Even living in our little microcosm of the world at Binghamton University, as students we have a good idea of what it means to be lacking fiscally.

Between Third Eye Blind concert tickets, weekly (or daily?) cab money and trips to Wal-Mart, it won’t be long till we find that money will eventually stop growing out of the tree that is our credit cards, funded by our parents. If we haven’t already, we will learn that we are going to have to either cut down on our expenses or get jobs.

While it may be logical for upperclassmen or sophomores with cars, what underclassman living on campus is willing to wake up an hour early to catch a bus for a job that doesn’t even pay $8 an hour? There is the option of getting an on-campus job, and internships are always a viable decision and way to get ahead in whatever career field you may want to pursue. But for a freshman with an undeclared major who is just beginning to get situated, the chances of actually getting an internship are slim to none. And say by some lucky shot you do get one; it has just become that much more difficult to balance your time between school, social activities and work.

There are other things we can do to ease the pain of an empty wallet. For example, an alternative to spending cab money (other than the obvious but ill-advised jump out and run) is taking the free bus. Whether you’re headed to Front Street or Wal-Mart, the buses run just about everywhere, and the schedule is conveniently posted on the Web site. Beware, though — a lot of people try to take advantage of the free transportation, so make sure you get there at least 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled arrival time. And if you are lucky enough to get on, you will probably have to stand.

What exactly are we spending so much money on? When you think about it, all of our necessities, such as education, housing and food, are taken care of. But when you include social events and other miscellaneous costs, there can be quite some damage done to your wallet. It’s easy to not realize just how much we’re actually spending when we’ve already become so accustomed to it, week after week, and it can be a tough habit to break. No one wants to stop having fun just because they don’t want to spend money, and this makes it difficult to decide what’s really worth it.

Don’t get me wrong; I know we’re not completely breaking the bank. But it’s only October. At the end of the year or even at the end of the semester, reading the current balance on our credit cards, looking back on our expenses and wondering where our money has gone probably won’t be a good feeling. I’m just saying that someday, one way or another, we’re all going to have to learn the value of a dollar. Until then, we’ll keep living off our credit cards and hoping our parents won’t cut the cord just yet.