Like it or not, eventually we all have to get to grips with the fact that we budgeting is prominent in everyday life. We've all had to make a sacrifice of sorts in our lifetime due to lack of funds, however some take budgeting a tiny bit further than others..
1. Your social life is existent, but planned to a near-obsessive extent
Nights out on the town, lunches in the local restaurant, birthdays, college outings and everything in between - none are spared from the meticulously organised chaos that is 'the budget'. "€2.50 for a pint means I have €3 left to get home which means I have no breakfast tomorrow." - OH THE STRUGGLE.
2. You swear by public transport
"Cheap forms of transport are the only acceptable form of transport". This you whisper to yourself repeatedly as the man beside you raises a sweaty armpit towards your nostril, in turn tainting the last bit of breathable air available. Also allow a cue for multiple crying babies/ some other forms of disgusting bodily excretion.
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3. Food is always a problem
Aldi/ Lidl are your haven, yet you can rarely bring yourself to venture past the 49c bags of pasta. On the unlikely event of having guests visiting for lunch, they will be treated to a luxurious half can of beans and THAT brown slice of bread. They look bemused, but sure you warned them you had nothing in the kitchen?
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4. Your apartment is littered with innovative ideas to help keep costs down
Water-filled vodka bottle door-stops, nightclub posters cover the cracks in the ceiling and furniture is re-arranged strategically to cover any unsightly damp on the walls. "€2.59 for a bottle of damp remover?!" You must be having a laugh.
5. Shopping for essentials is heart-wrenching and tedious
Need new clothes? Broken phone? Getting a haircut? Attending to these problems most be carried out with immense mathematical precision and painstaking time must be spent to find the cheapest offer. A true budgeter will live and breathe Penney's, to such an extent where they have purchased the entire €2.50 t-shirt range. Phones are for the weak, sure they can reach you on Facebook. And as for the haircut, anything over €8 fairly constitutes a DIY job.
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6. Drink is no longer a valued commodity
You've said goodbye to your typical Smirnoffs, Pinot Grigios, and Bulmers', and welcomed into your life the joys of Tesco home-brand spirits and the miracle that is the €4 bottle of wine. Baring a striking resemblance to paint-strippers and aerosol deodorants, you still won't shy away from the allure of saving money. Bonus points go for brands that are direct imitations of their more expensive counterparts.
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7. Finally, EVERYONE must know the fact that you are, indeed, struggling to cope
Yep, tweet about it, post about it, write a tell-all biography, they ALL want to know how you've been managing to survive the trials and tribulations that accompany college living.
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