On Campus

Jill’s Guide To Smart(ish) Spending

If you’re spending more money on booze than food, you have a problem

I love having some spare money in my wallet.

But more than that, I love spending money on dumb stuff I really don’t need- but just simply want.

Here are some money-saving tips to follow- in or out of college.

  1. Monitor your accounts. I started doing this soon before starting college and it’s really helped me out a lot. Keep a word document on your desktop marked “BUDGET”. (Even though I’m the only one who uses my laptop, I still have that bad boy password-protected. Just in case.) Record how much you have in your bank account, PayPal, how much is charged to your credit card, how much anybody owes you, reminders of upcoming expenses (phone bill, etc.). Update your budget every week or two. (You’ll thank me later.)
  2. Before making a big purchase, ask yourself, “(Insert Your Name Here), why do you want this?” And if the only thing you can come up with is “Because it’s cool,” you may want to think about your purchase a little longer.
  3. Eat out/order in no more than once a week. Think of it this way: that one time you get to eat out or order in is your treat to yourself for not eating out the rest of the week. This is what I tried to do during my first year in college.
  4. Rent movies in groups. The cost of a movie rental seems a lot less expensive when you’re splitting it 6 ways. Also, rent it for one night for cheaper, rather than keeping it for a week.
  5. Monitor your Booze Spending To Everything Else Spending Ratio. I had a friend this year who would get $100 bucks every week from his mom so he could buy groceries. He would then spend all of it on booze. (He was/is quite dumb.) Simply and plainly: don’t do this. If you are spending more money on booze than anything else, there is a problem.

Have any money-saving tips? Let me know!

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