “free” money.

House Guest

While I do not have a house, so I guess I could not call someone staying with me a house guest, I did share my living quarters with a friend this week.  It was good to catch up on what has been going on in our lives, but in order to do that we decided to eat some meals out instead of staying on campus.  We just wanted a change of scenery and a place where we could sit for longer than it takes to eat our meals so we could chat.  All of this falls at crunch time, though.  Not only am I spending money on these meals, but I will also have to drive her back to the airport so she can get home.  Though the price of gas has gone down, I have found that it still does not translate into less expensive food.  Also, it has been a while since I have mooched money from my parents, and Thanksgiving is still a while away so I might now have to eek by on campus food and PB&J until then.  Maybe I should plan visits with these things in mind next time.

Printer

I don’t know why, but the black cartridge in my printer decided to stop working.  I bought a new one, though the one I initially put in was new, and still nothing.  My color cartridge still works just fine, but not my black one.  I am now printing out all of my papers in dark blue ink because I think that is probably the closest that I can get to the traditional black ink paper.  I spent a long time talking to a technician, but to no avail.  My printer still does not work like it used to.  Though the printer I have is certainly not the most expensive on the market (it was actually one of the least expensive that I could buy), I am still mourning the loss of this indispensable piece of technology.  Because my color cartridge still works, I will stick with it until that dies and then contemplate making the investment in a new printer.  I am hesitant to get a new one now because I am also looking into getting a new computer for my future, whatever that might hold.  I have seen in the past lots of deals in relation to purchasing both a computer and printer.  Sometimes they give you a discount on a printer, or it is even included in the purchase of the computer for “free.”  I think for now I will just hope that my color cartridge will hold out until I have determined my next step and then see about getting a new printer.

Towing

My buddy and I decided to make a small road trip to a friend in another city. We had not seen our friend in a while and wanted to see her. Unfortunately, we decided to park in an owner’s parking spot at the apartment complex. The complex does not tow unless an owner request for their spot to be cleared. Unluckily, this owner called us in.

So, we drove down to the impound and picked up my buddy’s car although for a small price. After seeing the towing business first person, I question how lawful it is. The company takes your car and then charges you for the return. Sounds a little like theft to me. Also, the bookkeeping of the company is a little shady. After talking to a lot of other friends who have been towed, they were also required to pay in cash. More times than not, this cash was not properly recorded and straight pocketed. A few places offered receipts; our receipt included a lot of small fees that added up very quick. Others’ receipts were so unofficial that it should have been written on a napkin. I realize a lot of tow companies are legitimate law abiding entities, however I question how much of the income is taxed.

              

This is just another way that a college student is forced to spend his money. Although I did not budget for this expense, I will be able to recover.

 

 

 

Extra Blankets

While I live on campus again this year and therefore do not have to pay individual bills for utilities, I still try to do my part in conserving and saving money.  Many of my friends who live in apartments and houses off of campus, though, do what I am about to describe for more monetary reasons.  During the colder weather like we have been experiencing, it always seems convenient to just turn on the heat and move on with life, but that increases your coal or gas consumption and also raises your heating bills.  What my friends and I do is turn the air cooler and just put on a sweatshirt and slippers.  The extra warmth provided is at no extra cost to us or the environment.  But during the evening is where they say they see the biggest savings.  While they are sleeping, they say they turn down the air and just pile on extra blankets.  They stay just as warm, but save a lot of money and can feel good about themselves too.  Why not try it in order to lower the bills?

Cruisin

As I was telling you in a previous entry, I had a few interviews on campus. The interviews went fairly well and the company recruiters are starting to reply back to me. Unfortunately, a lot of companies are not taking on many interns or co-ops because of the slowdown in the economy. Although, one company called me back for a second interview. I am very excited about this opportunity, because they are my favorite.

The biggest pain of this interview process is that I had to travel an hour to the company’s headquarters. I have heard of students flying to New York, California, and Washington D.C. for internship interviews. I guess I can manage an hour cruise. Especially, since they will reimburse me for travel expenses. They are quite generous in the travel allotment, and I made a few extra dollars off of the interview. I am just waiting for the offer. There will definitely be a lot of financial factors to consider, before I accept a position, i.e. travel, housing, uniform, salary, etc.

Lost and Found

The other day I was sitting in my car about to go into an event when, with the weather as cool as it is, I grabbed some lotion to put on my dry looking hands before I went in.  I took off my ring then put the lotion on and left.  I know now that I forgot to put it back on before getting out of the car.  It was not until I was in the event that I realized I did not have it on, but I easily forgot about it while talking with friends and participating in the program.  When I got back to my car I decided to drive home and look for it once I got there because I just knew it was somewhere in my car.  I convinced myself that I put it in the passenger’s seat, but when I looked I could not find it.  I got out a flashlight and grabbed a friend and we searched everywhere in my car and it was nowhere to be found.  Usually when I lose things I get nervous, but this time I was not.  I guess I was just motivated to find this birthday gift ring.   I decided to go back to the parking lot where I was before, and after looking around, I found it under a car parked where I had been parked.  I know I got some weird looks while I was half-way under a car with a coat hanger trying to get the ring out, but at least I got it back.  I guess it just rolled off of my lap (where I must have put it) and went under the car, but thankfully it was not badly damaged or anything.  I don’t know what I would have done if I could not find it.  I suppose I might have contemplated buying one just like it so my parents, who gave it to me, would not know what happened.  This seems to be what they always do in movies and television, but I am sure it could have been a viable option if I was in a fix.  Thankfully all this mishap cost me was a bit of gas and some time searching.

Barter System

So last week was one of the craziest in a while.  There were so many things to do.  Everything from a fundraiser for an organization I am in, all the way to an event hosted by another organization.  In the organization with the event, I serve as an officer, so I had to be there early to help with set up and stay late to help with take down.  Well, there were several things I had to get done while set up, the event and take down were going on, so I enlisted the help of a friend.  I made a deal with her to go run a few errands for me (like picking up my dry cleaning for an event I had to attend the next day) while I was working and in return I would do some chores for her.  Of course I gave her the money for anything she would have to pay for while doing these things for me plus a bit extra.  I spent a day doing her laundry and helping her out with anything else I could, and we called ourselves even.  This worked out well for the both of us because she was out and about doing her own errands and could just tack mine onto hers, and I got everything I needed with time as my major cost.

Spooky

The ghosts are in the air, the pumpkins are on the door steps, and the lines are formed at the haunted attractions. It is definitely Halloween.

I most certainly do not spend any money on decorations or candy. I might spend a few dollars at the thrift store, so I can piece together a decent costume. After all, we all have a little child within us for a costume, and I might use it for a Halloween party. For some reason, girls love to throw themed/dress-up parties. As always I try to keep a tight budget on holidays, especially when Christmas is right around the corner. But, I do enjoy a good scare. My friends and I heard this one place had a really good haunted house. So of course, we had to check it out.

We were all excited to hear it had a group rate. Need-less-to-say, we found their magic number of thirteen people in order to receive the group rate. The best part was that we were able to skip the line, since we were a group. In the end we had a pretty good time and even managed to save a little money during the spooky season.