Comments on: I Threw Away Over $250 Last Quarter

By: J. Money

J. Money — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:29:29 +0000

I’m with you on that one Sarah — whatever helps us save is GOOD! Rock it out, girl.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:31:11 +0000

Haha all you economists. Yes, I realize that tuition is a sunk cost. I also realize that mental accounting is not an accurate way to budget.

However, both concepts affect our (well apparently just my) psyche and how we perceive how urgent it is for us to save. So instead of working on thinking about them in terms of proper economic theory, why not just harness the power of the psychological effects of it for good? :)

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:43:36 +0000

I would not at all want to discourage a student from attending class…
BUT
That $30 is a sunk cost! It really shouldn’t be included in your decision-making. What matters is the marginal benefit you get from attending class. And that marginal benefit would be enormous even if you were on a full scholarship.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:09:29 +0000

Thanks again Sarah!! And for responding back to everyone – you’re awesome :) Smart too – I agree w/ everyone who said the nightstand money was a good idea. I might do it myself for other things!

@retirebyforty — You are so RIGHT on that. If I had to go back and do it over I’d SO network more and eek as much out of it as I can. All I had to do was wake up at 10 instead of 12 every day and I’d be fine! haha… I wouldn’t have changed the partying though – you need that to reward yourself ;)

By: Olivia

Olivia — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:27:30 +0000

I’m very grateful that my parents are paying for my college education so, similar to Sarah, I feel as though I would be doing them a disservice to not attend my classes. That, and the fact that my mom took the liberty of making the same calculation for my brother and I based on the tuition at our respective colleges. :)

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:33:27 +0000

Thanks for all your thoughts, guys!
@Kevin, I somewhat agree, except that 99% of the population can’t do that. There’s always something to take from the professor or class discussions that contribute to greater understanding of the material, unless you’re the foremost expert in that field. And coming from an extremely success-driven family (not to be stereotypical, but my parents are stereotypical Asian parents) there’s ALWAYS room for improvement, unless I have an A+ in a class. I’m not really concerned with doing the minimum amount (well, at least for most of my classes haha) to scrape by with a decent GPA. I find my classes interesting; it’s the workload that makes me not want to go.

@Liz, Even though it’s a sunk cost, I (well my parents) still had to pay for it. And if I’m paying $2,100 every three months I want to make sure I am getting the most for my money. I’m trying to spend money consciously, and I can’t do that without learning the value of it. Intrinsically, money doesn’t have any value, except for the utility it can bring me in terms of consumption of goods. But if I buy a new TV for $500 and never use it, does it bring me any utility? Maybe a little just to be able to say that I own it, but utility comes with functionality, right? That’s my take on it, anyways :)

@Brandi, I’m happy to report that this quarter has brought about some changes! Even though I still feel unmotivated to go to class (mostly because I hate having more work piled on me), I’ve still been going to them! Also, I work 4 jobs and am heavily involved in two clubs on campus. Whenever I have free time (strange concept; I used to be familiar with it…), I spend it studying, working or sometimes even enjoying my youth, lol.

@Catherine, glad you found it helpful :)

@Amanda, thanks! :) my hustling pays off haha

@Lily, preach it, sistah!

@Cassie, there’s still ways to apply it to your life! Can you think of anything you’ve had to pay upfront for that you don’t often use? Are you using your gym membership that you pay a monthly fee for? Etc…

@Jenna, haha yup I’ve done that before, too! Rude awakening, but it gets the job done!

@retirebyforty, completely, one hundred percent agree. I was just complaining to my roommate tonight about how I wish school would be more about learning than GPA. For the bulk of my classes, the material is very interesting and I can find applications to my life all over. But all the tests and papers just make me stressed out and therefore resentful of my classes.

@Jennifer, read my response to @Cassie’s comment :)

@Ellen, I loved how you put it-”there is always an opportunity to learn something new….on the days I want to skip, it’s because I’m lazy or not prepared.” That’s exactly how I feel. The workload gets me so stressed out (I mean hey, working 4 jobs and being involved in two clubs does not leave me with very much free time), I feel constantly unprepared or just so over being stressed out, I want to flake out on all my obligations, be it class or work or ministry stuff and just go to the beach and chill. And yes, I am an unfortunate victim of the CalState school system, but I also spend a lot of time outside class researching topics that interest me (psychology, marketing, finance) so at least I kind of compensate for it.

and thanks J for letting me share my story :)

By: Ellen

Ellen — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 23:05:13 +0000

Great job on this post. It’s nice to see someone your age actually concerned about the cost of their education and the impact it will have on your future (as opposed to the growing number of students with ridiculously high student loans). But I’m rather surprised at some of the comments concerning class attendance as a waste of time. Personaly, I never look at it that way, whether I know the material or not. There is always an opportunity to learn something new (whether it will be on a test or not ), or to meet someone who can be useful in the future. And really, what’s the chance of us staying home to make money or do something useful. On the days I want to skip, it’s because I’m lazy or not prepared.

That aside, I think the more important issue here is your classes were cancelled 7 times! This is not money you’re wasting (yes Liz I know it’s a sunk cost) but is being wasted for you by your Profs (not counting the time wasted)! I would be sure to note these cancellations on your semester appraisals. As students, we often forget WE are the customers. In this situation, you are not receiving everything you purchased. We wouldn’t take that from Macy’s or Target and we shouldn’t take it from our colleges and universities either.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:46:11 +0000

I wish I would have thought of this concept when I was in school!

By: retirebyforty

retirebyforty — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:40:56 +0000

Now that I’m older, I wish I would have taken the time to learn more when I was in College. It was all a blur of trying to get good grades in exams. If I can go back, I would take 2-3 classes a quarter at the most and focus on learning and making contacts. :)

By: Jenna

Jenna — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:47:58 +0000

Oh man! I wish I would have thought of that when I was in college! I just put my alarm clock on the other side of my room so I HAD to get up to turn off the annoying sound comes from it’s speakers. Worked pretty well for me.