With gas prices creeping up to $4 per gallon and jobs becoming harder and harder to find with a 9.1 percent unemployment rate in the Saint Louis area, penny pinching is an increasingly important skill.
Blythe Grupe, junior, has always considered herself frugal, but her dollar-stretching habits are becoming more important than ever.
“I don’t have a job yet,” Grupe said. “And when I do, I’ll still watch what I spend.”
Despite a lack of income, Grupe has found several ways to make her savings go further. She said she is conscious of the prices on everyday items.
“Lots of stuff is really overpriced,” Grupe said. “I can’t stand feeling like I’m being ripped off.”
Among Grupe’s dollar-stretching habits are shopping at thrift stores and bartering.
“There are a lot of places people don’t know about that you can barter at,” Grupe said. “Usually those kiosks in the mall.”
Grupe’s frugality is also evident when she shops for clothes. She said she usually checks sale racks and buys some of her clothes from thrift stores. Grupe said she does, however, believe in splurging every once in a while.
“It’s not like I go into a store and instantly go to the sale rack,” Grupe said. “Sometimes if I see something I really like at full price, I’ll buy it.”
Grupe said she sees through retail pricing and is very conscious of steep markups. However, Grupe also considers the quality of the clothes she buys.
“I’ll go to a thrift store, but I’ll also look for quality,” Grupe said.
Grupe’s sewing skills have made saving money even easier when shopping.
“If there’s a dress that’s cute at a good price and its not my size, I can always alter it,” Grupe said.
Amy Wang, junior and friend of Grupe’s, also said she considers herself to be notably frugal. Together, their frugality has landed them in some humorous situations. Wang said they were once kicked out of QT for refilling their icees repeatedly.
“I mean, we were just sampling all of the flavors,” Wang said jokingly.
Saving money on the small things, even by less conventional means, can translate to more money to spend on bigger, less frequent purchases. Ellen Wu, senior, said she can attest to this.
“My family just saves for the sake of saving,” Wu said. “We just accumulate money. But then we’ll spend a lot on vacations.”
Wu said her parents’ saving habits also made college more financially manageable, as she is set to go to Dartmouth University in the fall.
And her parents’ stinginess has rubbed off on her. Wu said she frequents groupon.com, a website for online coupons and also shops at thrift stores.
“It’s all about saving on everyday things,” Wu said.