Friday, July 5, 2013

How to Not Look Broke: Part Two

To recap, we've looked at three tips to help you to not look broke. In addition, there’s extra money saving stuff so that you are closer to not being broke and looking the part. Last three tips under the cut!


4. Wash your clothes regularly.
Yes, it’s time consuming to do laundry. It’s more time consuming to shop for detergent and fabric softener and such. Doesn't matter; do it anyways. Buy laundry detergent that already has fabric softener in it: you don’t have to buy any extra bottles, your clothes will smell nice, and you won’t be spending as much money when as opposed to buying those tiny packets at the Laundromat.

Washing your laundry frequently also prevents your dirty t-shirts from getting dried stains. The earlier you can wash something dirty, the better.  Nothing says “I can’t afford new clothes” like seeing your friend’s chocolate milkshake stain from last summer still on their shirt.

5. Go dark.
If you’re cutting back on using electricity at night, invest in a few candles. If you have friends over, they’ll probably be taken back a bit, but they’ll later appreciate the softer mood lighting to fluorescent light. You’ll just need one huge candle and a few smaller depending on your space.

If you’re worried your pets will knock them over or burn themselves, try flameless candles. There’s some that give off cool lights and others that are designed to look like melted candles.

WARNING: don’t buy a bunch of different scented candles. One or two scented candles (of the same scent) will keep your house/apartment/dorm smelling nice and clean, but don’t give yourself a migraine with 8 different kinds of smells at once.

6. Feed your piggy bank.

Leave your coins at home. Fight the temptation to buy vending machine drinks. A reusable water bottle will keep you hydrated and you don’t have to dig deep for those extra ten cents (and end up asking for someone to spot you or get your money back and leave thirsty). If you think you’ll need to refill it frequently, there are water bottles that have filters built-in, which means no grass-flavored water (score!). 

Trust me, there's many more of us that are trying to keep up appearances than those who don't worry over money. You're working towards a goal while attending an university, so have fun. Just don't forget that you have things to pay for.

By all means, let me know in the comments if you've found this helpful or if you have anything to add. See you next post! 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is a great blog, Patricia. I definitely need to go out and buy some candles, haha.

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