Do you know if your high school graduate is ready for college? Are you going to college? Are you ready for what it's going to take to live a life on your own out there? Well, we're going to get into it with a couple of current college students and a new high school graduate about what their plans are for living life in college. For one, we're going back to college and we're talking about the finances and budgeting of the college experience, how that has changed since I was there. We're not going to talk about time so long ago, how that is now, and how uh people work with that. Today, joining us, we have Carly and Sydney, who are Hapo interns uh here spending their summer with us before they head back to university. And Jaslyn, who is a Hapo scholarship winner on her way to university. Ladies, welcome to the podcast. Tell us about yourself and uh what you're studying, what year you're gonna be, what university you're attending.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, thanks for having us. We're all really excited. But yeah, my name's Carly. I go to Oregon State, Go Beeves, and I'm studying finance and marketing.
SPEAKER_04I am Sydney, and I am going to the University of Idaho. I'm gonna be a senior, and I am studying public relations and psychology with a minor in communications.
SPEAKER_02Hello, I'm Jaslyn. I'm an incoming husky, and I will be attending the University of Washington this fall, Seattle campus, and I will be studying business and marketing and leadership.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So uh there's a lot of things. When I went to school, it was computer science. We didn't have all these extra things that were going on. Apparently, universities have uh started adding more. That's a little bit of a joke. Uh, I actually was computer science software engineering with an emphasis in design. So if I really want to get technical on those things, and now I sit behind a microphone. Um I also do computer science-y stuff here and there. Um, Jaslin. So let's start with you. You're going to be going over to the Seattle campus, beautiful campus from what I hear. Yeah. Uh I visited it once or twice as I was a Washington State University cougar, uh, mostly for just away games. Um, but I had a number of friends that went there. Uh, gorgeous campus, great, uh, great university. Um what are your expectations when you get there? Are you going to be living on campus in in dorms, campus housing? Um, how are you expecting your first year to go as somebody who hasn't been there yet?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So for the University of Washington, I know a lot of schools near here. You don't specifically have to live on campus, but however, I chose to live on campus. I feel like when I'm going to college, I'm really looking for that campus life. So I got onto North Campus, which is right in the middle of everything. Um, yeah, I got a really nice dorm, fortunately. I have my dorm, I have a roommate.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And um, you know, I'm just excited to be up there, but I don't know what to expect, actually. As the first person in my family to go to college, I'm really going into everything with this open mind and just, you know, trying to find advice wherever I can.
SPEAKER_00Fantastic. Uh, question for our existing Did you guys, when you uh were freshmen, uh live on campus and have roommates?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I lived in the dorms too, and I loved the dorms. They were totally worth it for me. It is, they come with a heavy price tag. But it was so much fun, and I met my best friends now, and it was totally worth it. But yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I also lived on campus my freshman year. It was quite an experience. I lived with someone that I didn't know, so it was a completely random assignment, which honestly was a huge blessing. But I really enjoyed being in the campus life because you know, you're going to class and then you're walking home and you're just, you know, you're really involved. You don't have to drive. I barely drove my freshman year.
SPEAKER_05Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Every two was right there. So it really forces you. Like, if I want to do anything, like I'm walking on campus, I'm hanging out with my neighbors, you know, it helps you get involved a lot, I think.
SPEAKER_00So I was the same. I lived in uh the Stevenson complex my freshman year. I knew who my roommate was going to be, uh, a guy that I had an English class in high school with. Uh, we we got along pretty well, but we weren't best of friends by any means, and honestly turned into a uh a lifelong friendship. And most of the people that I met in the dorms uh on campus are still people that I keep in touch with today, 20 plus years later. So those relationships that you can forge on campus in those housing situations absolutely are are going to impact the way that your college life goes. There's also a number of people that I met in the dorms that I have never spoken to again, but that's just life in general, I think.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Also the walking campus aspect, if you're on campus right in the middle of it, um, yeah, I feel like that is a a part of the college experience, especially in Pullman, where everything is uphill.
SPEAKER_05Uh oh yeah, the cougar calves.
