Being your typical college student, everyone has the issue of spending money, even when they don’t want to. Going to school in Charleston certainly does not help at all. With the campus being so close to King St. with all the food and shopping definitely, makes things worse. Even if you have a meal plan at school, you still sneak in a way to spend that paycheck you only get once every two weeks. Does getting a job help? Or does it make things worse? Going to get lunch or just picking something small up from Forever 21 adds up, then you go and check your bank account and it hits you that you need to chill out.

Last semester my roommates and I had an ongoing joke that I gave up unnecessary spending for lent because it was just getting too out of hand. Every time someone would want to do something I would just say, “I can’t, I gave up spending for Lent.” It worked and was or seemed like a good excuse, but when Easter came I no longer had that excuse anymore, so the unnecessary spending continued.

Getting a job can either help with the “broke college student fund” or it can make things worse. In my case, it was a little bit of both. I needed money for groceries, which it helped with but then it also contributed, to help my online shopping addiction.

This semester, on the other hand, things have changed for the better; I am learning to manage my budget because now I only work two days a week as opposed to four or five.

Being broke in college, unfortunately, is not a one-time thing, it’s a four-year acceptance and at least you aren’t alone---chances are your roommates and friends are too.