In 2011, few things come cheap. Due to a number of factors, including inflation, people are facing rising costs in all areas. Parents can’t feed their families as affordably; students can barely pay for tuition and books; and the general costs of things that we all need, like gasoline or other bills, are rising.
We, at the Clarion, are just like you. We like quality items that don’t cost us an arm and a leg. But finding quality items for cheap is just plain difficult.
One area where we all feel a big right hook to the jaw is at the gas pump. Sinclair Community College is a commuter school, even if you live in the area. Few students live close enough that they can walk. It certainly is possible for students to ride their bicycle to school, but with the cold and the snow, that isn’t as appealing as the 70 degree days of August.
If you drive, you know the pain of the gas pump. We checked www.daytongasprices.com as we were writing this, and the average gas price in Dayton was $3.13. That’s right around the same as Ohio ($3.12) and in the entire country ($3.06).
Not to scare you, but if you paid the Dayton average and pumped, say, 15 gallons of gas, you’d be handing over $46.95. We’re not monetary experts, but we feel confident that $46.95 is a lot of money, and that we could find fun ways to spend that.
With a car comes not only gas (and, God forbid, maybe some maintenance) but insurance. We’re not going to quote any exact figures, but insurance, especially for the young drivers here at Sinclair, can be very painful.
If we can provide any tips for money management, the first would be to just keep track. Keep track of what money went where (and why). That overwhelmed feeling of “I don’t know where my money went!” doesn’t help. We know that from experience.
You might want to cut out the restaurants, too, or maybe only go when you see a great deal. Try ordering water instead of a soda. Maybe pass on the appetizer? All of these things add up.
Oh, and you college students? Those cheap ramen noodles work great. No, it isn’t high quality cuisine, but it fills you up and doesn’t hurt your wallet.
For college students, getting an education can be a time of sacrifice. But, just realize that everyone has to do it. Your parents might be doing it; your grandparents might be doing it. Learning to deal with this type of stress and hardship will help you later in life.
We just wish that meant it wasn’t so hard right now.