Money In My Pocket

Transportation

All those taxi rides to and from really added up, but the four of us who went together always shared so we could split the cost. Most people would think that it would be cheaper to just take the Underground, but with tickets starting at £6 each, it ended up being less expensive to take a taxi most of the time and just split the cost. We also walked most everywhere, which provided us the opportunity to take great pictures, see all of the sights, and save quite a bit on transportation costs. We even ran into one of the stars of a show that we saw as we were walking back to our hotel one night. What an amazing experience, and one we never would have had if we were not on foot. One of the biggest single transportation costs was riding the train from the airport into the city. It was kind of like the Underground in that the train was underground, but the cost was almost £20 per person each way. I guess that was good, though, compared to what it might have cost to take a taxi. As always, transportation is one of the two most expensive things about travel, whether in London or a vacation back in the states.

Summer Bills

Sharing a roof with three other males has proven itself to be a fun experience yet trying and hard task. Most of the craziness died when two of my three roommates moved home for the summer. Now, the question arises about how we split the bills when the roommates are not living here.

We decided they are still responsible for the utilities. It was their option to move out during the summer, while they are still legally bounded by the 12 month lease. It might be a waste of money, but it was their decision to maintain two residences. My other roommate and I will still continue to follow energy efficient practices and conserve all forms of energy. After all, they could have found someone to sublease their room.

Other amenities like internet and cable were optional to all four of us. My remaining roommate and I have decided to do away with these luxuries during the summer. We could have paid double and continued to enjoy the high life. By ending these services, we should save about $80 per month. We can go to campus or to friends’ houses in order to enjoy their cable and internet.

No Summer Job

I have had a summer job every summer but one since I turned sixteen, but this summer I will not be working as I have almost always done. Because I am preparing for a graduate entrance exam, I decided not to head back to my summer place of employment, forfeiting it for more study time. While I was in school, I really had no time to think about preparing, but now that it is summer break, I have large amounts of time to devote to studying. This means no summer income, though. Summer job income is something I have relied on for quite some time. It funds all those summer trips to the movies, dinners with friends I haven’t seen in a while, vacations, ice cream runs, and, of course, some college expenses for the next semester. Thankfully, each summer I put aside some money in my checking account that is for emergencies or to save for occasions like this when I will have no income. Also, I worked during the school year, and while I did not make too much money because I did not work very often, I have a little left over to use this summer. I think I should be able to make it and do the same things I have done every summer in the past because I have enough money saved to last through the break. Now I just have to figure out how to get through the extraordinary plans I have made in addition to the ordinary ones for this summer.

Wedding Gifts

Several of my friends have gotten engaged recently, which translates into lots of engagement showers, weddings, and of course, gifts. I don’t know if you have ever looked at a bridal registry, but if you haven’t, you should—it is quite enlightening. Here is my take on it—the bride looks at everything in a particular store and picks everything she could possibly want for her new, married life. This means that there are a lot of things to choose from. Because three have hit me at once, I am having to budget accordingly. I found that these items can also sometimes be quite expensive, but that is where friends come in. Each of us individually could not afford to buy a really nice item from the registry alone, but when we all go in together, we get the thing she always wanted, but never thought we would get her. Also, two of the weddings I have been invited to are on the same day. This means that I will not be able to go to one, but still must send a gift. Going to a wedding can be a cost as well, though. You ether have to stay in a hotel room, or bunk up with a friend you know in the area. There is always either airfare or gas costs from driving involved. I will just have to start saving and maybe incorporate some of my trips into a fun vacation or something. Between gifts and travel, weddings certainly are expensive, but that’s nothing compared to what the families spend on the events themselves!

Sell-back Sadness

It’s that time again—time to start thinking about which books to sell back, which to keep, and calculating how much money I will lose in the process. It is easy to pay out $400 per semester for the books you need, and depending on your major that figure can either rise or fall. Unfortunately because of my major and the classes I have to take, the books are usually on the more expensive side, and to the detriment of my wallet, the school bookstore usually does not buy them back. My record is I purchased around $500 worth of books one semester and got a grand total of…drum-roll please…$16 from selling them all back. And I did not even buy the books for two of my classes that semester! Well, I am resigned to the fact that I will lose enormous amounts of money each year from the purchase of textbooks, but I still have developed some ways to save a bit or get a bit more back when trying to sell my books at the end of the semester. A couple of my friends and I who have the same major pass down our textbooks. One of my friends even lets me use her books for free provided I return them to her at the end of the semester so she can keep them for reference down the road. She says that since they would be doing nothing but gathering dust on her bookshelf anyway, she might as well let me use them and not even charge a rental fee. Others of my friends want to get rid of their books, so they sell them to me because they do not want to go through the hassle of taking them to a textbook buy-back location—plus they probably make more money off of me than they could at the buy-back stores. Now I even have someone who is a semester behind me that I can pass my books along to. It will feel nice to sell back most of my books to a friend and not the campus bookstore because I know she will use them and it will save her money and I will probably get more money out of it to—a win-win situation.

