The more you associate yourself with college students, the more familiar you become with the phrase “broke college student”. This phrase can get a negative connotation if you’re unfamiliar with the sense in which it comes from. It's more of like “I have money but not money I can spend on those things because I have responsibilities.” That phrase is much more complex, and time consuming so for most of the time it’s easier to just say broke college student. It can pretty much be summed up in this photo:

Sure, many college students work their way through school, like myself, but this does not mean I'm in a position to be self-sustainable and buy everything for myself, and splurge on things that may not be in my “necessities” budget. Sure, I have parents and family who support me and generously give me money and things towards said necessities budget, but this doesn’t mean that I can spend all the money I make. I have important things that I need to pay for like gas, groceries, and other living expenses. I wish I could afford to go out to dinner with my friends every week, or go on random shopping sprees. I wish I could say “yes!” without a doubt to any and all adventure opportunities that I'm presented with. But I know logically I can’t afford to live this way. Some people can, and I applaud them for doing so. But for me, I have to be more selective with the things I choose to spend my money on. I may be eating ramen noodles and frozen chicken strips for most meals, but I'm also learning how to save my money and use it for things that I may need in the future.

I'm not saying this way of living is a bad thing. Living in this way helps me to prioritize my wants and needs, and the things that are truly important to me. Spending time with people doesn’t have to mean spending money. Showing love and appreciation for the people you’re surrounded by doesn’t mean you have to break your wallet to do so. By living in a way that is more economically conservative, you determine things that are truly important to you, and things that you value highly. You value quality time, and finding other ways to show that people are meaningful to you. You value receiving money, whether by gifts or by working for it, because you know the true worth of money in your world these days, and knowing how easily it can disappear.

As things become more and more expensive, it does get more and more stressful to be a student and have pending, or current, debts on your mind- whether it’s credit card bills, or car payments, or even just buying groceries. This is a part of life, and most of us understand that money does not in fact grow on trees. I see posts about people who are 20 years old, have degrees, and have bought houses for themselves- and are considered financially stable. This is not the case for me, but I know I can get by regardless. So, I ask you to understand two things, if nothing else from this rant: 1. Don’t be offended when I say I can’t afford to do something or buy something with you. Know that this is a choice I likely mulled over in my head for a long time, and had to make the difficult decision to pass on. And 2. Understand that when I say “I'm broke” or “I'm poor”, I don’t always mean it literally. I usually just mean that I do in fact have money, but it’s not money I can afford to spend on that.