Money is easily the most powerful driving force in the
modern world, as it has been for most of recent history, and will most likely
continue to remain as such into the foreseeable future. Of course, even as a
rather universal concept in function, how different individuals or groups use
and think of money can wildly vary. One fictional example is the movie Goodfellas, in which instead of asking
for a precise total of money, character Karen Hill instead indicates the
thickness of the stack of bills she wanted to go shopping with. Obviously, this
isn’t how most people think regarding money. In this blog post, there will be
coverage regarding the differences in how an individual student, in this case
myself, compared to Pullman natives, professors, as well as other students.
First and foremost, money is always something that I need to
be wary of whenever I am required to spend it. A native to the Pullman area
would most likely head down to a local grocer and buy various food items, as
well as any professor. For myself, I hesitate to purchase even a .20¢ packet of
ramen. This is because as a student, I already have very little spending room,
with both a minor amount of cash available to me and a current lack of income.
Additionally, as a student I have access to the resident dining halls, which
allows me to make use of cash deposited into the account by my parents to see
me through the semester. This allows me to purchase food whenever I desire,
provided I head down at the correct time, while not directly impacting the
amount of cash in my bank account. This makes it a bit pointless to purchase
anything from a grocery store, seeing as I already possess a means to get
similar products.
Secondly, for what money I do spend, I have resigned myself
to use it only when I need to purchase a necessity not already available to me.
This means I do not bother to spend cash on things such as treats for myself,
items for my own personal entertainment, or things I already have access to.
This means, unlike most other people, who more often than not occasionally
purchase something for themselves despite not truly needing it, I avoid such
things due to budget issues. Admittedly, this is a rather difficult concept
that I occasionally grapple with, as I am a gamer at heart, but needs go before
relaxation no matter what. I must admit though, I was overjoyed to find out
part of the DTC 375 curriculum was to purchase one of three games, of which Papers, Please was something I had my
eye on for quite some time.
Lastly, as a student, I feel like I spend very little money
overall compared to the general populous of students. Sporting events have
never been something that’s caught my attention, so I have yet to attend even a
single game held on campus grounds. The only times I visit on campus shopping
areas like the CUB is when I have no choice left on that day, such as falling
asleep prior to dinner, and awakening only after all the dining halls have
closed for the day. Even the vending machines strewn about the various
buildings rarely see my attention, and even then my rare business tends to only
consist of buying a cheap snack to help my low blood sugar, or a caffeinated soda
to help keep me up for the next few hours. To say I have a minimalist spending
routine would be quite accurate as of this moment, with myself only being
willing to doll out for the bare necessities, and nothing more.
…Though I will confess that once I have a source of income
and some money to fall back on, I would be much more willing to spend some
money of some of the more entertaining aspects available to me.
That is a great point about the lack of income most college students have. I am in the same boat, and I rarely ever go anywhere other than campus for food and other things. Since I have RDA, I almost always use it. The only time I don't is if for some reason I do not have access to the dining halls, and have to purchase elsewhere. It is always some what of a challenge moving through college without a steady source of income.
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