There is a reason we spend our summers waiting tables or working for minimum wage instead of laying out by the poolThere is a reason taco bell and amazon books are so popular with our generation. There is a reason Discover Student Loans and Sally Mae are doing great business. There is a reason we can find “student discounts” and “student rates” at our favorite movie theaters, bowling alleys, and retail stores. There is a reason the “ramen noodle diet” was invented, and Natural Light cans are scattered across lawns on campuses all around the nation each weekend. The reason: we're all broke college kids. A full load of coursework and a full social calendar don’t leave room for high paying jobs, and we are all skirting by on our miniscule savings accounts and tiny paychecks from our part-time campus jobs. Desperate times call for desperate matters, and desperate is exactly what we are. Severe lack of income and ever-growing student debt lead college kids to do some crazy things, and you might be a broke college kid if you have done one or more of the following:
Stolen Food from the Dining Hall
No one is innocent of this money-saving tactic. We have all made that extra sandwich or grabbed that extra slice of pizza, only to wrap it up in a napkin and stick in our backpacks to smuggle out for later. The best of the broke college students resort to filling up water bottles with Gatorade, or leaving with tupperwares full of enough food to get through a week. Spring Break trip coming up? No problem. I’ll grab a loaf of bread from the café and we can eat for lunch all week.
Attended an Event Just for the Free Food
Again with the food. Anyone that is, spends time with, or works with a college student knows that the quickest way to grab our attention is free food. The prospect of saving money by grabbing a free pizza instead of buying dinner makes that Math Club meeting sound oh-so-appealing. You might be a broke college student if you have gone to an event just for free food.
Bought Books Online, and Sold Them to the Campus Book Store
We all dread that two-week period right before the beginning of a semester. Our schedules are set, our required reading lists have arrived. Do I really need five books for that GenEd Art Class?! We spend hours scouring the internet to find the absolute best deals, and still end up teary-eyed and stressed as we fork over $700 for the semesters texts, half of which we won’t even have to crack. The only sense of relief comes at the end of the semester, when we march into the campus book store like we own the place, and sell them back for the cost of our next four Chipotle visits. We still might have lost money in the process, but at least the book store didn’t realize we were “selling back” books we didn’t buy from them in the first place.
Waited Weeks to Do Laundry, or Just Not Do It at All
“Be honest. Does this smell?”
We say as we hand our roommate the shirt we have now worn three times without washing. When our valuable quarters are on the line, we will use whatever means necessary to avoid doing laundry. This includes febreze, perfume, spot stain treatment, and the classic but effective bring-it-home-to-momma method.
Said: “Do You Mind if I Borrow Your…”
This is broke college kid lingo for “I’m too cheap to buy it myself, so can I just use yours?” The things we “borrow” from one another include, but are not limited to: shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, laundry detergent, clothing, headphones, and makeup.
Broke college kids all across the nation have developed these survival tactics for getting by on a not-so-flexible budget. If you have done any or all of these things, you understand where I am coming from, and I wish you much enjoyment the next time you have enough money to buy a Crunchwrap Supreme instead of a soft taco, or the large coffee instead of the small. You’ve worked hard to save that money, enjoy the splurge!
