Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994 TAG: 9408270001
SECTION: WELCOME STUDENTS PAGE: 42 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRISTIAN TOTO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A lucky few get by with help from their parents, who don't mind subsidizing Domino's Pizza and the local ABC shop.
For the rest of the huddled masses, surviving means stretching the dollar till President Washington's face resembles Rush Limbaugh's.
Even economic majors will be shocked by the bills that materialize during college. Wafer-thin textbooks cost more than your best pair of jeans. Parking stickers need to be bought, even though you may never find an actual place to park. And everyone buys a college sweat shirt to show people what drove them to the poorhouse.
So how do you make ends meet? Simply follow some of these handy tips from a veteran of the college battlefields, and you might even have enough money to come back in the spring.
The first order of business is food. No, Cheetos and Mountain Dew aren't food. I mean carbohydrates, sugars, proteins and stuff.
If you live in a dorm, the key is not missing a meal. A dinner skipped is one you'll make up with a mystery dog and Big Gulp at 7-Eleven.
For those off campus, supermarkets offer the ``special'' meat corner. This section, a bonanza for bargain hunters, is a sea of multicolored meat with new, improved prices.
It might take a few tries before you can figure out just what shades of gray mean ``beware!'' but after a few visits your instincts should kick in. (You might want to check your health insurance policy just in case.)
One staple of the college diet is Oodles of Noodles. These marvelous, economical packets offer starving students a hot meal at a reasonable price. You'll have to look elsewhere for nutrition, though. Each "Oodle" has enough sodium to fill every salt shaker in your house.
Fast-food restaurants offer value meals to help balance your budget. Don't let the savings stop there. If a restaurant has free refills, you can eat lunch, stall a few hours and then order dinner and fill 'er up again, no charge.
When you're scouring sidewalks for money to pay the parking meter, you won't think these ideas are so crazy.
Buying school supplies doesn't have to break your spirit. Instead of actually buying pens, stalk downtown shops and pick up the stray Bics that litter their counter tops. For notebook paper, some begging solves the problem. Once a week, ask a different desk neighbor if you could borrow a sheet or two. Most people are so friendly they'll hand over a small stack. Do this once every two weeks and you'll never have to buy paper.
Look for the bargain bins, where the outdated notebooks wind up. You might feel silly strolling around campus with an "Alf" three-ring binder, but you'll save money and bring the furry puppet back in style.
Textbooks are trickier. Some classes assign books that you'll never need, unless one of your chair legs is shorter than the others. Never buy a book simply because it's on the syllabus, unless the professor wrote it. Than ask him or her to autograph your copy. Never skimp on kissing up.
Some students prefer "new" textbooks because the used ones already have been marked. Sure, the previous owner could have only highlighted sentences with the word "therefore" in them. But if you fail a test, you can always blame your textbook.
You can even save a few pennies with your toiletries. Don't give up when you can't squeeze any more from your toothpaste tube. Squeezing often isn't enough; you have to massage it. Work from the bottom and edge upwards millimeter by millimeter - that's a smidgen for those who don't know metrics - until you reach the opening of the tube.
But it's not empty yet. If you cut the tube, you can eke out a few more brushfulls of tasty tooth care.
Entertainment on a tight budget is easier than you think. Radford and Blacksburg have discount movie theaters, if you don't mind waiting six months for "Mighty Ducks Lay an Egg" to come to town.
Sometimes a comedy club is the solution to a stress-filled week. But why spend money to watch some professional buffoon talk about wacky hemorrhoid ads? Every dorm or apartment complex has its own clowns. Encouraging them doesn't cost a thing, and they're usually so starved for attention they'll do anything to keep you entertained.
Staying in fashion with a tight budget used to be a challenge. But with today's grunge fad, hand-me-downs and ripped jeans are not only fashionable, they're essential for that "homeless" look that's all the rage.
These tips might mean the difference between having the best years of your life or dooming your future with unwanted student loans.
Just remember, there are certain things in life you should never pay full price for - such as cars, stereo equipment ... and chopped meat.
Christian Toto graduated from Radford University in May. He is learning to live on a budget while hunting for a job.
by CNB