You there! Stop!
Yes, you with the card on your way to make another dumb purchase on snacks.
Before you swipe that card or pay that money on something that isn't towards investing in your education, I want you to hear a story of how my racking up charges through a little purchase here and there can caused me great deal of debt in the long run. Listen up!
Week 1: The Textbook Dilemma
It started with textbooks. Now, I knew they’d be pricey, but who knew they’d cost more than the price of my tuition?
So, I thought I was being smart by only buying the “must-have” books and bought them "new" as well. But after the first $200 splurge on a required text we used for exactly one class, I realized that my budget was toast, and my “frugal” game was already slipping.
Week 3: Dining Out “Saves Time” (So They Say)
Classes got hectic, so naturally, I started grabbing food between lectures.
At first, it was a “once-in-a-while” treat—until it became an “everyday survival strategy.”
Tacos on Tuesdays, BLT sandwiches on Thursdays, and catfish on Friday to celebrate making it through the week. Next thing I know, my dining-out budget was looking like a price at 5-star steakhouse every night.
Month 2: The “Quick” Coffee Trips
You know what pairs perfectly with a late-night cram session? Caffeine!
But, oh, not the dorm coffee machine sludge (that's never clean)—I needed a real coffee to make it through the day. Coffee shop stops became so frequent that the barista started greeting me by name. (Isn't that adorable?) But adorable doesn’t pay off that credit card bill piling up at the end of the month.
By Midterms: Little Expenses, Big Debt
Let’s do the math: $7 coffees, $10 lunches, $15 “essential” book purchases, $3 late-night convenience store snacks. Alone, they don’t sound like much. But multiplied by the 20+ days I’m on campus each month? I was suddenly a finance major…in trouble.
The Lesson: Little Splurges Are Like Pop Quizzes (They’ll Get You When You Least Expect It)
So, here’s what I learned from this accidental semester in Dining Out: just because it’s small doesn’t mean it doesn’t count.
Those tiny purchases can snowball, building debt faster than you can say “chili fries” Now, I’m starting to cook more, make my own coffee (or choke down dorm coffee), and even—gasp! —use the campus library for textbooks.
Sure, budgeting isn’t as fun as Tacos Tuesdays or surprise snack runs, but neither is Debt Stress Thursdays. So, if you’re on the same path, just remember even small choices matter when it comes to your wallet.
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