I always thought being painfully broke in college was just something you’d see in the movies. You know the scene. The shot of the overtired stressed senior eating his/her fourth packet of ramen that week. I would watch and think, “Wow, these college kids really need to get their budgeting down!”

However, now as I stand in front of the frozen food aisle contemplating whether I should get the $1.00 Banquet frozen meal or splurge on the $2.00 Kids Cuisine, I realize I am that college kid.

Pinching pennies has never been my strong suit. I once bought a $75 pair of Nikes just because I had one outfit that they would look great with. So this whole being broke thing is tough.

I wish I could tell my former high school self to enjoy the fully cooked meals by my mother or the feel of name brand beauty products. Going to Wal-Mart is now a painful experience. The bitter taste of defeat as I reach for the Dove body wash only to grab the generic Equate “Moisturizing Scrub.” If you have name-brand shampoo and conditioner, consider yourself a higher class. You’ve got to let the rest of us peasants with Equate-smelling hair know how it feels.

The thing is, I’ve come up with a way to manage my budgeting. It’s this technique where I don’t look at my bank account, and pray to God every time someone swipes my card that it goes through. It’s like a fun mystery game where I get to see how broke I really am. And if they say, “Your card’s not working,” I’ll respond with a quick, smooth, “What?! I just put money on that card. Let me go get my other card,” as I run to my car leaving the unpaid items behind me.

The best part of the being broke in college is that it’s not nearly as broke as I’m going to be once I graduate college. Sallie Mae will come out of the blue with his (her?) hand extended, taking a chunk of my probably very small paycheck. At that point, Kid’s Cuisine won’t even be on the menu.

But one day I’ll get some great-paying job, and all of this will be behind me, right? A story I’ll tell my kids on my huge-wrap around porch as I sip nice wine from an actual bottle and not a Franzia box. That’s when I’ll know I have made it.

The day I make it will be the day that I won’t look at the price before ordering something. Guacamole is extra? No problem my friend, I’ve got a steady income, so I can afford luxury.

Another plus to being broke is that it’s made me more innovative. For example, I shattered my phone Frog this week, and instead of paying $100 for a replacement screen, I now carry my phone in a plastic bag. It keeps my phone dry, and keeps the shards of glass from scratching my face while talking on the phone.

So all in all, the take away from this is: being broke sucks, but it teaches you a lot about yourself. You’ll learn to love PBR, because it’s only $2.50 compared to the staggering $6.00 craft beer. You’ll learn how to make a tube of toothpaste last a lot longer than it should. You’ll learn to sit in darkness in hopes of lowering the electric bill. But most of all, you’ll learn how outright terrible Banquet frozen meals are. Just imagine unknown meat substances underneath mystery gravy. It’s hard living this life of luxury.