How to Be Cheap, and Love It

I am a college student, and I am a cheapskate. I can't deny it for a second. I think over every purchase I make, no matter how small, and I can bargain with the best of them. It may not sound fun, but there are ways of getting by on very little, and I would like to share just a few ideas with you on getting the most out of your hard-earned cash.

1. Eat out minimally. Cooking is hard work, and eating ramen noodles (for the gastronomically challenged) gets old after a while. But nothing can suck the pinch from your pocket like eating out everyday. Even fast food restaurants can get you quick (if you must do them, I recommend the $1 menu that many of them now have, with water to drink). Learn to buy food in large quantities, and start learning to cook (rice is a good starting point)

2. Rent movies instead of going to the cineplex. For this, I would like to do some basic calculations. Say you and three friends are thinking about catching a new release at $8 a ticket, then hit Baskin Robbins for $3 ice cream cones. That comes to $44, or $11 dollars apiece. Instead, you in your wisdom convince your friends to rent, say, three movies from Blockbuster for $5 apiece and buy 2 gallons of ice cream from Walmart for $4 apiece. That totals $23, or split between four people, $5.75 for each person to watch three movies and have ¾ of a gallon of ice cream! I'll let the numbers speak for themselves on that one.

3. Stay away from credit cards. Unless you are very disciplined, credit cards can not only eat away what you do have, but put you in debt very quickly, the kind of debt that can take years to get out of or, in the worst cases, lead you to bankruptcy. There's something about swiping a card rather than pulling out cold hard cash that makes it easier to spend, even more so when you aren't taking money directly out of your bank account (like a debit card).

4. Learn to haggle. If you're not the confrontational type, well, it may be time to learn. For any major purchases, check online for the lowest possible price, and make people compete for your business. That is, after all, what capitalism is all about, no?

5. Be happy with what you have. Financial stability is a psychological challenge, no doubt, and being realistic about what you can have, and making it line up with what you want, can be difficult. But trying to live a lifestyle outside of your means is the first step to bankruptcy, and no one wants that.