SPEAKER_00So, do you know where your classes are going to be in relationship to your dorm?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so actually I am a direct admin to Foster and where um my campus is located. It's really close to Foster's, so I'm fortunate to have that. But I'm actually really glad to hear all of you say that you didn't drive much because for the first few years I was thinking of not taking up a car, especially just how Seattle is. You can kind of walk everywhere, and with all the public transport transit available to us, um, one of the perks of being a Husky is you get this Husky card. So um you do pay for it, but basically it's like unlimited swipes for trans transit. So I'm really like gonna try to use that and just walk everywhere because I don't plan on taking a car my first few years.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think that's a really good idea because I brought my car up and it's just another expense, honestly, between gas and parking. At least where I go to school, parking is a mess, and it's the house is expensive and the tickets the tickets are expensive, I don't know. But yeah, I feel like not bringing a car. There's gonna be a lot of people that also don't have a car, and who knows? You may meet a friend with a car, and if you need it, they'll be willing to take you somewhere. So yeah.
SPEAKER_04Just another way to meet people too.
SPEAKER_00To get closer on those car rides than I did have a car uh while I was on campus, and especially when I was living off campus. Um, yeah, the parking passes are are no joke. Uh, and then understanding where you can get away with parking.
SPEAKER_04Uh yeah, seriously. Our parking tenant people are on it. They're always in those lots. I have like in the winter covered my windshield with snow. So, like when they drive by, they don't see that I'm in those lots. I have sprinted to my car, I see them checking, and I'm like, they are on it. Like, they do check over there, so they're ready to get those tickets out.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Parking services, so many parking lots. Um, yeah, how many of you are out here in these and they're in those little motorized things that are like little golf carts, and you're seeing them and you're like, I know they're coming for me. Yeah, they know, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Next question Do you know about the size of your classes? I know as a as a freshman at WSU, I had a number of courses that had anywhere from 150 to 300 students in the lectures.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so actually coming from a really small town, my school max 400 people about. Yeah. So the transition to the big classes, I mean, I've just heard the stories of you know your general electives from econ to math, how big those classes are. It's especially daunting to come from somewhere so small and going somewhere so big, where it's like you walk in and you see all these faces looking at you. So I for sure know about the sizes, but I don't know if how I'll handle it.
SPEAKER_00How about you two ladies? When you when you first went, were you prepared for uh how the class sizes differed?
SPEAKER_03I honestly wasn't expecting how many kids were gonna be in my prerecht classes because like you said, econ, I mean all business majors need to take that. And so there was upwards of 400 kids in my class, and that's just not something I was used to. But it definitely was difficult, I think, to create relationships with the professors because of that. But going to office hours really helped me and it allowed me to meet some of my professors and stuff, and also kids who didn't really care about the class, and it's like we're in office hours together, you start talking and you become friends, it's just another networking strategy. So yeah, but you get used to it for sure, and yeah, you get used to it, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I kind of have a different experience with class sizes. So doing running start in high school, I went right into college in my technically my junior year, so I was right into those main courses. So, like I've had classes with eight people in it, and that's a different struggle because a lot of those people already knew each other, and then I'm coming in as this random freshman in their classes who they've never seen, and it's harder to make those connections. Um, but also you build that relationship with the professor. So I have more of a college experience from small classes ranging from like 15 to 20, and then as few as like seven or eight people.
SPEAKER_00Gonna say that is absolutely the situation with college experiences. They're all going to be a little bit different. I had a couple of those classes that were, you know, 300 people. I had a couple that were 10 to 15 students.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, and some of those are interesting. It it's easy to kind of cruise through a a large lecture hall and just sit there and absorb what you need to, take the notes as you're listening. Uh, but in a small classroom of of 10, 15 people, you can't hide.
SPEAKER_05No. No.
