| Confessions of a Broke College Kid | Let's Talk Textbooks |

Here's the funny thing, I haven't even started college yet and I've already made a few mistakes.  Now, if you're gonna make mistakes in life you might as well use them to your benefit and learn from them.  If you don't learn from them, well, you keep making them over and over again and in my case that might prove quite costly.  My college tuition was due this past monday so when I made it home from work I immediately started making sure all my ducks were in line.  Tuition, check.  Talk on phone with Financial Aid Office for 20 minutes, check.  Wait on hold with Social Security Administration for 40 minutes, check.  Oh wait, better check my student email like they've advised us to.

Books required for Accounting 101.

Textbooks, not check.  Oh brother.  Of course this doesn't surprise me, If there were any special skills I had acquired over my past years of schooling it would be procrastination.  What I should of done was checked my student email about 3 weeks ago, got the list, and then proceeded to call mom so she could search all of her trusty sources for some cheap college material.  Nope.  I like a challenge. I also like having no money, apparently. I call Justin: "Hey I need to go by the campus bookstore today and get my books."  "I can just go pick them up for you."  He's so sweet.  One hour later I'm on my way to Columbia with twenty dollars in my fuel tank praying that will last me until Thursday.

"Do you know how much those books were?"  Oh, shoot.
 "Uh, a lot?"
"389 dollars"  Oh man, that's worse than I thought.

389 dollars later I'm left with a meager 25 dollars in my checking account.  Moral of this story?  Check used book stores,  check Amazon, check Ebay, check ANYWHERE ELSE before you decide to buy brand new books for classes. (Amazon.com has this cool feature where you can rent college textbooks for a semester, and it's about 1 million times cheaper than buying brand new.)  Oh, and don't do all of this two days before your classes start. Of course, the bright side of all of this is, one, it's funny. . . who needs money anyways? Two, I can resell them back to the school when I'm done.  So that's nice.

My parents tried to tell me, but I didn't listen.
Okay, no, always listen to your parents. They usually know best.  Or just take this guy's word for it.

| How to Save Money the EASY Way | From Someone who Learned it the HARD Way |

 

I've been trying to get myself on a budget system since about May.  After all, money management is a lesson better learned young.  So, with that said, here are a couple truth's about me:

I'm young.

I'm not very good at money management.

Perfect! Let's get this show on the road!  As hard as a tried to be a little more frugal with my money something would always get in the way.  That something was usually a Starbucks or a Panera Bread.  I'm not terrible at managing my money, but I could definitely be better at it.  In fact, everyone could probably use some practice with this. Which is part of the reason why I'm writing this blog.  So there I was, living my life, thinking I was doing alright, when I got a nice, big, hard slap in the face from reality.  And reality said: "You spent way too much money on Christmas gifts this year. Next year, let's stick to something handmade."  Reality was right.  Christmas really knocked me out this year. And  I hadn't quite recovered from that when I was hit again by a collection of really big, expensive college books.

Needless to say, budgeting is no longer a "I'll get around to it eventually" thing.  It's now a "you better start budgeting or you're gonna be living under a bridge" thing.  So in my conquest to save more money I've come up with a few money saving tips from someone who had to learn all of this the hard way.  You're welcome.

Number One: Pack a lunch for work. 
If you work through lunch like I always do and the place where you work is fully equipped with both a microwave AND a refrigerator... bring a lunch. Is it really necessary to go out to eat everyday? Or even 3 times a week?  No, It's not. You could save so much money just by packing a sandwich the night before or bringing some leftovers.

Number Two: Cut down on the Starbucks!
Or any other high priced coffee shop to which you find yourself undoubtedly loyal.  I know, I know, coffee is the life fuel that keeps us going through long, stressful days... but 4 dollars a cup? Let's get real.  I don't live close to a Starbucks anymore (sadly) so any time I drive into the city I stop there because I feel like it's my duty.  "It's here... I might as well buy one." No.  just because there is a coffee shop in the vicinity does not mean you are obligated to stop and purchase a "mocha latte with half the pumps of chocolate and no whipped cream".  I just saved you about 5 bucks.  You're welcome.

Number Three: Set a weekly limit!
This is something I'm really going to have to buckle down on.  When I got my debit card I stopped carrying cash.  Stupid idea. It's so much easier to spend your money when you're swiping a card as opposed to pulling out some cash.  Give yourself a limit.  When you take your paycheck to the bank, leave out 20/30 dollars in cash and instead of pulling out a card to make a purchase you can look at what you have in paper money and then decide if it's something you really need.  For example, no you don't need that 8 dollar mascara, and contrary to what the ad says, it does not make your eyelashes 5 inches longer. 

Number Four: If you DON'T need it, DON'T buy it.
This one kind of piggy backs on number three.  Just because you have money, doesn't mean you can just spend it on the first thing that catches your eye.  Well, I guess you could do that, but it's not something I would recommend.  It's important to look at what you have in total, and then proceed to subtract your expenses (ex. rent, phone bill, utilities, car payment, car insurance, etc.) Once everything is deducted you have a little spending money.  Notice I said little.  You don't want to just blow the rest.  Why? Sometimes, little, out of the blue expenses just fall from the sky and, once again, nail you right in the face.  For example, you're leaving for work and your car battery decides to inconvenience you with its sudden death and you are left with no choice but to purchase a new one.  Always plan for things like that.  You don't want to be hit with an expense similar to that one and not have the necessary finances to pay for it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no Dave Ramsey.  I have to work on all these things just as much as the next person, but it's always good to have a place to start when you're finally ready to buckle down and manage your money better.  It's taken me a few months but I think I'm finally ready to get started on this.