Like most other college students around the country, I am BROKE. Due to a combination of not working over winter break (shoutout to my family’s move from Maine to Florida) and DoorDashing roughly two meals a day for five days during sorority recruitment, I came into spring semester with a whopping $9 in my account. Tail between my legs, I pleaded with my mom to send me some money for my sorority’s big/little costs.
Obviously, I couldn’t rely on my mom to send me money forever. I’ve been fairly financially independent since I got my first job at a TJ Maxx when I was 16, and although my parents don’t mind lending me money when I absolutely need it, I rely on myself for all of my “wants” and most of my “needs.”
Fortunately, all hope was not lost. I resumed working for my work study position the SECOND the semester started back up again. Unfortunately for me, I’m paid on a biweekly basis, so my first paycheck was only $78. Thanks to my mom, I was able to buy all three baskets for my little, but I knew that I had to change my habits if I wanted to have my money up going into summer. So how did I do it? Let’s take a look.
SWEET TREATS
If you know me, you know I’m a fiend for sweet treats. It takes little to no convincing for me to buy a $10 boba tea or $7 gelato. When I looked at my bank account, I realized that a lot of my money was going to sweet treats, boba, or Starbucks, and I knew I needed to cut back.
I was able to find alternatives for almost everything I would be buying on Park Ave on campus. If I wanted boba, I spent dining dollars at The Grind Café. If I wanted a sweet treat, I perused the C store until I found something that struck my fancy. And luckily for me (and anyone else trying to save), the refreshers at the Lakeside Café taste almost exactly like the ones that Starbucks sells – except these ones cost dining dollars.
DINNER OFF OF CAMPUS
What was maybe more difficult for me than cutting back on sweet treats was cutting back on eating out. I get bored of the options on campus and resort to DoorDashing or asking a friend to go out to dinner with me, but even doing this two times could mean I’m out at least $60. It was difficult to stop at first, but I knew that it had to be done.
One of the ways that I cut back on eating out was by cooking at home. I have a kitchen in my apartment, but I usually don’t use it because it’s easier to order food. However, for Valentine’s Day, my boyfriend and I decided to stay in and cook instead of spend money on a fancier meal, which saved me a lot of money.
Obviously, when I get cravings for Taco Bell or Chipotle, it is not as easy to make it at home. I decided that I could spend up to $75 of my biweekly paycheck, and the rest would go into my savings. Once I made that call, it was up to me to decide how much of that $75 went to food and how much went to whatever else. By making myself aware that I only had $150 a month to spend on anything, I cut back a lot on ordering whatever I was craving and found on-campus substitutes.
CLOTHES
Over the years, I’ve signed up for at least ten different clothing stores’ email lists. When I get the email that there’s a “BIG 50% OFF EVERYTHING FINAL SALE,” it compels me to take a look. I end up buying clothes I don’t need or end up wearing once before it’s banished to the dark abyss of my closet. You’d think I would learn my lesson, but I never do.
However, when I saw how much I had been spending, I knew I had to change (and I don’t mean my outfit). Instead of buying a new outfit for every sorority event, vacation, or concert I wanted to go to, I repurposed the clothes I wore often. As for the pieces I never wear, I returned what I could and donated what I couldn’t.
On occasion, though, the sale texts and emails still lured me in. To be fair, $4 a top SEEMS like a great deal – until you consider the $15 shipping fee. During my low buy, I was able to only buy one shirt – a long-sleeve top for when I want to go out on a cold night.
REFLECTION
Overall, I would say I was pretty successful in changing my spending habits. I easily got into the habit of prioritizing what I do and don’t need and am smarter about what to buy. This taught me how to manage my money better and I think about what I do or don’t need to buy. One of the biggest things that helped me to change my spending habits was gift cards. Since I put my $150/month limit on shopping for fun, I tended to spend less than what I had set for myself because I gravitated to stores I knew I had gift cards at. The experience of putting myself on a budget helped me to save myself from a financial disaster, and it can save you too!