Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Hakeem Atwater - “Cheap!” I Call it Intelligence!

Since I can remember I have always been a frugal spender. I’ve been called every name, from “penny pincher” to “cheap skate” to “stingy.” But I call it intelligence! I strongly believe that the reason there are not more Million and even Billionaires in the world are because people love to spend above their means, and do not have the discipline to crunch down. Professor Sistrunk has stressed that spending frugally and not jumping at the immediate return is one aspect that can make others successful. Sistrunk, said that people always want the instant gratification, rather than the long-term pleasure. Take this as an example… Most young males would rather buy the $200 pair of Jordan’s, than the $60 pair of normal Nike shoes. The $200 Jordan’s bring instant gratification of being able to showoff to the public and tweet about just buying a pair of overpriced shoes. Where on the other hand you can buy the $60 pair of shoes and allocate these extra funds to other things.

Students at Morehouse College fall into this category of foolish spending because everyone is trying to make a fashion statement. Every Fall and Spring, students blow their entire refund check on clothes, shoes or expensive dining, only to be broke within the following month. There are however, a small group of students who use their money to invest. By doing this these students are working to invest in their future wealth; thus working for a long-term pleasure. Why do students continue to make dumb decisions?

So, am I “cheap” or “stingy” or am I showing signs of intelligence? I like to believe that I am the latter. The first step in saving money is being comfortable not following the crowd. Second, find the sales and the discounts. And finally, watch your bank account grow and not dwindle and cash out!

As Professor Sistrunk says, “Put Money Away!”

A few helpful sites that have a number of discount that I use..

6 comments:

  1. These site are great when aiding in saving money. As a college student living on a budget is very real especially with gas on the constant increase. I try to cut my expenses by checking these sites for deals and coupons everytime I go out to spend money.

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  2. People call finding the best deals out penny pinching, I call it being a smart consumer. In todays age most people search for the product they want at the best deal. This is how it should be and with the sites professor sistrunk provided thats exactly what we can do. Being a college student we are always looking for the best deals and these sites help us with that.

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  3. i believe that this is the major difference between being rich and being wealthy. Rich people just spend money as soon as they get it. If they want the item then they buy it without any regards for deals. There is nothing wrong with looking for the best price to do something. When a person is wealthy that means that they made smart decisions with their money putting it away and looking for deals in order to save money for the long run. -James Williams

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  4. I wouldn't go as far to say I'am a frugal spender. But i will say most of my purchases make sense. Yes i might buy the occasional expensive shoe or jeans, but i will make sure that more serious priorities are taken care of first. I believe people just need to live with in their means. If you can afford the finer things in life there is nothing wrong with buying them.

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  5. Before college, I didn't realize the importance of being a "cheap" spender. In fact, I have learned that by being such a spender, you start to notice and take advantage of sales and offers, which give you the same product you would find at regular retail, for much cheaper. This is a lifestyle that is most likely going to stick with me after I graduate; I can not lie.

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  6. I think this is very good, especially, while your young to take adavntages of this opportunities that puts more money in our pockets to save and store up. So yes its being very intelligent, unless you simply got it like that

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