Money In My Pocket

Movies Part Two

I am tempted by movie sales when I go into stores. If there is a $5 bin or a $10 rack, I for some reason feel justified in purchasing five or seven movies. It adds up to a lot in the end, but I suppose the fact that they are all individually reasonability priced that makes me pick up more. Granted, these movies are ones I wanted to see or like, but even so, sometimes I buy films that I thought were okay just because they are cheap. For ones I have never seen before, I use the excuse that it is cheaper or just a little bit over the price of a rental, but I still end up leaving the stores with a bill of $50 or more, never mind the things I actually went for. I pride myself on not being an impulse buyer, but when it comes to movies, I just can’t resist.

High Tech

While I am no James Bond, I am a little technology savvy like most males. We all know gadgets are not cheap, but they can be life savers. Currently, my nerdiness and life needs are met. First, life would not be possible without a cell phone, but my cell phone’s calendar is easily my saving grace. The organizer includes valuable programs such as appointment cards, reminders, alarms, calculator, contact info, and even a few songs. My current phone is good enough, but I do see myself upgrading to an Iphone or blackberry in the near future only if it is given as a gift or a sack of dollar bills fall in my lap. Secondly, my MP3 player entertains me for countless hours and has rocked a couple house parties. Thirdly, a laptop is most definitely the greatest investment I have ever made. Life is very convenient and comfortable with my personal laptop. Computers and printers are plentiful in labs and libraries, but the operating hours are limited. I save a considerable amount of money on printer paper and ink cartridges by using my free print credits which are allotted to every student at the beginning of the year. I have even saved on notebook paper by using my laptop for note taking purposes. Hopefully, I will be lucky enough for the gadget god, Popular Science, to write articles about my nerdiness like they do Bill Gates and his life saving toys. Now, I just read the jaw-dropping articles about the cutting edge technology and resist all temptation to splurge.

Movies Part One

I am usually too busy to go see movies when they come out in the theaters and even when they are playing on campus, but once or twice a semester, typically during school holidays, I have the time to catch up on the ones I want to see but missed. This poses a dilemma, though—rent or buy? Either way it costs a lot of money all at once to see multiple movies over a short period of time. Purchasing a movie can be $20 or more, but if I like it and will watch it over and over again, it is worth it. But what if I do not like it? Renting only costs maybe $6 per movie, but that can rack up too. Even though it is less expensive than attending a movie when it comes out in theaters, what if I like it and eventually purchase it? Then I have wasted the rental fee. I know my Economics professor would say that once it is spent, it is a deadweight loss anyway, but it still hurts!

Uncle Sam's Hand

America’s favorite day, April 15^th, skated by with a quick breeze. Once again, Uncle Sam is accused of being greedy. I absolutely hate taxes and all the laws surrounding them. I have no idea how my friends enjoy taking accounting classes and strive to creating prosperous careers in the manipulation of monetary figures. Thank goodness my mother has shown me how to file my taxes and even how to save some money in the process. I thought it was absolutely amazing that I could file deductions for donations to non-profits. While I do not have much money to donate, I have donated small amounts to a couple organizations. Being the pack rat I am, I stored all my bank statements and pay stubs. The company accountant sent me a recap of my checks in order to properly file. These important papers helped tremendously. The miraculous return check should arrive any day now. Who knows how I will spend this blessing.

To Go or Not To Go

There are many concerts that go on both on campus and within a close distance. I really enjoy going to these events, but they are usually reasonably priced—either free or with a student discount, relatively inexpensive. But once in a while concerts come along featuring artists with big enough names to command the highest ticket prices even for the worst seats in the house. And this is my dilemma. There is a concert that I really want to go to, but tickets are over $100. This is the kind of the concert that is a once in a lifetime thing, though, and I think I would be willing to pay that kind of money. Another problem I have is that we have a major event starting the next day for one of the campus organizations I am in. This event will begin in the morning and last until the evening. We are even considering having an additional event on the evening of the concert. Further, I would have to drive approximately 4 to 5 hours from campus just to get to the auditorium, and obviously drive back that evening in order to make it to campus in time for our event the next day. This would add another large chunk of money to the cost of the concert. I think that even though it really hurts me to say this, I will just forgo the concert and stay in town. It is times like these that I wish I were not so practical and such a pinch-penny because I would really like to go to the concert, but I just can’t.

