OK, so pretty much everyone in college cries "broke college kid," but I think we can all agree that everyone defines that term a little differently. For some people, that means only eating out twice a day (poor souls). For others (me), it's more like, "How many goldfish can I eat out of this carton per class to make it last all day?"
Seriously, is it just me or does it seem like everyone around you in college has a bottomless pit of money laying around for endless amounts of Caviar and Bananas, Lululemon and retail therapy? If that's you, I'm not knocking on you at all. In fact, I envy you. But I'm writing to your broke friend who orders the cup of soup at dinner and raids your closet so she doesn't have to buy new clothes. That person can most likely relate to these struggles.
1. When your friends Snapchat their gourmet meals and you're at home eating ramen.
2. When your friends always seem to find $20 laying around and you're lucky if you find change for crackers in the vending machine.
3. When you're watching your friends eat because you've reached your spending limit for the week and one of them asks if you want the rest of their food.
4. What it feels like when you buy your textbooks or pay a bill.
5. When you get that low balance alert and/or "scary mom text" and you're only halfway to payday.
6. Looking at all your friend's travel pictures on Instagram.
7. When you're at dinner with a group of people and they decide to split the check, but all you had was water and a crouton.
8. When you're shopping and find something really cute, but you can't afford it and then your friend buys it.
9. When you swipe your debit card and it says, "Approved."
10. Eating Jimmy Johns for the fifth day in a row.
11. Being the only one in your friend group who appreciates Taco Bell's portion to price ratio.
12. When your friend asks you to spot them for something or call an Uber.
13. Listening to your friends complain about how broke they are in their $1,300 per month bedroom.
14. When you walk into a store with your friends, see a shirt for $75 and have to act like you're thinking about it.
15. When you can't afford to buy a new outfit for an event so a friend lets you borrow one of theirs.
Let's take a minute to thank those friends who spot us when we're short, understand we are broke until pay day and don't judge us for ordering off the kids menu. We appreciate you. One day, we will get you something other than a bag of candy for your birthday.
