On Monday this week, a $34,000 payment was due for my spring semester tuition and I called my parents in a panic to make sure they were taking care of it. I ran out of groceries in my townhouse this week as well. Thankfully my parents live 25 minutes away and were willing to stock me back up with groceries only two hours after I called my mom.
My parents do not give me an allowance. They just pay for some necessities in my life that I currently can't afford on my own as a full-time student. They also occasionally give me a little extra cash when they come to visit me at school. They usually visit twice a semester, at most.
I have always held a part-time job, because I genuinely do feel terrible that my parents work so hard to fund my life. I use this "side money" for eating out with friends, buying new clothes to treat myself, eyebrow and nail appointments — all good times.
Typically, I do try to buy my own groceries as well, but sometimes it is just impossible to make ends meet with a $150 a week salary. This week for example, I have to make that phone call to my parents. Essentially, this side money just isn't enough.
Early morning classes on Monday call for an $8.99 açai smoothie right after. The drink isn't going to cut it for the full day, so I ran home afterwards to make some avocado toast. Yes, it tastes so much better when you buy it from one of those trendy restaurants, but I'm limited on money, and Mom and Dad just brought over groceries.
I had a ton to plan for my Her Campus meeting, an online women's magazine I run on campus, so I spent the afternoon working on that. After the meeting was over at 7 p.m., I was starving and easily gave into peer pressure and went out for dinner with my friends.
My meal at Bar Taco was delicious, but $16 tacos plus the smoothie earlier in the day already cost me one-sixth of this week's salary.
The warm weather is approaching and I'm a sucker for spring fashion. It also was "Treat Yourself Tuesday," and I figured why not. I didn't have class today and my to-do list was very short. I tend to resort to online retail when I'm bored, which is not beneficial to my bank account.
I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home because I had the time to actually make meals. Plus, I was stocked with everything imaginable: pasta, steak, chicken, burgers, soups, stuffed breads, avocados, potatoes, cauliflower, the list goes on. So the variety on what to eat was limitless — like going out to eat without spending money.
After buying $20 worth of gas, I had spent $81.63 for the week. More than half of my week's salary in three days!
I ate at home again today. I feel awful my mom had to do grocery shopping for me this week, but I really appreciate her help. Of course she also went above and beyond with her purchasing. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast, mac n' cheese for lunch, and after a night of babysitting I came home to chicken teriyaki with edamame and rice for dinner. Yum!
I desperately crave Starbucks in between classes and bought a venti strawberry açai refresher for $3.75.
After class I had to go babysit until 6 p.m. and was starving by the time I was finished. I surprisingly had enough energy left in me to make myself a nice steak with baked cauliflower and a baked potato for dinner.
Mecha Noodle Bar is one of my favorite places for ramen and pho noodles, but $16 later I was down to $48.52 in my checking account.
Like I mentioned earlier, I constantly give into my friends wanting to go out for dinner and spend money on things I probably don't need to be spending money on. It's just easier and more fun to go out and have dinner, but the costs add up. This is also why I feel like it's so hard to save my babysitting money.
I spent a total of $19.84 on Chinese takeout. Pork fried rice, wonton soup, and sesame chicken for the win.
By the end of the day I only had $28.68 in my bank account. Not only was I extremely low on funds, it was a harrowing reminder that I'm nowhere near capable of funding my entire life.
Thankfully I had my parent's homemade sauce and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to cook some pasta and meatballs.
I am so incredibly lucky to have parents that make being a full-time student less stressful. It's a luxury to not have to worry about paying bills. Although I wish I could make more money, my part time job is nowhere near profitable enough to fund the life of a full-time student.
I spend the most money going out to eat with my friends. After tracking my spending, my goal for next semester is to open a savings account, eat out less, and try to be a lot smarter with my money.
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