SPEAKER_00Uh, you will be involved in the class, which for a lot of people is fantastic. For other people, maybe not so much. I didn't have a big problem with that shocker. Uh have you uh looked at the um the dining situation for your campus? Are you doing a dining plan? Are you uh expecting to wander around and find uh niche local restaurants? Uh where what what's your expectation there?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure. So for um specific UW, I know for the housing, you have to have a meal plan. So I am on a meal plan. However, there's a lot of ranges from whether you're choosing to eat more off-campus or you're choosing the on-campus food to be your main source. Okay. Um for me, I want to really do a lot of cooking. So um for we're fortunate enough to have kitchens on our housing. So I really want to go grocery shopping and cook, so I'm not stuck eating raw noodles all the time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but so with your housing situation, having a kitchen fantastic. Do you actually have a refrigerator? Because I know when I was in the dorms, we had to bring our own mini fridges, and I could not fit groceries into that thing uh outside of uh the stuff I needed to make ramen um or mac and cheese.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so we are required to bring our own mini fridges, or you can rent them. But I'm planning on bringing my own mini fridge and microwave. And also we're fortunate enough that on our campus we can actually have air fryers, which I know is a big no for a lot of campuses, but I'm really excited about that.
SPEAKER_00Okay. That was gonna be my next one because I lived my entire dorm life with a single hot pot uh that I was able to to cook soups and and ramen and other things in. Otherwise, it was it was the uh the the campus dining halls uh for me. How much how much did that change uh between the other two universities here, Oregon State, University of Idaho?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, my freshman year, you had to have a dining plan. And I was living luxury, I'm telling you. I was eating good. I had a good dining plan, I loved it, and I found the places I like to eat on campus and it kind of worked for me. And then it honestly was hard because when I went from freshman to sophomore year and lived on my own, I had to learn how to cook for myself and shop and budget out my week of what I was needing to spend on groceries and stuff, and that definitely took time. I feel like I've gotten better at cooking, but it was an adjustment for me.
SPEAKER_00Was this a a a new foray into the kitchen? Like you'd never really cooked for yourself before?
SPEAKER_03Never. I come from a household where it's grab and go type meals, so my parents don't cook a ton, we're all kind of on the go. We're like the microwave's used a lot in my house, so yeah, but it it honestly was really fun for me to learn how to cook these last two years. I feel like I'm just getting better. All right, there's room for improvement for always getting better, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Sydney, what about you?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, my freshman year, we were also required to buy a dining plan. So I had to purchase one. And if you guys aren't familiar with U of I, it is a smaller campus, so we have one dining hall. Um, whereas like WSU has maybe three or four now, it's a lot larger, one kind of on each side of campus. Yeah, we just have one, so it's kind of you get what you get. And so that was definitely an experience, but made me more grateful when it was like, oh, I can now budget the food that I actually want to eat rather than paying what felt like an astronomical amount to eat, you know, a salad every day and pizza with tomato sauce and cheddar cheese on it. Like, okay, you know, but high quality food options. Yes, yeah, they do their best, but I think there's there's definitely a blessing with being able to pick what you eat on your own.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00All right. So what other expenses have you budgeted for or thought about that we haven't covered already?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, for sure. I think one of the big ones is specifically dorm. If you're living in the dorms, like all the things you need for your dorms. Okay, do provide the bed. You need, I mean, you need mattress toppers, you need sheets, you need the mini fridge, you need so many things. So for sure, one thing I've been budgeting is being aware of how much I'm spending on these things, especially when it comes to like TikTok and stuff. You see all these cool things that people have, and of course you want it to. But one big big thing I've done is I've looked into getting things secondhand. So I've actually got a lot of my things for my dorm off Facebook Marketplace. Okay. And it's just helped me save a little bit and be able to save that money and maybe spend it on somewhere else where I would want to spend on something more on quality.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So so setup fees, which should be mostly one time. Yeah. Um, unless you have uh a tendency to break stuff, in which case replacement fees are a whole nother thing. Uh, what about daily expenses? Are you expecting?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like transit. I mean, like going out to eat if you ever plan to go out to eat, and I mean seven dollar coffees. You know, if you need your coffee, I know those can rack up pretty fast. Oh my gosh. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay. What daily expenses is she missing?
