Continued:

LESSON 7: Just ask

Some of the best things come when I "Just ask." A friend and I were in the main part of our quaint college town, and we decided we were hungry. We decided to just ask a cashier at a wraps eatery if we could have one of their wraps. Sure enough, he told us to wait right there and seconds later came back with a chicken and rice wrap. When people working are approached by students who try to get something free or for a discounted price, they can only do two things; 1) they are probably so surprised with the question that they are happy to fulfill that students wishes, or 2) they get annoyed and give a lecture on how customers need to pay in order for them to get paid. Whatever the outcome, it should be noted that "just asking" is a hard thing to do because it could end up in great embarrassment or harassment.

LAST LESSON: Guilt and Conscience

Many students don't try and use their surroundings to the fullest advantage because they feel a sense of guilt. Sometimes I used to go in to visit a friend working at a sandwich shop and he would make me a free sandwich. When he didn't charge me I would feel kind of guilty because I didn't want him to get in trouble. The more I thought about this, the less guilty I felt. I remembered what he had told me about not doing it if he thought he was gong to get in trouble, so I realized if he didn't feel guilty neither should I. I like to believe that things are meant to be. If it is meant to be that I get a good deal on something one day and may not be as lucky the next, I try and accept it and go with the flow. The best thing I feel I can do, is be aware there are many great deals that are out there for students like me, who live on a smaller budget. Within my sense of guilt, however, I try not to get my friends in trouble. Favors from friends may have consequences within the criminal justice system, commonly known as theft and embezzlement. Always operate within your moral parameters and society's legal parameters, as the next article I may be writing will be an interview of a student in the county jail!

Back to How to Survive on a Student Budget

Survival Lessons

LESSON 1:
Meeting People

LESSON 2:
Free Samples

LESSON 3:
Farmers Market

LESSON 4:
Fruit Trees & Vegetable Gardens

LESSON 5:
Drink Water, Carbo-Load on Beer

LESSON 6:
Fraternity & Sorority BBQ's

LESSON 7:
Just Ask

LAST LESSON:
Guilt & Conscience