In a world where money runs the retail industry, thrifting becomes the only way for college students to survive. We do not quite have enough credit to be approved for credit cards ourselves. Personally, I do not believe in using credit cards. I feel like credit cards are unnecessary because they enable you to go into debt rather quickly without realizing the consequences of your actions, but like I said, that is my personal opinion. As a college student, almost all of my money goes towards paying for my schooling. Therefore, with what little money I save, I have to be wise with how I spend it. I resort to what I call "thrifting."

Thrifting to me is the act of going to thrift stores and consignment shops as well as shopping sales almost religiously, clipping coupons, and waiting for the right moment to buy an item. Thrift stores are a good way to get name brand items for a cheaper price. Some consignment shops will even offer you store credit for items that you donate. This means that you can pay an even cheaper price for the already more affordable prices you find at consignment or secondhand stores.

You also need to pay attention to when stores are having major sales. This includes checking the prices of items before sales to make sure that the prices during the sale have not been increased to make you feel like you are saving money. I have an email account that I use as a store membership for every retail store I shop at. This ensures that I receive information about sales as soon as possible.

My knack of finding sales at retail stores has carried over into my everyday shopping experience. I started clipping coupons as a way to save money to go to Spain in 2012. During the brief time I was clipping coupons, I discovered that I actually loved clipping coupons and the money that it saved me. Now I clip coupons pretty regularly and hardly ever buy an item at full price.

Being thrifty has also applied to buying items for my college needs. I went to a local consignment shop to buy all my dorm décor. My room has a very homey feel to it. I also searched all sorts of online textbook websites before purchasing my textbooks. I actually ended up purchasing a $200 textbook for $3.59.

My skills at thrifting have also enabled me to save money so I can buy purchases that cost a bit more money than I am used to. This year my couponing and thrifting enabled me to buy myself a guilty pleasure: a Lilly Pulitzer planner for school.

If you decide to be thrifty and make wise decisions with your purchases, you can save money and be happy with everything you have. With almost every belonging that I own, I have a story of how much money I paid for it or a neat story about how I got it for free. If you decide to be thrifty, you can save money as well as feel better about your purchases.