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<p>That’s basically my motto. I have scrimped and saved over the past few years, plus I managed to get a “well-paying” full-time job and another very well-paying part time job, and so while I am extremely frugal, I have also not spared myself of all the things I need and a good chunk of the things I want.</p>
<p>My daughter and I were recently talking about what she’s taking to school this, her sophomore year. She said that she brought too much stuff last year, including an iron and tabletop ironing board that I “made” her take and that she used only a couple of times.
Memory foam mattress pads and Brita water filter pitchers are popular among her friends-she wants the first (“soooo comfortable”) and doesn’t need/want the second. She also wants an external hard drive.</p>
<p>It’s interesting how many people mention printers-neither of my kids have needed one: my son (in an engineering program) has talked about the (over)generous budget he has for printing and my daughter has said that most of her work is submitted as email documents.</p>
<p>On a highly idiosyncratic note, she will be taking a tin of cocoa powder and a canister of sugar along-she loathes the instant stuff!</p>
<p>Rixs, I had to laugh at the towel thing… Everyone in my family uses a new towel everyday too (and we do laundry everyday) - I never knew people did otherwise until my mom told me about our next door neighbors who would each use the same towel for days and days! I was so grossed out. Now that I’m in college I usually suck it up and use the same towel for about a week (or fewer days if I’m plagued by “womanly problems”- lol!). I take a ton of towels and washcloths with me to college. It is just nice to have a stockpile! Everybody’s different though. I can see why boys wouldn’t have to use a gazillion towels, but it’s better not to think about it too much, ha ha!</p>
<p>^^I’m taking my all-in-one since I already have it.</p>
<p>But, I’m a writer, so it’s not just assignments I need it for.</p>
<p>However, for a student only printing off school work, I wouldn’t really recommend buying a new printer unless your school is known for having expensive printing or printers unavailable a lot of the time. </p>
<p>Oh, an iron. I didn’t get one. I don’t have much that needs ironing, so I’ll probably leave the few things that do at home. I wouldn’t mind ironing, but if I find myself needing one of those few things, I can just call go home, iron it, and take it back with me. </p>
<p>One of the few perks to going to college not too far from home. =P</p>
<p>@jambaby- Yeah, I didn’t know either. xD -shrug- I’ve just never seen it before. Yeah, better to be safe than sorry. You never know when an extra towel or two might come in handy.</p>
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My S is also in engineering, and this year he wants a printer because it was too inconvenient to use the school’s printers, and he is tired of mooching from his floor mates.</p>
<p>He’s paying for it though.</p>
<p>Re: Bras</p>
<p>I buy my favorite $30/40 bras at TJMaxx or Marshalls for $7-$10 each. I check the racks almost every time I go just to see if there is any stock. As usual, these stores blow hot and cold as far as finding what you want, so you have to be prepared to buy when you find what you need/want.</p>
<p>I managed to buy 6 $50 bras on sale for a total of $120 (incluidng shipping!). We don’t have a TJMaxx or Marshalls, not to mention it’s difficult for me to find the right combination of sizes (odd cup-band ratio) in any store.</p>
<p>@applicannot - that was a great deal!!! (I love deals) :-)</p>
<p>My son’s girlfriend is an only child that usually doesn’t think twice about paying full price for something. In the 4+ years I’ve known her, I think she is finally getting the “getting a good deal” thinking. They went to our local TJMaxx and he bought his fave brand shorts for $20 (60 value) and she bought designer jeans (2 pairs!!) for waaaay less than retail. I don’t remember the #s. They came home all excited about their bargains. I was thrilled that my “nagging” about paying full price finally got thru. LOL</p>
<p>My girls have grown up with me looking at the price tag first so they’re pretty conservative when it comes to shopping; D1 loves to shop but she loves a bargain first and foremost. She texted me the other day thrilled that she found a Fossil dress at Plato’s Closet for $16; probably retailed for about $80 :)</p>
<p>Ditto on the TJMaxx bras! ; )</p>
<p>YouDon’tSay…</p>
<p>:eek: :eek: WAY TOO MUCH $!!! :eek: :eek:</p>
<p>Seriously, I have a very fussy, girly girl. She and her roommate are going to have a pretty posh pad for a dorm room. I’d say by the time it’s all said and done, I will have spent around $1200-$1400. (This includes the TV & DVR but not her laptop. Her roommate is providing the microfridge.)</p>
<p>We spent a lot but it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s easy to get bargain stuff if your son is not picky. We bought a bunk bed which was fairly costly and everything new from Bed bath & Beyond. The memory foam topper and bedding cost a bundle. It’s easy to get carried away as I tend to do! Try and split things with the roommate, see if they can talk ahead of time and figure out sharing the cost of fridge, rug, etc. That can save $$$.</p>
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Seriously?</p>
<p>We spent less than $100. and then my child ended up giving away almost everything because it was too crowded. The best purchase we made was a comfortable comforter, pillows and sheets and towels - the rest was wasted on our son - a minimalist!</p>
<p>D will be in a suite with a kitchen so we needed utensils and other kitchen. Spent less than $20 at a thrift store for a very large bag of goodies (including a camera bag). Picked up a lovely little Henkles paring knife for 49 cents!</p>
<p>Then we went to the Container Store… a different story! D has a gift card but it was hard to spend it because just about everything we saw there we knew we could get cheaper somewhere else. D managed to find some things that she thought would ONLY be there. </p>
<p>Still working on linens. All in all it’s a strange combination of our old stuff, thrift store things, and new things from very varied sources. She bought new towels that I’m making her pay for because she should have brought old ones from home.</p>
<p>I wish all those big church and school rummage sales were in July and August instead of in the fall! I will plan ahead for our next D, if only I remember…</p>
<p>emmaheevul & applicannot, we stumbled upon a good way to make undergarment shopping affordable purely by accident as both D & I have a size combination that makes it unlikely we can find the style/color we want or that the store will have two in stock when we try to get the “buy one get one” deals that Penney’s and other places often run. So, we find a style/brand that we like and make note of it at the store and then order it from HerRoom, an online retailer that offers free shipping/returns and carries all the major brands. They usually charge significantly less than the major retailers and often have sales to boot:
<a href=“http://www.herroom.com/[/url]”>http://www.herroom.com/</a></p>
<p>We’ve placed several orders in the past year and have been completely satisfied.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip!</p>
<p>That link is a lifesaver sk8termom. I’m a really weird cup/band ratio as well, and I can’t believe they have my size</p>
<p>So far…spent $0. D is going to school across country. We figure it is way cheaper to arrive a day early and go to Target, than it is to ship items. Will pack sheets and towels in suitcase and purchase comforter, pillow, mattress pad, wastebasket and shower caddy. Also, will stock her up on shampoo and toiletries. Just can’t think of anything else she really needs. Plenty of wants, I’m sure - but she knows the differences between needs (mom buys) and wants (she buys). So total budgeted is about $200.</p>