As I work my way up the ladder in my professional career, there's one thing I've come to realize about the way we earn and spend money. Being a millennial college student, there are literally millions of nonessential things that you could get sucked into spending your hard earned money on. I'm not just talking about the usual addictions, (i.e., drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.) I'm talking about the everyday expenses that keep us from saving money.
Things like Starbucks, Dunkin', convenient stores and vending machines are all silent thieves in the night, and yet, no one has dared to name them as such. See, here's the thing. As a college student, this means you are literally on the go 25/8. You wake up, barely have time to eat, run out the door and off to your first class you go. Then the hunger sets in, and you think, "oh, man. I need to eat." So, what do you do? Spend $5.49 at the nearest Dunkin' on a bagel and medium coffee.
Whatever, it's only $6, that's not going to break my budget.
Now it's noon, and well, would you look at that, you've run out of coffee and your stomach is starting to grumble. With not even half the day over, you decide to grab lunch. This can range anywhere from $5-10 depending on your choice of fast food. But again, it's "only $10, that won't hurt my budget."
Finally, you're nearing the end of the day, but, your eyes start to feel heavy, your palms a little sweaty, and you feel like you could fall asleep standing up, but you still have one more hour of this lecture. But wait! Wasn't there a vending machine right outside of the classroom? What's $5 for a Snickers and a Gatorade? After all, there's no way you can make it without it.
Say you did this everyday, 5 days a week, even though most of us don't have the luxury of having weekends off, we'll play along for a bit. So, that $6 you spent at Dunkin', the $10 you spent on lunch, and the $5 you spent on snacks times 5.....
You've now spent roughly $100 on just convenience foods. That's not including gas for your car, or any other random expenses that may come up.
So, now, how am I supposed to save money, if half of my paycheck goes to me being able to live in order to finish up my week.
It's time to unmask the hidden bank account thieves. It's time to make conscious efforts to spend LESS in order to literally SAVE.
