After spending almost 2 years in Raleigh I would now like to share some thoughts on how we, the Indian Students at NC State, try to save $$ no matter how much ever spendthrift we were in India.
1. This begins from finding an Apt. Obviously Off campus….coz On-campus housing is too expensive. Another disadvantage is that you cannot cook in residence halls and above all….you will not find any ‘Desi’ over there.
2. Now comes the roommate with whom you will share your appt. Not less than 3. Why? Arey because rent is so high. Also grocery, electricity and other amenities. Even if you are funded you will try to save some bucks by sharing the appt with 3-4 other roommates. No matter after 6 months you feel that your decision was wrong….wait for another 6 months and shift elsewhere.
3. Got roommates to share the appt….what next??? Now start looking for second hand furniture (minimum requirement includes couch, a study table and chair). Most important is a Mattress to sleep on. Of course a 'used' one. Sounds odd…but can’t help it coz a new brand mattress will cost you around 200$. That’s why many of them prefer to sleep on carpet or in their sleeping bag itself.
4. Along with the above mentioned searches, students are busy searching something else also. Yeah…..On-campus Job or going from one Prof to another to get a TA or RA ship. Students are ready to do any kind of work at any insane hours of the day….but they won’t give up unless they get one. Even though it’s illegal, many students try to work more than 20 hrs/wk also.
5. Students get trained in walking 4-5 miles a day especially if your classes are held at Centennial campus or if it’s a weekend/break. You can buy a car if you don’t wanna walk but you should be ready to spend few thousand dollars. One more option is…you can get a bike/bicycle for just 50-100$. Don’t think that how can you ride a bike or walk down the street as in India you used to drive a car. Here it’s different. Conversion rate is almost 50 times. Hence everyone thinks twice.
6. Also you will try to save some money by cooking yourself or if this doesn’t work then by eating out at places like Burger King or Taco Bell. Champion’s Pizza is routine whereas Papa John’s Pizza is treat:)
7. One will not miss any seminar ever after coming to US. Not because they are informative…it’s because they serve you Pizza and drinks and other goodies. Many students are there just to KPK…who cares what the seminar is all about.
8. Waiting for some great deals, discounts and rebates becomes practice after coming to US. Not only on electronic stuff but also on fruits & vegetables. I have seen people buying bananas instead of apples:) You can get a discount of a dollar or two by using MVP card…so don’t forget it.
9. One gets use to wearing same unwashed clothes again and again till its high time to wash them because doing laundry once will cost you up to 2.25$.
10. Last but not the least…you will learn one more trick from your seniors to save few more bucks. It’s called ‘Cancel Print’. Canceling your print job once it’s in the queue will never reduce your print quota. Thus you can print unlimited pages just for 5$ which otherwise will cost you some 6c per page.
1. This begins from finding an Apt. Obviously Off campus….coz On-campus housing is too expensive. Another disadvantage is that you cannot cook in residence halls and above all….you will not find any ‘Desi’ over there.
2. Now comes the roommate with whom you will share your appt. Not less than 3. Why? Arey because rent is so high. Also grocery, electricity and other amenities. Even if you are funded you will try to save some bucks by sharing the appt with 3-4 other roommates. No matter after 6 months you feel that your decision was wrong….wait for another 6 months and shift elsewhere.
3. Got roommates to share the appt….what next??? Now start looking for second hand furniture (minimum requirement includes couch, a study table and chair). Most important is a Mattress to sleep on. Of course a 'used' one. Sounds odd…but can’t help it coz a new brand mattress will cost you around 200$. That’s why many of them prefer to sleep on carpet or in their sleeping bag itself.
4. Along with the above mentioned searches, students are busy searching something else also. Yeah…..On-campus Job or going from one Prof to another to get a TA or RA ship. Students are ready to do any kind of work at any insane hours of the day….but they won’t give up unless they get one. Even though it’s illegal, many students try to work more than 20 hrs/wk also.
5. Students get trained in walking 4-5 miles a day especially if your classes are held at Centennial campus or if it’s a weekend/break. You can buy a car if you don’t wanna walk but you should be ready to spend few thousand dollars. One more option is…you can get a bike/bicycle for just 50-100$. Don’t think that how can you ride a bike or walk down the street as in India you used to drive a car. Here it’s different. Conversion rate is almost 50 times. Hence everyone thinks twice.
6. Also you will try to save some money by cooking yourself or if this doesn’t work then by eating out at places like Burger King or Taco Bell. Champion’s Pizza is routine whereas Papa John’s Pizza is treat:)
7. One will not miss any seminar ever after coming to US. Not because they are informative…it’s because they serve you Pizza and drinks and other goodies. Many students are there just to KPK…who cares what the seminar is all about.
8. Waiting for some great deals, discounts and rebates becomes practice after coming to US. Not only on electronic stuff but also on fruits & vegetables. I have seen people buying bananas instead of apples:) You can get a discount of a dollar or two by using MVP card…so don’t forget it.
9. One gets use to wearing same unwashed clothes again and again till its high time to wash them because doing laundry once will cost you up to 2.25$.
10. Last but not the least…you will learn one more trick from your seniors to save few more bucks. It’s called ‘Cancel Print’. Canceling your print job once it’s in the queue will never reduce your print quota. Thus you can print unlimited pages just for 5$ which otherwise will cost you some 6c per page.
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