Money In My Pocket

Counselor

Each year since I graduated from high school I have been volunteering as a counselor at a week-long girls camp. Again, this is another time when I am gone but not making any money. The good thing is all my expenses are paid once I am there. I have free housing and meals for that time and no transportation is required once I get there. I will have to drive to and from, though, which is about a 3 hour drive for me. I know someone else in the area who is going as a counselor too, though, and we are going to carpool, which will save us a lot of money. She is driving and has a small, fuel-efficient vehicle, so we will not even spend that much to fill up the tank. The sponsoring organization offers a small amount to reimburse counselors for their fuel costs, and though it does not cover it all, it will definitely help. I love working with the girls each year and really look forward to seeing the other counselors again, so I have never really looked at this as a burden or financial hardship. If anything, it is actually better, because for a week all my expenses are paid, which is probably saving me some money!

Listen Up

Now there is an unexpected expense for class. My Music Appreciation professor wants us to listen to the CDs provided by the book publisher. The CDs have a listening guide and describe what we are actually listening to. The CDs are supposed to be included with the text book, but they are no longer included with the new edition.

The professor changed to the new edition thinking it would also include the CDs, but he was mistaken. We certainly do not want to purchase the $50 set of CDs from the bookstore or any other online store. All of the students wanted the professor to burn copies of the CDs, but he objected because of copyright laws. He offered to put his single copy of the CDs in the library on reserve for any student to use while at the library. Once he talked to the librarian, he found out that he could add the music to one of the databases. Now all of the students can easily access the music at any hour at no expense.

Reflecting on London

As I am looking at my pictures and remembering what we did, and I am so glad I went to London. It was so much fun to be in the city and do so many of the fun things that it has to offer. Though the trip was expensive and will cost me far into the future, it was totally worth it. I am usually so tight with my money, but it was fun to splurge on an amazing trip. Now all I have to do is wait for the credit card statements to come in to see the real damage I caused. Thankfully, my parents will pay it all off, but I will create a spreadsheet of everything I bought and the cost in pounds, the conversion rate, any charges incurred from the credit card, and then finally the dollar value. That way, I can total them and have a record of exactly what I spent and what the entire trip cost. Even though I have all my receipts, because they are in pounds and do not reflect any charges, I would definitely suggest anyone traveling to a place with different currency do the same. It really lets you know what you spent on each item, and then you can identify what was a good buy and what was stupid. This way if I ever go back I will know what to and not to do again.

Letters

Summer is a tough time for college friendships. We come from different cities, states, and even different countries to earn our degree. During the summer, many students return to their respective hometowns. Some study abroad, travel, volunteer, intern, continue classes, or work at summer camps. It is relatively easy to keep in contact with many of my friends except for those in the woods at camp. These camp goers are a completely different story.

Cell phones do not receive service in the woods. Computers are few and far between at summer camps. Not to mention the unreliable internet connections in rural camp settings. Consequently, I am left with the old school version of communication, letters.

I feel like I am in middle school again by writing on notebook paper. The only difference is the US Postal Service is a lot more reliable as carrier then the nosy, three, note-passing friends in the neighboring rows. I recently had to visit the Post Office and drop a whopping five cents. These five one cent stamps will make my 41 cents legal. I can now delight my friends at camp with a letter and offer them many encouraging words.

Book Blues

My summer job opportunities did not work out. Therefore, I’m falling back to Plan B: summer classes. I still have the apartment and as of right now there is no surprise expenses involved with school. Just the normal expenses of class and what not. The biggest pain is paying for text books.

Text books are essential for class. I know some students go throughout the year without ever buying their text books. I cannot fathom cutting this corner in order to save money and putting my education at risk. During the school year there are a lot of cost cutting options for text books. Here are a few ideas that have been pasted down to me by upperclassmen.

The ideal option is buying the text books from upperclassmen who previously took the course. This is a win-win situation, because the price can be negotiated between the bookstore price and the buyback price. The next best option is buying from online bookstores. If you didn’t check for the required books before syllabus day, the first day of class, the online bookstores can overnight the books and have them arrive before the next day of class. The worst and most expensive option is buying text books from the university bookstore. I do feel slightly guilty for not sponsoring the university bookstore, but their prices are not competitive with other bookstores.

