"It AIn't Cheap."
By: Brandi Hess

October 2017

At about the age of five or six, we all learned about the seasons and each of their characteristics. Winter

is the coldest season, marked by snowy streets, snowmen and women, barren trees, and, of course,

Christmas. Winter is followed by Spring; the season that brings April showers and May flowers all within

the span or three months. Next, is my favorite season: Summer. Long days, hot weather, vacations, and

good vibes are just a few of the reasons why I love this time of the year. Then there’s fall, or autumn,

depending on your preferred vernacular.

In kindergarten, my teacher taught me and my classmates about pumpkins, moderate weather, seasonal

holidays, and the beautiful sceneries filled with nature’s most beautiful hues of green, orange, red, and

brown that distinguish fall from the other three seasons. The one thing she forgot to mention was, in

my best Cardi B. voice, “It ain’t cheap.” The one thing that they forgot to mention was how expensive

this season can be, especially for college students. You need money for football tickets, new clothes,

and, not to mention, the temptations of retail loom through the air during every girl’s most highly

anticipated time of the year, what I like to call a fall sub-season: the Ugg Season. And who wants to miss

out on cider mills, haunted houses, pumpkin patch visits with friends? On top of that you must get ready

for homecoming; getting ready for this event alone is an entire event within itself. You must find the

right outfit, shoes, and accessories, and get your makeup, hair, nails, and feet done.

To overcome the financial hardships that this season can bring, I challenge you to make a conscience

effort to improve your spending this fall. Show your pockets, and ultimately yourself, a little bit of TLC

this year. Trust me, you’re going to be glad after you make this decision. I’m not a financial advisor, but

I do have a few tips that I think will be helpful for you to think about as you become a more conscience

spender.

Tip #1: When you’re out and about, and ready to spend, ask yourself these three questions: Do I need

it? Can I afford it? Is it worth the cost?

Tip #2: Leave all your cards at home, and only go out with a specific amount of money.

This tip will not only help you avoid spending carelessly, but it is also helpful visually because you are

able to see, and feel, how much money you have. Also, when you have a limited amount of money, it

forces you to make the best spending decisions (asking yourself these questions with each transaction

will help you make these decisions).

Tip #3: Open an account that you only make deposits into.

This tip is doable, but it requires a lot of self-control and consistency. Of course, you can spend money

from this account at some point, but the goal is to limit the amount of withdraws from this account, and

in no time, you will have money piled up.

Tip #4: Have a plan.

Whenever you spend money, know exactly what you want to purchase, the price, and set a personal

deadline for when you want to have the money. This is helpful because you won’t have to deal with the

emotional and financial stress of unexpected expenses.

Once again, I challenge you to be gentle with your pockets this fall, and make a conscience effort to

improve your spending habits. I hope these tips help. Happy spending!