Tuition- Working Man Style

Continuing from my last post, scholarships are not the only answer to the debt inducing bill of tuition. The harder way to pay for tuition is to labor through each hard-earned paycheck by hard-earned paycheck. I have many friends who are stuck in the slave trade of employment. I have no idea how they manage adding work to the pleasurable yet time-consuming, college schedule with the never-ending activities of school and playtime. A few are fortunate enough to combine work and school by studying on the job, i.e. manning a library desk, working a resident hall desk, research assistant, or class grader. They end up taking more effort budgeting their time than their pocketbook. I have found a small source of income by working part-time jobs like writing articles, washing cars, and secretly shopping at restaurants as a food critic. This usually never creates considerable amounts of cash but allows for measly spending money to waste on dates and what not. If time is a constraint while in college, loan companies offer low interest student loans. I would hate to be tied down with a loan following graduation, but for some students it is necessary in order to earn their diploma. And more power to them for their hard work. As my mom told me as a child, “If there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Graduation Gifts

Several of my friends are graduating this semester, which means that I need to buy gifts for them.  Each year, I know graduation will be coming up and I will need gifts for my friends, so when I see something that I think would be perfect for one of them, I go ahead and buy it and put it away.  This is a good way for me to spread out the cost of buying gifts for all my graduating friends, which helps a lot as the end of the semester draws near and the money is running out.  Girls are pretty easy to get something for, but guys are a whole different story.  It is awkward to ask a guy what size shirt he wears, and ties are so over-gifted.  Cuff-links are pretty expensive, and gift cards seem so impersonal.  So this year, despite my advanced planning and purchasing for girl graduation gifts, I still got hit with the expense of graduation gifts as I was studying for exams and planning to go home for the summer.  I ended up getting my guy friends a really nice pen and pencil boxed set.  I know you will probably cringe at the apparent cheesiness of such a gift, but it was all I could think of.  They fit within my budget and will be nice for those who will be going on to the professional world or continuing their education.  Next year, I will try to think further in advance about guy gifts and see what I can come up with a bit earlier than I did this year.

Tuition- Scholarship Style

The biggest back-breaking chore for any student is paying for their life-changing classes. To my relief, there are painless answers. My answer comes in the form of scholarships. I do not mean to brag like a pompous A+ nerd with pushed up glasses, however my monetary aid is primarily academic scholarships. Schools will award other scholarships to outstanding athletes, alumni’s children or grandchildren, ROTC candidates, and low income students or for various club participation and leadership potential. From my experience, academic achievement usually determines the proper candidate. Although, outside scholarship companies will grant money for the simplest reasons such as being left-handed, possessing specific double jointed abilities, or having one-sixteenth Native American blood. The university has yet to randomly select me for a book scholarship, because I completed their frivolous surveys. I search about three different scholarship search engines every other month in order to find a new prospect to obtain free tuition money. I find it very easy to write a simple essay or answer a couple questions on an application for a $500 check. Surely, no college job has that large of a payout for such little work. Churches, banks, men’s organizations, women’s organizations, and foundations in the local community are willing to offer some assistance. I may not win every scholarship I apply for, but I have earned a couple thousand dollars in scholarships. A few of these are renewable and have requirements for me to meet every semester. Plenty of free money is out there for your taking, you just have to find it yourself.

Moving Out

Each year as students prepare to study their heads off in what some call dead week (what a misnomer!) and just generally the weeks leading up to exams, many including myself choose to procrastinate a bit and begin to clean out some of the stuff in our rooms. As always we find old shirts that have not been worn for quite some time and jeans that have seen better days or just don’t fit anymore. While some people will just throw them in the car along with the rest of the stuff they are taking home or to the storage unit, there is something better to do that can save or even make you money. Take the clothes and other things you do not want to a local shelter or thrift store. Be sure you pick up a receipt and you can write it off as a charitable donation on your taxes. For the more “gently used” clothing, the local consignment shop is always a good option. Be sure your clothes are in good condition and in season and take them over. Each store has different policies about what to do with unsold items, how you are paid, and how you are notified if your items are sold, so be sure to get that information when you go. Who knows, when you get back for the next semester, you could have a pile of cash waiting for you at the off-campus consignment shop. A way to score some new items while getting rid of old ones is the clothing exchange that different campus organizations usually have. While this sort of thing did not exist my freshman year, I am glad it does now because it is brilliant. Sometimes sponsored by different service organizations, and sometimes by residence halls, these “give and take” programs really help students who have trouble stuffing all those clothes into the trunk. Students can bring items of clothing they no longer want to the donation locations, and in return for every item donated, they can pick out an item donated by someone else. It usually turns into a pretty cool t-shirt swap, but I have seen everything from prom-type dresses to shoes donated. Anything that is still there at the end of the semester is donated to a local charity, so you are even doing your part for the community.

School's Out for the Summer

Finals are over and now it is time to move on to my summer plans. First, I felt a splurge of fun was necessary with my friends as a last hoorah before we split our separate ways for the summer. About eight of us decided to make the trip to a large amusement park. As college students, we abided the golden rule of collegiate road-trips: reduce spending by finding the least expensive everything. Housing was taken care of by one of the guys who live close to the theme park. Sofas and carpeted floors beat a hotel any day. It was not planned, but his parents cooked for us to the delight of our growling stomachs and thin wallets. My ingenious idea to take the most fuel efficient car was popularly approved by my stingy friends. Eight students in one SUV is a tight squeeze but manageable for a couple hour drive. Another friend’s mother was able to find us discounted tickets through her bank. This saved each of us about $15 a piece. Water fountains and our smuggled food were sufficient to keep us running all day between the rides. A little sweet talking allowed us to use the speed pass lines without having to buy the speed pass tickets. All day, we were wheelin’ ‘n’ dealin’ to save a penny and this added excitement to our already amazing day. A full day of roller coasters with my close friends was the perfect the prescription to unwind after a long semester even though it was an unexpected $80. Now, I need to worry about finding a source of income, i.e. summer job.