At EIU, we are fortunate to have a textbook rental service. We don't experience the struggle of having to buy textbooks from the school or scrounge the internet for a cheaper price for a book that still costs a couple hundred dollars. At Eastern, if you take 15 credit hours, your textbook rental fee is $150. 12 credit hours? $120. Not bad, eh? This leaves a lot of extra change in our pockets to spend on six other necessities for EIU students...

1. Dining Dollars

Take it from me, the plug for dining dollars... EIU students spend a lot of money on them. Some come in as often as twice or three times weekly to load their cards. I know the regulars by name. College kids, especially guys, eat more than you could ever imagine. When it comes to DD's, they throw that money around (or bill it to their account, but, you get it).

2. Slashed Tires

Ah, who could forget the tire slashing incident of Fall 2016? This supposed "gang activity" cost residents of 6th and 7th Street hundreds of dollars to replace their tires. Only in Charleston...

3. Bamca

Better than Chipotle, better than Qdoba, the ultimate fast-food Mexican joint is Bamca - now named 'Mi Casa Tu Casa,' but has anyone ever really called it that? It's an EIU student favorite (or addiction). But thank God for that money you save on textbooks, because you'll be spending at least 11 bucks on a meal - without chips or a drink. Totes worth it, though.

4. Homecoming Floats

If you're in Greek life, you understand the competitiveness of Homecoming week. Every frat/sorority pair spends weeks constructing what they hope to be the winning parade float that earns them points. Rumor has it they can get as pricey as $1,500. Wow.

5. Spring Break

All year long, EIU students save up to take the trip they'll cherish for a lifetime with their college besties. You'll never experience anything like it after graduation. Say hello to splurging on the trip itself but still being too broke to afford any other food besides frozen pizza and ramen noodles.

6. Booze

Last but not least, is the booze. Booze for random days of the week, beer breakfasts, and to help us make crazy memories that we may not always remember. Isn't that what college is for?

So, cheers to you, EIU, for saving us money on textbooks that is quite obviously put to good use.