Big Boy Gotta Eat

 

 If you have not heard yet, food is required to live. It also is not free, but thankfully the other required substance, water, is relatively free. I have found simple ways to cut the cost of this expensive necessity. Surprisingly, there are alternatives to the college staple of Ramen. The simplest cost cutter is sticking to the mundane meal plan. Usually, it is already paid for by scholarships, parents, or your paycheck. If your school is large enough, you can throw some excitement in your life by visiting different cafeterias on that other side of campus that you never visit. No student should ever buy groceries the first two weeks of school, because every student organization under the sun will serve dinner at the first meeting. I just hope you enjoy a lot of the best Italian dish, pizza. I am known to score a free meal or two with a beautiful date at the sorority houses. You would be astonished at the power of coupons and gift cards. When these two powers combine, they are stronger than the five unifying Captain Planet. I have found a filling amount of free food at eating contests. Upon crushing the competition, I have earned certificates for a full semester’s worth of free food. Many restaurants offer a free meal after completing the house challenge, i.e. a huge triple decker cheeseburger, Krystal sack competitions, or other local favorites comparable to the famous Big Texan 72 oz. steak challenge in Amarillo, Texas. As you can see, I have found ways to prevent the growling stomach from turning into a pestering headache.

Dining Desperation

It is easy to tell when students are running out of money on a college campus.  It is just about this time every year when the coupon books and discount food advertisements come out, targeting students en masse.  Students are recruited by the companies through classifieds in the student newspaper, no doubt, and paid to deliver these messages of salvation to dormitories full of students looking for different dining options. These coupons and discounts provide us a way to get out of the dining halls for at least one time each week, because without these offers, we could not afford to persuaded by advertisements for juicy burgers or steaming pasta.  We even resort to eating food or ordering from places we would not normally patronize because of our desperation.  The advertisers certainly know that the way to a college student's wallet is definitely through his or her mouth! 

But it is also because of this shortage of cash and the bank account emptying college staple—spring break that has a lot of my friends looking for part-time jobs.  Because of the large number of student applicants at this time of year and the students' sheer desperation, most jobs that people receive are not exactly what they had hoped for.  Many were looking for opportunities to get paid for sitting at a desk and answering a few phone calls, which they thought would translate to getting paid to do their homework.  But instead many students get stuck with some pretty bad jobs.  A friend of mine begins working at 5:45 a.m. each day at a local coffee shop—not exactly what she was looking for in a job, but it is a job none-the-less.  All of this desperation makes me glad that I already have a job, but the coupons are helpful. I think I might even go out to dinner now toting coupons in hand!

Opportunity Letters

Over spring break, I had an amazing opportunity to serve through a mission trip. Student spring break trips are designed to be inexpensive, but this trip required an international plane ticket. Since I have a non-existent income, I was in quite a pickle. But the mission leaders had amazing fundraising ideas, to alleviate the burden. Car washes, doughnut sales, bake sales, and playing with an empty guitar cases all raised some funds but not enough. A repeat of Hanson’s “MMMbop” on a stereo in the student union building, with a “Stop the bop” fund was successive yet annoying unless people donated to temporarily pause the music. The SGA even had a special account created in order to donate towards student trips. The biggest money raiser for any of us was Opportunity Letters. We wrote to family and friends and asked them to partake in a partnership of prayer and financially backing. I hated asking for money but most people like to “do good” even if it is supporting others. I have been able to keep in contact with these generous friends and given updates on the trip. This gave my family and friends an opportunity to be a part of my collegiate life. In the end, I am very grateful that I was able to raise all the money for my trip and this is a testament to the power of fundraising.

Pain at the Pump

All of the driving back and forth that was associated with my spring break this year really cost me more in the course of a little over a week than I have probably spent in quite a long time. This is especially true because of the ever-rising price of gas. It cost me almost $10 more to fill up my tank than it normally does, and I did not even let it get to the point when the fuel light comes on. I drive a pretty fuel efficient vehicle, but it is still tough to look up at the price sign as I pull into the station. I have been doing research lately on how to increase my gas mileage and try to follow their recommendations like lightening the load by clearing out the backseat and trunk, but there are some times when I just need to pile my car full of stuff and go. I am really not looking forward to moving out at the end of this semester and the “pain at the pump,” as the newscasters say, that that will cause. I will either make two trips home in my vehicle or ask my parents to come up and help me, but either way it won’t be good. So as I am settling into the rest of my Spring 2008 semester, I will try to make a tank last as long as it can.

Background

At age five, I started scraping pennies and selling lemonade to increase my minuscule savings account. At a young age my monetary mindset was a little unhealthy like King Midas was with his gold. But with age I became wiser. Consequently, my first local checking account came at the commencement of my first job as an underpaid lifeguard. I soon learned the simple finance skills of balancing checkbooks and the process of filing elementary taxes.

I began using my first credit card to primarily fill the bottomless gas tank when I fearlessly began driving. The parents excused the credit card as a necessity for unpredicted “accidents.” Thank goodness I never abused it like some of my friends who have begun their life of debt.

Upon my entrance in college, I began a different collegiate checking account to manage local funds and bills. This account sees little action, since my college income is rather small. The future scares me with the complex reality of endless taxes, bills, budgets, salaries, retirement plans, loans, insurance, banks, and other financial headaches which will shortly loom over me upon graduation. If I am not immersed in these financial issues before graduation, surely I will be prepared to educate myself.