After rent and tuition are paid, books and groceries are bought, and the gas, cable and electric bills are taken care of, how are students managing to afford having a life?
The recession is making the daily lives of students a lot more challenging; some say they are feeling the effects of the poor economy more than others, but overall, times are tough.
“My dad is a business owner, so the economy has really hurt his business,” said Sara Fruman, a freshman international affairs and pre-journalism major. “He owns a wedding artistry business and people are having much smaller parties now.”
Fruman’s father’s clients may not be the only people scaling back parties these days.
“I notice girls in my sorority calling their parents and asking for money a lot more now,” said sophomore architecture major Katie Bausch. “They don’t go out to dinner as much anymore, either.”
Boulder is an expensive place to live in as well as to dine in. Some students say they are worried about how they will be able to afford rent in Boulder.
“(The recession) is definitely affecting my housing situation for next year,” said freshman pre-journalism major Melina Santos. “It’s hard to find a job in Boulder that helps pay the rent.”
Jobs are scarce in tough economic times and some students are having a hard time finding work. However, even with a job, the recession is making consumers very conservative.
“Tips suck,” said Bausch, who also works at Starbucks in addition to being a full-time student in a sorority.
Tips are often the best perk of working in the service industry, but when people penny pinch tips dry up and there is no bailout for baristas.
Some students have also resorted to switching from full-time to part-time credit loads in order to make tuition more manageable. Also, online classes offered through Continuing Education are less expensive and many students are taking advantage of that option as well.
From working full-time jobs to help pay for rent or school or both, to spending less money on food and social activities, students like Elana Kline, a senior English, communication and education major say they are finding ways to deal with the recession.
“Instead of going to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner on the weekend, we go to Chipotle,” Kline said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Allison Doyle at Allison.doyle@colorado.edu.
