So after listing fifty things about me in my previous blog, I decided that I really enjoy making lists. I wanted my next blog to show how serious I am about getting ready to leave for the World Race and how I am dedicated to making it happen! Please enjoy my creative top ten list about what I am sacrificing and what I am doing to raise/save a few bucks here and there for my trip. I embarassingly note that all these are TRUE. Feel free to comment on this list or if you have a suggestion or idea please let me know.
1. I remember very few things from chemistry my junior year of high school. However, one thing I did learn is that gasoline molecules stick closer together when the temperature is colder versus warmer. If you buy gas very early in the morning or very late at night then the temperature will be at its coldest point, the molecules will be closer, and you will pump the maximum amount of gas. I always make sure to fill up at the coldest point of the day. Learn from this.
2. While we’re talking about gas, I only fill up $20 at a time. $20 worth of gas weighs a lot less than $60 worth of gas => this makes my car lighter and increases my gas mileage. I was also considering taking out my back seats to lessen the load, but then there’s trouble if I have more than one passenger with me.
3.I used to be big into donating plasma (part of your blood). If I donated twice a week I could potentially make $50. Unfortunately, since my acquaintance of malaria in August of 2011, no plasma center will ever let me donate plasma again. Sucks, I know. I have thought about bone marrow donations too, because you can make about $400-500, but I have heard that it can be extremely painful. Still considering it though.
4. At my job we have a nice-sized 30 cubic yard open top dumpster. Every day at work, I take a slow stroll to see if there is anything salvageable to sell. I’ve been thinking about going to more businesses’ to salvage their trash- I bet I could make this a part-time job! I’ve sold everything from law school text books to tanning lotions to carpet cleaning machines and even a full-size, neon-light Starbucks sign. Thank you Ebay!
5. I usually buy pretty decent clothing for myself, but occasionally accidents happen such as unintentional rips, shreds, or tears. If it comes to the point where I can’t where it because of what happened I will put it in a nice pile in my closet. My Oma comes annually from the Netherlands with my Opa to visit our family and she is an expert at sewing, so she makes a point of repairing all my clothing that has problems. Nice right? I think so!
6. I am slowly and painfully trading in my Abercrombie and Hollister clothing for Marshalls and Goodwill brands. It really sucks and truthfully is kinda difficult.
7. Haircuts are always a hassle. I used to always shave all my hair off, but then people started worrying because they thought I was terminally ill or had some sort of cancer. Experts say that 4-6 weeks in between haircuts is always appropriate. I can’t quite afford their advice, so I like to go about 4-6 months without one. I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, don’t you go through a lot of shampoo?” Don’t worry though; I completely stopped washing my hair. I figure that this is good practice for the months I will spend in Africa and won’t always access to shampoo or water to wash my hair.
8. Going out to eat is getting more expensive, so I make sure I get those coups before even considering it. If I gotta buy something online, I always get that promo code.
9. I always enjoy tea after dinner, part of my Dutch roots I would guess. I have evening classes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so I had to come up with a solution for this. If I go to Starbucks, they’ll charge me like 2.5$ for tea and that’s clearly out of my budget. Instead, I just bring a tea bag from my house and ask for their free hot water and use their free sugar. It’s weird; the baristas know what I want even before I ask for it….they aren’t too annoyed…yet…
10. At my school we have a lot of events that we are encouraged to event such as the International Business Career day or the Banking Networking Panel. There is one thing that these events all have in common: free food! Some of the events are important to me and my majors so I would attend them anyways, however, some I don’t care about at all. I have no plans yet to use internal auditing at any point in my life, but I joined the Internal Auditing Student Chapter because they serve free pizza and pop every other Tuesday. I even once sat through an hour lecture on the Arab League because they had a buffet going on. Why not right?