SPEAKER_03Honestly, I feel like for me, one of my big expenses that I I didn't really plan for or see coming was the sorority situation. Inter Greek life is pretty expensive, at least on my campus, pretty much any big school is gonna be an investment for sure. And I guess I didn't realize how much you have to plan for that just because there's things that come up and you have to be ready to pay for that too. And then also just I'm a big advocate for getting involved on campus. So I play a lot of I am sports, clubs. I'm not afraid to spend money on those types of things because really it is a network networking opportunity at the end of the day, and the more people you can meet the better. So I wish that I would have known that more at the start, like not being afraid to drop money on stuff like that and planning to drop money on stuff like that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was honestly thinking something similar is college life, you'll learn it's super spontaneous. I used to be a big planner, not so much anymore. You know, it's 10 p.m. Your friends want to go get ice cream. You're not gonna say no. That's honestly one of my biggest things, just say yes to everything. I mean, within reason, like let's be wise, but we're gonna go buy new cars.
SPEAKER_00No, I didn't I didn't budget for that.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but I would go, you know, if they want to go on a little day trip and go on a hike, like, yeah, the gas is gonna cost money and you might need food on the way, say yes. It's okay. Um, I think there's also the small expenses outside of tuition specifically that I wasn't entirely expecting. I have certain web fees for online classes and then your textbook fees, and then um, yeah, just kind of those random things. I had to go get my oil changed and my car battery died. These are just small things. Yeah, not on the daily, but they weren't super expected. And because I wasn't anticipating them, it definitely made me kind of fall into this state of almost panic a little bit because I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't have the money. It'll be okay. But kind of planning for those unexpected expenses.
SPEAKER_00That's fair. I was gonna say daily life, uh, it's very easy when you can when you can swipe a card and you know that you've got a a solid bank account that you can do, but uh how much have you expected as far as uh like tuitions, one big price, room and board, just one big price? You're not you know meeting it out over months here and there until you decide to move off campus, have an apartment when you need to pay monthly rent. Uh how much uh have you looked at as far as like the overall cost over time? And have you actually looked at doing a a a budget for yourself for like each week, each month, however you want to look at that for your daily costs?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I'm I haven't been someone who's like been big on like budget planning. I know I will have to, but um, as someone who's like financially dependent, lucky enough to be financially dependent on their parents for so long, this is the really first time I've had to think about it. And it could be pretty scary thinking about it, but I for sure thinking going in with a plan is a big thing, like having you know a savings for emergencies, having savings to do fun things, you know, just your everyday, I think is a big part. Um what was the rest of the question?
SPEAKER_00Have you actually taken a look at at how you're going to make that work over the course of a whole year? I know uh when I was in school, there was always one or two people who were just like, nope, I can't do that because it's the end of the month and I'm out of my budget for this month, but next week I could. And then there were other people who didn't pay any attention to that and come the last two months of school, they were begging people to like, oh, can can you get an extra grilled cheese sandwich so I can have lunch today? My my food plan's empty. So, like a couple of different ways that I've seen people go about it in my personal experience of just like how much flex room you've got, how much planning you're doing, and how I don't know, just kind of aware people can be or absolutely not be about their budget.
SPEAKER_02I for sure thinking think making smart choices and prioritizing. Like I don't want to deprive myself and say, oh, I can't go with you to get ice cream, like you said, I can't go with you to get ice cream this week because that's not in my budget. But I would also don't want to be in a situation where I spend all my money and then like you said at the end of the week, I don't have enough to eat. So for sure, I think planning out just enough where you have lenience to be able to do fun things, but not being so harsh on myself where I'm not allowing myself to do these other things that are unexpected.
SPEAKER_00Do you plan to work?
SPEAKER_02For sure. I think one of the big things is I do want to work a part-time job either on campus or really close to campus. But for me, my academics do come first. So I think just I want to go into school and once I'm kind of settled in the first week, kind of get to know the ropes. I want to look into getting something to you know, have that extra cash on hand where I can go do those fun things.
SPEAKER_00Did you guys work when you were uh when you were in university?
SPEAKER_03Yes, we both do.
SPEAKER_00It's like obviously you're working now.
