It’s All About the Money, Money, Money
Graphics by Téa Sklar
We can all remember the feeling of getting a little bit of money for our birthdays, holidays, losing a tooth or even finding a lucky $20 on the street. What is the one thing your parents told you to do with that money? Don’t spend it all in one place.
It was usually inevitable that I would spend it on something silly like a Lego set or a stuffed animal, but I would always try to save as much as I could. At seven years old, I needed to get a head start on college and life savings. In the past, the most stressful occurrence was when my slime concentrate didn’t work. Now, it's logging into my banking app.
If you thought that I’d be giving you tips on how to save money in college, think again, because I still haven’t figured it out. However, I have never been so frugal. If I take care of my friend’s $5 cover for a shitty party, that money better be returned to me in any form possible by the end of the week. At this point, Venmo is sending me booty calls begging me to sign up for a credit card. I’ve started keeping takeout containers so I can stock up on leftovers in the dining hall.
I won’t even get started on the current economy and inflation because I genuinely don’t know how it works. Why is my coffee $7? Why does my mostly-milk-latte not taste like it’s worth the money? Why am I tipping the barista money, that I don’t have, just because they’re staring into my soul?
On a more positive note, being cautious of spending does have its benefits. Besides being prepared to live in the real world, you can also get your exercise in! The last thing I want to do after a long night of drink- I mean playing board games- is walk up hills and stairs. I can’t spend all my money on Ubers when I have two perfectly working, definitely not wobbly, legs. I can also watch my figure by not ordering dinner after the dining hall closes at the ripe time of 9 p.m. Even if I wanted a bag of chips after a long night of studying, the vending machine upcharges me for $1 Fritos.
They say that money can’t buy happiness, but let’s be honest, that’s far from the truth. At some point in my four year college career, I’m going to have to figure budgeting out. In the meantime, I will continue to spend too much money on milky coffee and run through my dining dollars at any location that accepts it. I might slow down on the Ubers until winter, then I actually will have an excuse.