It's April. It's that time of year when showers prepare to bring flowers, when college basketball ends and baseball begins and when 90 degree days are quickly followed by snow in Central Virginia. It's also just about as far as possible from last summer, which is the most recent opportunity people have had to work a job and earn spending money. This means everyone on Grounds is probably completely broke by now.
Don't be sad if you're one of these people -- most students drained their checking accounts buying Christmas gifts back in December anyway. Now they're making ends meet by participating in psych and econ experiments and asking their parents to pay off credit card bills for them. What people should really be doing, though, is asking themselves how they spend all their money. I mean, where does it all go?
One of the biggest expenses for most college students is new clothes. If clothes don't burn a hole in your wallet, then you probably do what I do and amass free t-shirts while only changing your wardrobe once a decade (Old Navy had better watch out in 2010). Otherwise, you've probably had to spend an entire week's worth of wages buying two shirts and a pair of jeans on a single shopping excursion several times before.
For people looking for a compromise between new clothes and saving money, Walmart and K-Mart await them with low prices and one-stop shopping. If these people also don't want to have to lie or be embarrassed when someone asks them where they buy their clothes, then they can go to Target instead. At least Target doesn't have the stigma that comes with having "mart" in its name.
Another significant expense is food. Students are far too lazy and strapped for time to cook meals for themselves regularly, which means they have to eat out. The exception to this rule is, of course, students with meal plans. They only go to restaurants for the first 14 weeks of the semester -- when the last weeks roll around they wind up eating in the dining halls three times a day to use up all their remaining meals.
While a single trip to a restaurant might not seem costly, it adds up more quickly than you think. Even relatively inexpensive chains like Subway and Chipotle will make you go broke $6.50 at a time. Think about it, that's like 24 Chicken McNuggets from the dollar menu.
Food becomes even more of an expense if you have a girlfriend. Not only are you often expected to pay for both your meals, but you'll be pressured into going to nice, sit-down (read, expensive) restaurants with phrases like, "Why don't you take me out to dinner anymore?" Suddenly, a $6.50 burrito dinner turns into two $20 entrees plus dessert, drinks and tip. On the flip side, if you yourself have a boyfriend, you can save a lot of money on food by making him pay for your meals. If he resists, ask him why he never takes you out to nice dinners in a whiny tone. It never fails.
Many people, however, just love spending money. If no practical purchase presents itself, they will come up with their own creative expenses. For these situations there are leather iPod cases, $5 lattes, and hot running water. Honestly, who really needs any of these things? People need to learn how to toughen up a little bit and take cold showers.
Some are aware of their spending tendencies but are powerless to control it. I've had people ask me not to give them cash in small amounts because they know they'll have spent it all before they take it to the bank. I know others who are actually such compulsive spenders that they don't like having money on them. They would buy anything in sight just to rid themselves of whatever money is in their possession.
While it's too late in the school year for you to reconsider your spending habits now, think twice about parting with your hard-earned cash when next semester starts. While many of us still have our parents to send us money when we need it, one day there won't be this much financial backing. So, be shrewder with your purchases and take accountability for your expenses. Either that, or work on your whiny tone and go get a rich boyfriend.
Dan's column runs biweekly on Wednesdays. He can be reached at mcnally@cavalierdaily.com.
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