SPEAKER_03Yes, yeah, yeah. What did you do? Um I work at a coffee shop on campus, which is really fun. And again, it's been great because I've got to meet a lot of new people and we've actually become friends. And also it fuels the the caffeine addiction too. There you go. And so I don't have to worry about that in my budget. But yeah, and then I actually did this last year, I got a second job doing taxes, so it's definitely busy, but we were talking about this actually. It kind of is just one of those things where it kind of depends on the individual and their situation. And the different majors can be very jarring and you don't have time in your schedule, so it kind of just depends on what you have going on. I feel like I have time to balance the two jobs and still really make sure that academics are first. I try to have academics first, extracurricular second, and then the job at the third, just because you know we're in college for a reason. I have the whole rest of my life to work. But yeah, that's just my advice. It kind of just depends on the individual.
SPEAKER_04But yeah, yeah, no, that's super true. I did not work my freshman year. I said I wouldn't work the first semester, and then the first semester turned into both of them. So I think time flies by. So I did get a job first thing, though, my second year. Um, I work for our career services department doing event planning. So the big career fairs and those type of events. Help. It's very employer-facing and student-facing. So I really enjoy it. I work for the university, which I would honestly highly recommend because they're very flexible. University jobs go with university hours. So you get every break guaranteed. Um, because it is through the university, they do prioritize your academics. So I can literally message my manager and be like, hey, I have finals this week. I'm studying a lot. And she's like, that's first. I mean, maybe not every job is like that on campus. That's been my experience.
SPEAKER_00Is that going to be my next question is how flexible are your employers knowing that your academics are top priority? Yeah. With a university job, I would certainly hope that they have at least some understanding that, yeah, we've hired students, yeah, um, and they're doing this. With with yours, how how uh flexible have uh have your employers been with uh I've got a big test coming up? Can I switch uh switch shifts with somebody?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, my manager is great. She understands, she's really flexible. And honestly, since we like I said, we've all kind of become friends, though there will be people that will pick up the slack for you and be like, I can't make it in today have a test tomorrow. And they're like, I got you if you got me for my tech test next week. Yeah, so it kind of works out. But definitely I totally agree with you. Getting a job on campus is really, I think, the way to go because my friends that work at coffee shops not on campus, they it's just hard because over Christmas break, there are coffee shops like, no, you can't take the time off. We need someone here working, and that's just really hard.
SPEAKER_00But it's a that's an interesting level of commitment that comes with uh a non-work study type of a position. Uh, I knew a bunch of people who were very excited about getting jobs in computer labs on campus, doing work study running computer labs because they got the opportunity to, you know, deal with checking people in and out of the computer labs, but during that they were able to do their studying, uh, do some of their homework while they're pretty much monitoring some other things. Granted, coffee shop, maybe you've got a little bit of downtime to do some of that, but uh, the odds are that it's going to be busier than a different opportunity. Uh, I did not work uh for my time uh until my senior year when I picked up a job working as a line cook at Cougar Country.
SPEAKER_05Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I worked the I worked the fryer there. So uh not only was I learning how to cook, um I actually had had a decent ramp up of of cooking well before that, but it was also off campus, and it was one of those things I was lucky enough to, when I hired on, tell them that uh I would not work during home football games.
SPEAKER_05There you go.
SPEAKER_00Uh and so I got that, I got that out there. I had uh one shift before a football game. Um and uh I got off just in time, drove back to my apartment, parked the car, and and ran uh down the hill, up the hill, down the next hill, up the next hill. And as I was walking across the uh behind the stands of the stadium, I think we were within the first minute and a half of the game. The Koog scored and I missed it.
SPEAKER_05Oh man.
