Growing Up Frugal (Part 2): As An University Student

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University life was the start of my true adult life. I was working part-time and studying full-time. My parents started saving money since I was very little for my post-secondary education, so I didn’t have a student loan like some of my friends. Continuing to stay at home helped me save a lot of money, so I would give some back to my mom each month. She wouldn’t take much from me, because she understood that I had to enjoy life somehow.

My mother was still working and had put aside money for my textbooks. So, I would look for second hand text books from previous students or used book stores to save money. At the end of the year, I would sell back those text books and give my mother back the money. Very often, she would tell me to keep it as it was money that I had worked to save.

As a young adult, I continued to be frugal with my cosmetics and fashion choices. Slowly, I also became more aware of luxury brands and was very intrigued.

On one hand, I understood that I was only a student with a part-time job. However, on the other hand, I really wanted to enjoy some of the luxuries of life. I began to window shop at the large department luxury shops. Amazingly, I was able to even pick up huge designers brands at half off or more!

Contrary to many university students, travelling was not my first choice of spending as I had no confidence in travelling alone. Plus, I wanted to spend more time finishing university as much as possible. I even took summer courses so I could concentrate on each course better.

As a child, my mother taught me to always save a bit of money each month by investing into GIC’s at the bank. So, as I began to work, I made sure that I was putting money away in steady investments and life insurance.

I was growing my nest egg. The next target was focusing on housing.

To be continued…..

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24 thoughts on “Growing Up Frugal (Part 2): As An University Student”

  3. Being around people who are wise spenders would help you secure your future financially. You’re lucky to have parents who taught you how to value money and save early. At the end of the day, it’s our money and we get to decide on how we’re gonna spend it. Like you, I prefer to secure my future by saving.

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  4. There’s a lot of positives to being frugal even as an adult. I did not grow up in a frugal environment but learned the value of a dollar in my early 20’s. Luckily, I was fortunate not to have student debt from my first degree and don’t have debt right now either. I actually don’t buy textbooks anymore, since I don’t read them. I manage to survive without them by attending all lecture classes and taking detailed notes. In 2017, we had a 33K surgery expense on top of everything and my husband and I managed OK. Frugality is the answer to debt, it really is! We don’t have a house yet, but we’re planning on moving in couple of years. Hopefully somewhere warmer. 😎🌴

    My husband is as frugal as I am, if not more. We managed to get some luxury kitchen appliances by knowing how to look for deals! 🙌

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  6. Did it the wild way, For my doctorate I moved with my hubby and 3 children after my first year to the Los Angeles-USA (from the Netherlands) to do the rest. It was super hard the first tow years, but have no regrets.

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  7. Your parents had such foresight, preventing you from shouldering student loan debt! Between them and your own smarts, no wonder you became so good at saving money! I also lived at home to reduce my expenses during college and I’m very glad now to have no debt. Except to my parents, of course. 😊

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