Fuel

Visiting London made me again reflect on something that is in the news all the time now—the price of fuel. People in the U.S. are facing the highest fuel costs we have ever had, but so are people in many other regions of the world. Fuel costs in the UK are almost double what they are in the states, and talking to several people there, they say Americans don’t know how good they have it. There is even a tax in the city of London on all cars that are not hybrid or have a certain, really high, fuel efficiency. While we were there lorry (truck) drivers blocked the main way into the city to protest the high costs. Also, Parliament and its leaders met with major oil companies to talk about the situation. Though I have always known that it is more expensive there, it reminded me of how lucky we are not to have prices that high, and though I am sure I will still be perturbed when I next fill up my tank, I hope I will remember those signs I saw in London for a liter of petrol, and feel a bit better about what I am paying.

You've Got Mail

 

Believe it or not, but I still use snail mail. Bank statements, paychecks, letters, and newsletters can still be found in my mailbox and many other student boxes. Actually all the student boxes at the local Post Office are sold out. Multiple signs make it blatantly obvious that it is against postal policy for two students to share a box. My freshmen sister was rather upset when she found this out at her orientation this summer.

Thank goodness, another postal policy allows for family members to share a PO Box. I just have to find the spare key that the postmaster gave me two years ago when I initially purchased the address. I may be forced to pay the lost key fee for another key. Hopefully, my search will end in triumph. Not only will both of us save money by splitting the annual cost of the box, but she promised to hand deliver my mail. It appears snail mail will connect my sister and me.

Pence

Though we had all done it before, we still wanted to go to museums and such.  Thankfully most of them are free, but the ones that are not can get rather pricey.  Some museums were free, but required you to purchase a ticket to get into certain exhibits.  The one time I bought a ticket, I really regretted it.  The exhibit was good, but definitely not worth what I spent on the ticket.  I should have just enjoyed the free stuff and then moved on.  Also, I wished I brought my British Museum map, because they charge £2 per map, though admission is free.  I know I have one somewhere at home, but I never thought about bringing it.  Oh well, I guess it was not that much, and I can consider it my donation to support one of the coolest museums in the world.  Also I learned something that I hope to apply to my museum visits in the future.  One of the options when visiting some museums is a guided tour, or especially, an audio guide.  When asking if the audio guide was something we should do or not, the person at the desk gave us a tip—the notes posted next to each item in the exhibit are the same as what the audio guide will tell you, so you can either read for free or listen for a fee.  Needless to say, we read.  Though I know this will not be true in each museum I will visit, it is good to know or to ask when they offer the audio guides to see if I can save a little money.

And They're Off

If you have been following sports recently, you would understand gambling especially with horse racing. Big Brown was the sure bet, but Da’ Tara pulled the long shot upset at the Belmont. With 38 to 1 odds, he had an awesome pay out. You may be familiar with the gambling odds for the matchup between the Celtics and Lakers in The Finals. Others connect with the poker craze. I do not gamble but a few friends have lost money in this dangerous and addicting habit.

I have heard of college students making money by gambling. Although, I have heard of many more stories of how students have lost much, much more money. One person was so deep in debt with his bookie, that his flat screen television was stolen by the bookie in order to cover the over-due negative balance. Through exposure to these friends, I know I do not want to enter into this bad practice. After all, Las Vegas was not built on by the patrons winning. I will just earn my money the honest way.

Sterling

So while in London, I felt an overwhelming urge to purchase some touristy things. Thankfully, I had been several times before (my aunt and uncle used to live there so I previously had a free place to stay and free meals- yeah, thanks for moving to Texas guys) so I had most of the stuff, but you always have to get the overpriced playbills and souvenirs from the plays. My money this time was spent in a different place. We went shopping on Oxford Street, a famous street for shopping in London, and I definitely spent some money. It was just so appealing to get something that no one else back home would have. I also got some things I needed anyway, like a couple of dress shirts, a trench coat, and a hat. In the middle of the summer, most London stores have big sales, but unfortunately we did not come at that time, but I still managed to get some things at a good price. The price is deceiving, though, because we all paid with a U.S.credit card. Not only do you have to convert pounds to dollars, but there is also a fee that the card charges to do so. Also, to withdraw cash from an ATM incurs a fee, which adds more onto the cost of the trip.  Neither is too much, but it all adds up.