SPEAKER_00Didn't miss any other any other time of a home football game that year. But that one, I was like, I was so close to being there there in time to see the whole thing. Either way, they were actually still really flexible with the fact that I was like, I don't want to work during a home football game. I'll work before it, but not during it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, they can be very, very, very uh understanding, especially because they know they're in a college town. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, finding finding an employer who understands that and allows you to get the hours that you need to make the money to help pay for you know seven dollar coffees or get them as a perk.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00I had a lot of uh of of Cougar Super Burgers uh for free. Uh because again, perk of the job. Now, let's shift a little bit here. This has kind of all been expectations or or how life actually is. Uh what are some of the uh purchases that that you've made that uh you look back on now and you're like, wow, that was that was silly. Uh or maybe not the not the brightest uh purchase that you've made.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think I've had a lot of those moments. I'm thinking a lot, but I feel like this summer I've been better, but I was actually just telling Sydney about this. But I feel like in summers past I come home from school and I come home from living very tight and on a budget, and then I get home and I don't have my tuition bill to pay, and I'm working all day, and I am like, wow, look at this, my account, it's it's thriving. And I'm like, man, maybe I do deserve that coffee out or a little shopping spree at the mall, or I'm bored because I'm at home and not at school, and I want to go out to dinner with my friends, and it just all kind of adds up.
SPEAKER_00Future Carly, the next year at school is like, man, my budget's a little tight. Why did I do that?
SPEAKER_03It's like an extended vacation. And it just I wish that I would have really looked at that money in my account and just been like saving, saving, savings because I'm gonna have a long year ahead. And by the time it hits May, I don't want to be freaking out because I I'm dry. So yeah.
SPEAKER_00That was that was kind of my my time as well. I would work during the summers between uh between years, and what I made was what I lived off of when I was in Pullman. I was also very lucky. My parents paid for my tuition and my housing uh when I went through school. They did that for all of my siblings as well. Uh, they planned ahead, which parents out there, if you're capable, um, your children will love you if you do that. Um but the money that I made working over the summer got put into my bank account, and that was what I had to play with uh throughout the year for things like seven dollar coffees, which if we were paying seven dollar coffees back then, that was a really good coffee. Uh how about you?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so I relate a lot to what Carly said. So I'm gonna flip that question a little and share my things that I did to attempt to save money. Okay.
SPEAKER_00Ended up being we can jump ahead to that question.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. These are these are but ended up costing me more money. So in a way, uh not a very wise choice. Um, so this is going into my second year of college. So I mean, I should be a little experienced by now. Oh, yeah, no. So I'm now going into, you know, apartment rent and you have all the utilities. We're told, you know, you need to call um a company and set up your electric bill so you can get electricity to your unit.
SPEAKER_00Well adulting's fun.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah, for sure. So my roommate and I would drive to the apartment in the summer and we're like, we have electricity. Like, this is awesome. Like, I haven't called. I don't know why I have electricity, but I guess I just have it. I don't know. And we weren't living there yet because it's summer. And so I'm like, I'm just gonna wait to call. And so now we're in the beginning of the school year and our electricity is still working. And I keep seeing these random fees, you know, on my rent bill. I'm like, I don't know what these are. And so I message my landlord and I'm like, hey, I don't know what these fees are that I'm getting. And she's like, yeah, we've been having to charge you for your electricity. And now there's a service fee. So not only was I paying for electricity, but I was also getting charged for them to charge me for electricity. And so yeah, I had to spend a lot more money than I would have if I would have just called. But in my mind, I was like, I'm not living there. Yeah, so I'm not really using electricity, and it's so I don't yeah. So I paid for it all and more. So not the wisest choice. Call the company, set up your electricity. They know.
SPEAKER_00Have you had any any purchases yet? Uh as you're preparing for college that you're like, eh, I probably could have done better on that one.
SPEAKER_02I'm not sure actually. Thinking about it. I just think when it comes to like clothes and stuff, like, you know, you see all the latest trends, you're like, oh, I want that, but sometimes, you know, it's not the necessity that you need.
SPEAKER_03Always. That's funny that you mentioned that because we talked about that too. Like, I feel like I had really bad overconsumption problems going in just because you're seeing, like you said earlier, the TikToks and everything of you need this, you need that. And then also you're going to a new place and you're worried about your image, and you're just like, I need to go drop all this money on a whole new wardrobe because I want to you know, make a good impression, but at the end of the day, I don't really think that matters. And I wish I would have known that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You're gonna find people, they're gonna, they're gonna understand who you are as a person and and look past most of that. Uh like looking good is never a bad thing, but uh at at what cost.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's one. I know I've shared my uh frivolous purchase uh on the podcast before, um, but it was also my first credit card purchase. Uh I opened up a credit card for you know emergencies and then immediately went and bought a new video card for my computer, a computer science major, so I knew what I was doing. I did not know what I was doing. It was fine. Uh that that video card ended up costing me a whole heck of a lot more in interest charges in the long run because I did not have the money set aside for the thing that I wanted, but I saw it. It was really cool, and I it was really cool. It made my computer really great. Uh, but it did cost me way more than it should have. And that was one of those things I was like, okay, for first failed credit card purchase and and really silly purchase in and of itself, totally not needed. Uh, but it was cool. Uh how about um an expense that you've had that was um surprising? Uh like electricity, maybe. What a thought.
