It’s summertime. That means spending time with friends, planning vacations, and going out every night. Of course, that also means you need actual money. Which also means you need a job. Which also means you can’t go out every night because you’re stuck working as many hours as you can. Yeah, summer isn’t as much fun as it seems, is it? You promise yourself you’re going to start saving up, but then there’s Chipotle. Minimum wage was just raised to $10 and that’s great, but you can get a bowl at Chipotle for that much, so there goes an hour of work. And no one’s going to hit up the dollar menu at McDonald's when Chipotle is an option. But this isn't about Chipotle. It’s about the fact that I shouldn’t have to spend half my check at Chipotle just because I happen to like guacamole in my bowls.

The check comes at the end of the week but by Monday your bank accounts back to five dollars. Then of course you have to survive on that until payday comes back around. You promise yourself you won’t do that again, that you’ll finally start saving, but then you get paid again and blow all your money again. The biggest problem isn’t even the fact that you blow all your money in two days, It’s that you blow all your money on dumb stuff like Chipotle and Starbucks (or Dunkin's, I don’t judge). Do you really need that $10 burrito bowl? Or that venti Iced Caramel Macchiato that probably costs you about $5 when in reality you have coffee at your house for free? I can answer this question for you just in case you’re in denial. No. No, you do not.

The fact that everything you want is mad expensive doesn’t help. You can go into a store that’s having a huge sale and the one shirt you think looks cute still costs like $20. I hear my parents and grandparents talking about how the could buy a can of coke for $0.10. Now it costs a dollar $1.25. Whose idea was that?! Why can’t I just afford the lifestyle I want to live? This is the reason so many people steal! If I can get away with stealing a $100 winter coat and not getting caught, that’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Summers are meant for having fun and relaxing with your friends, but everyone works so much the only friends you see are co-workers. Even then it’s impossible to hang out outside of work because one of you is always on the schedule. The moral of this story is either stores need to understand I am a stressed out, broke college student who is willing to risk jail time for a cute coat and just lower their prices or my job needs to realize I am an important member of the working community and deserve a raise, even though I have done nothing to earn it. Either way, I’m getting that coat.