How I Can Change (And Keep Change While I M at It!)

I’m a typical college student- hyper-caffeinated, sleep deprived and, of course, broke. I live on campus so most of my needs are taken care of by the college (thank goodness), however, I do have to occasionally take a trip to the store to grab snacks, clothes and toiletries (and stop for a coffee on the way!). I’ve never been proud of the fact that my go-to store is Walmart. I’ve known for years that they underpay their workers and hurt the environment. However, I justified my choice by telling myself I am a broke college student and I didn’t have any other option. My eyes were opened when I read an article on how to shop consciously on a college budget. If the tagline hadn’t read “Yes. It’s possible” I might not have believed it was true. I did, however, and I was inspired to reevaluate my spending habits and my grocery of choice.

Where My Green Goes Like I said, I live on campus in a dorm so most of my necessities are taken care of by the college (thank you student loans!). I do, however, have to provide my own snacks, toiletries, household items, clothing and most importantly, fun. I did a breakdown of my expenditures in the month of September and this is how it turned out:

Coffee $22.00 Clothes $85.00 Fast Food $54.00 Amazon $100.00 Snacks $17.00 I couldn’t believe how much money I was spending in general! Let alone the amount that went towards “fun purchases” from Amazon. (To be fair, $50 of that was the membership but still.) Clothes were my next biggest expenditure for back to school shopping. It was the coffee purchases that really snuck up on me!

How I can Change (and Keep Change while I’m at it!)

I need to make some changes in my life in order to save some money and also to help the environment by consuming less.

1. I should start with my biggest expenditure first- Amazon. Most of the things I bought (jewelry, a Halloween costume), I didn’t need. I could have easily bought them from a thrift store or gone without them entirely. I am going to end my Amazon membership and try to buy less online to save money and decrease the environmentally-costly shipping process. I can always borrow the login from someone else if I get desperate.

2. I am going to buy less in general and buy more of that from thrift stores. I spent a lot of money on clothing buying new pants from Ross. I spent some of that clothes money at Deseret Industries and Savers but I can always buy less, make do with what I have, and then buy exclusively at these stores to reduce waste.

3. Cut down on the coffee! I know being over caffeinated and sleep-deprived is in the college handbook as the definition of student but I can get more of that java for less beans by making it in my dorm room. I can treat myself once in a while but I need to cut back and always remember to bring a reusable cup!

Why Go Green

I like to fancy myself an environmentalist but while my class schedule and my priorities are environmentally-friendly my actions are not. I want to change the amount and the way I shop to alter my life for the better and inspire others to do the same.

Three benefits from the switch: 1. Saving money. This is the clearest benefit from these alterations to my shopping habits. I expect to save at least $50 a month by cutting down on my coffee intake (hello sleep, my old friend), shopping at thrift stores for clothes and ending my Amazon membership (which saves me $50/year already!).

2. Going green. By shopping less, I am taking myself out of the economic equation and consuming less. I hope to decrease my carbon footprint by not requiring shipping and further production for my sake.

3. Feel better. I hope by making these changes in my life I can align my virtues and my actions. I can feel more energized with less caffeine and freer with fewer material possessions. I am also planning on donating some of the money I save, $15 or so, to World Wildlife Fund which has always been a goal of mine but something that never seemed achievable on my limited budget.

Walmart’s slogan is “Save Money. Live Better.” And I plan to do just that by NOT shopping at their stores and making more sustainable choices.