SPEAKER_03Uh I've gotten so I've gotten in so much trouble with the parking when I tell you guys it has been so bad. Like I remember my first week of school, you're all confused and you don't really know the rules yet. And I was parking wherever I could, and I left my car for three days in a parking spot, didn't go and grab it. I walk out there, I got three tickets on it, and I call my mom and pure disbelief, upset. I'm like, oh, I want to go home. This sucks. Yeah, that was really hard, but you figure it out. But that was definitely one of those things you don't expect.
SPEAKER_01But yeah, leave the car behind, you don't have to deal with it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01See, that's a smart choice right there, right out of the gate.
SPEAKER_03And then my car got towed this fall because of a football game. Because we never have Friday night football games, but this time we did. And so there was apparently signs up everywhere, and I'm not that I wasn't reading. Um they towed my car, and that was 300 bucks down the drain. It was really sad, and I'm still not over it months later. But that's just a perfect example. Like having an emergency fund is really important, I think.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, for sure. Kind of back to what I said earlier. I would go and I would study in my car all the time because um my roommate spent a lot of time in our room, and I like to have study time just by myself so I can really concentrate. So I would go study in my car, but it was freezing, so I'd turn my car on, and then I didn't want to lose all my gas, so I'd turn my car off. Well, what I didn't know is that I have one of those little car play screens in my car, and that wasn't turning off because I wasn't opening my door. So after studying, I went to like, you know, sit for a sec, turn on my car, battery dead. I killed my because I did it so many times. Battery's dead, and now, you know, I have to get friends to come jump my car, and then I have to take it to get and the whole battery needed to be replaced, which I'm sure wasn't entirely caused by me, but that's a very expensive fee. Because of course I have expense the expensive battery in my car. Like that's my car needs that for some reason. I wasn't super surprised because of course that happened. But that was definitely kind of a surprising, unexpected thing. Um, on top of, you know, the two they say tuition is this much, and then you have like, and fees, and you're like, what are all these fees that I'm paying for? So regularly. Yeah, on the school side of things, that was surprising because there's a lot of added, you know, fifty dollars here, seventy-five dollars here. You're like, what am I buying? Student health fee. Yeah, I know. Yeah, okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you need to go to the hospital on campus.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Which honestly speaking, I think I'd went there two, maybe three times in the entire time I was at WSU. Paid the fee every semester, but uh very rarely actually took advantage of that one.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. Know what you're paying for and use those resources.
SPEAKER_00How about a purchase that you guys made that was uh actually fantastic? A thing that you weren't expecting to be amazing, but was. I have mine and it's silly, but I want to hear yours first.
SPEAKER_03You know, I'm gonna go back to being involved and spending the money on being in clubs and the sorority thing, like I said, it's it really is super expensive, but it it really to me is an investment for your future and for the opportunity to like make those connections and meet people. Um yeah, that would be what I would say was the best thing. I think that's the best money I've spent all of college. So there you go. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I would say for me, the best purchase I made was on a Mac, a laptop. So I my old one, I used to have a PC and it like completely shattered. And so I needed to buy a new laptop, which you can find more inexpensive laptops that serve the same purpose. Like I can take notes on it, but um the laptop I bought was expensive, but I was able to do go to a student store. WCU actually has an Apple store. I went there and was able to use a student ID card of a friend and which discounted it. So very wise as well. They gave me free AirPod Pros. Okay, I was like, man, this is a good purchase. Yeah, but that laptop has been amazing. I've loved having it. I'm not super tech savvy, so I was like, a Mac, okay. But yeah, that was definitely, I think, the best money I've spent because I use all the time.
