Time to go back in time a bit and share somethings I've nearly forgotten about. College.
I've had my fair share of life experiences, from people stabbing me in the back after I've gone over and beyond for them, to making sure I never missed "Monday Muffins"on college campus and "Friday Night Chicken" at the college dorms. I don't know what I would have done without them.
I quickly learned that I had to adapt to my meager budget in college, at least until I got a job, to make ends meet. Below are some of the tips and ideas that I used in those early college days, I still continue to use some even today. Old habits die hard huh!
Making Ends Meet - The World Is Not Fair, So Hack It!
1. Car Pooling To The Grocery Store - If you don't have a car, as I didn't, the best thing to do would be to make a deal with someone who does to arrange a weekly or bi-weekly grocery run. If they ask for gas money agree on a set amount and pay once you get back from the store, or at the pump. If you don't find someone to do so, try and look for a few students in the same situation and do a taxi pool to split the tab.
2. Stretching Food - I don't mean tossing knead here, what I mean is to buy food stuff that can last at least a week or two in the fridge, or in cans. Stuff like canned soups, ramen noodles {rule!}, cheese slices, are the usual options - try and buy natural versions of this food stuff though as your health is still important. If not, it's OK - things will get better. Another thing I used to do is freeze bread and my 1, 2, 3 trick with liquids. Since I went only once a month to the store this is what I did,
- Drink milk the first 10 days of the month, 1 glass a day from a gallon worked just fine.
- Drink O.J the next 10 days. Check expiry dates here, the O.J usually lasts longer than the milk. Though near the end the nutritional value is virtually nil. It still tastes good.
- Soda for the last 10. I know, not the healthiest way to live, but it fit in my budget.
3. Use email - This way you don't have to pay for a phone connection in your apartment. Though having a cell phone around is probably wise for emergencies.
4. You don't need cable - My roommates wanted the whole premium package with TV and told me if I wanted to watch the TV I'd have to split the charges. I said no. That effectively left me no room to sit in the living room - as the freaking TV was always on. This actually helped me socialize more with real friends and not stay in the apartment much. I moved out the next semester and was practically alone for the whole summer! Woo Hoo!
5. Pennies Add Up - OK, this is not really the most coolest hack. In fact it's silly. But what the heck, if you find pennies, nickels, dimes, euros whatever...pick it up. They add up. When you're living on less than a few dollars a day that pack of M&M's after a few days of loose change luck can really help you stay awake for getting your projects done. I can't believe I actually did that!
6. Join The Community - I went to a private arts college so it was a tight knit group of people. Living in the dorms gave me access to all the community things they had planned. These things usually involved food. Nothing like beans, rice and chicken after a week of ramen! Sometimes we even had PIZZA! Woo Hoo!
7. Make Friends, Lots of Friends - You never know when they invite you over for dinner or ask you to chip in for a home cooked meal. Plus the socializing is good for you, especially if you're away from home. Who knows they might even have a car! Free grocery trips, yeah!
8. Cook! - If you've eaten at home your entire life and you're suddenly out in the wild the wrong food can get you sick. Learn how to fry an egg, or just boil it, small dishes like pasta with sauce are cheap and easy to make. I couldn't take the frozen pizzas anymore, so I started cooking. My redneck roommates didn't like the smell of potatoes in a tomato broth with fried onions much though. Hehe, that was fun to piss 'em off! {seriously, they were a-holes}
9. Write it down - I would write down each and every single penny I spent. No joke. This actually helped me budget my money better than I could have imagined. I loved the days I spent $0.00 and had eaten quite well.
10. You spend less money from your room - Now some of you may think I was a hermit. In fact I spent a lot of time with friends and had a blast my entire college time. I studied when I needed to and went out for non-money needed type of things when I had the time. It helped that my friends were also in a similar situation as me, so we never really spend any money and still had a lot of fun.
Of course, after I got a job at the local pancake house I stopped picking up pennies and did get my own phone connection. I stayed without a TV though as I really didn't have the time in college to watch endless re-runs.
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