Diary of a DAAP Kid: money in the bank, bank.

money well spent.


So I'm kind of in between jobs right now. A few things here, a few things there, but I'm in school, not a working full time co-op job with full time pay. On top of that, school's expensive. And time consuming. Most college students spend their money right off the bat in the beginning of the quarter purchasing textbooks. Not only do I purchase textbooks for my elective classes (Hellooo "Sustainable Urban Development Reader, 2nd edition") but I also have to purchase art supplies and cover the cost of printing ($12 a linear foot for plots, anyone!?) periodically during the quarter. These costs are less predictable and can easily skyrocket, depending on my project and how many supplies I have to start with. Basically, being a design student in DAAP is expensive!

I'm okay with spending money that I need to, but my supply is dwindling. I've taken a look at the books, and I've really got to be careful about what I'm spending my money on, or get a more consistently paying job (with super flexible hours, that I don't have to spend too much time with... yeah...) I've picked the latter, and am attempting to curtail my weekend spending.

This weekend I gave myself a limit of $20. Seems like no big deal, but it goes quickly!! I basically blew my cash all on Friday night - and that was okay. Let's get the breakdown.

Wine tasting with studio gals at Ludlow Beer and Wine: $5
Cafe de Wheels chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries: $8.50
Crappy overly hoppy beer at Grammar's + tip: $5

so in less than 6 hours, I had spent $18.50 out of $20.00. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing (as was the Final Friday gallery walk with free food and beer that went with it!!!) However, it stifled the rest of my weekend. So Saturday night I stayed in with my roomies and made a delicious meal with ingredients I already had on hand. Free movie, free meal. A pretty great Saturday.



I'm thrifty and tenacious, so I don't imagine I'll have a hard time staying within whatever budget I set for myself. The point is being more thoughtful with my credit cards so that I don't blow through money... so, if I have food at home, I need to eat it and make it, not get take out. Thinking before purchasing. It's a good goal.

Diary of a DAAP Kid: College Life Wednesdays

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/darajan/299724754/)

Hello, readers. Welcome to DAAP Kid Wednesdays - where, every Wednesday, I share with you a little insight on what it is like to be a student in the School of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning... as well as college life in general.

A disclaimer: I don't consider myself an average college student. Don't get me wrong, I like going out to bars and the like as much as the next girl, but it's not an activity that dictates my week (or my weekends.) Sometimes my friends and I will go REALLY crazy and cook up some (regular, non-chemically enhanced) brownies and have a movie night. I also do a lot of outside activities (like this whole blog thing) and run around like a social butterfly on acid. More often than not, my social life intermixes with school life, because us DAAP kids tend to have a lot of work outside class (think projects, not papers.) So, we socialize in studio... which is code for "a gigantic classroom where everyone works at their own desk during and after classes, and is horrifically messy by the end of the quarter"

(photo = jess baker)

There is one thing that ties nearly all college kids together... and that is being poor. My classmates and I are lucky enough to go on co-op (paid internship) every other quarter, but that money gets spent far too quickly on printing, art supplies, and American Apparel clothing (art school kids have to look trendy, you know.)

So what do you do to have fun on the cheap in this here town? Well, you could've gone to the Junior Boys concert last night at Southgate House. Tickets were $15 a piece, and it was a really great concert in a rather intimate setting. Junior Boys is a three man electro-pop band that's not terribly well known (which means it's an attractive band for DAAP kids: electronic and obscure)Not only are their beats fantastic, but the lyrics are throughtful and the vocals are strong (I'm a big lyrics gal)

The drinks are slightly pricey (2.50 PBR, boo) but it was really fun to just jam out to great music. Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of the event. I saw some other DAAP kids there: Dan, Danny, Antonis, Liz and Mark. I of course was accompanied by my former DAAP-kid boyfriend (who loves the Junior Boys and suggested going in the first place)

So, I definitely didn't get any homework done last night, but I saw a great show at a reasonable price and had a great time with my friends. Mission accomplished.


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RecycleD Bin update: Thanks to everyone who has contributed plastic bags! My grandpa finished the set of wooden molds for me, so now I am one heat gun away from starting production. Yay!!