SPEAKER_00Uh mine, uh this is about as silly of a purchase as I can make, but it is still one of the things that I remember from being at WSU. Uh, I purchased uh a 60-inch inflatable soccer ball.
SPEAKER_05Oh, absolutely. It was a yoga ball.
SPEAKER_00I told you it was silly. It's a yoga ball and and it's this massive thing, and it's got a a soccer ball casing around it. And it was one of the uh most coveted seats around the table in our apartment. Uh, it was used in so many different activities. And if I ask anybody uh what they remember about apartment life uh growing up or or being in the group of people that I hung out with, they're gonna probably go to two things. One, we decorated our entire apartment in Washwell Crayon. Oh yeah, uh budget friendly to a point. You can't leave it up there for two, three years. It will stain the paint. Uh so we did have to repaint the place, but we didn't have to pay for posters or pictures or other things. We drew our own, which requires a little bit of skill. Not a lot because the worst pictures were some of the better ones. Um and then the other one would be that soccer ball. It was always somebody sitting around the coffee table on the soccer ball. It was everywhere. Uh, people were running into each other with it. It was fun, it was dangerous, but it was also very fun, and people remember that one. But again, I wasn't expecting that to be a phenomenal memory-building type of purchase. I thought it was funny because it was a soccer ball.
unknownThat is funny.
SPEAKER_03It sounds like your apartment was very college core.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_03With the hot, hot ramen and the brands.
SPEAKER_00That one we we didn't take to the apartments. We didn't need that there anymore. That was dorm, that was dorm cooking. Um, but uh I moved out to uh Campus Commons North uh on on WSU with a couple of friends that I met in the dorms, uh, as well as my freshman year roommate, um, who again, he and I are now really good friends. Uh, and we didn't really know each other that well in high school. Relationships formed. Uh I still hang out with these guys on a regular basis. We had season football tickets together for, you know, in fact, I still have mine, and one of those guys is still sitting with me for all of those.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00Um, so yeah, the the relationships formed. Uh the apartment was absolutely college core, uh, 100%. Uh we actually told them to leave uh all of the previous stuff in there. They were like, well, we could charge this much and and swap out the the the carpets. And we're like, nope, leave them. We're gonna be here for two years. Just don't charge us for it when we move out. And they they kept they kept their end of the bargain on that one. They did not charge us for replacing the carpets when we moved out.
SPEAKER_05No, it's a steal. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Worked for us. Uh any last thoughts uh for our uh incoming uh college freshmen?
SPEAKER_03I think just be a yes woman. I mean, you're in college. Well, you're gonna be in college for two years, and you want to take advantage of the time and meet as many people as you can and experience as much as you can, because it's such a time of growth and you learn so much about yourself the day that you get dropped off. And yeah, just soak it all up. I wish I soaked it up a little bit more because I can't believe I'm gonna be a senior. It's just so sad. I'm getting sad talking about it. Like I love college so much, and I'm a huge advocate for it. So you're gonna have a good time and I'm excited for you. Oh, thank you.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, my advice would be the same. It's easy to get really worried with the saving money and planning and budgeting and just worrying about a lot of stuff. Just have fun. It's okay. Just spend the money on the things. Um yeah, just make the memories. College is so much better than I ever could have imagined. The first day I got dropped, I dropped off. I was like, oh my gosh, what am I doing? This is a mistake. Within a week, I was like, this is the best decision I ever made. Um, yeah, just say yes to any opportunity because you will not regret it. So yeah, we're excited for you. Thank you guys.
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, I'm assuming that's kind of also the advice that you would have given yourselves as you were entering college here.
SPEAKER_04Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You'll make friends, you will have experiences, it will be fantastic, I'm sure, except for the fact that you're going to that university across the state.
SPEAKER_01Might be my rivals.
SPEAKER_00Uh best of luck, and to you ladies, as well. Thank you. Everybody else out there listening, this has been Dollars and Cents, Happa Community Credit Union's financial literacy podcast. Till next time.