The Finer Points on Higher Learning: The World of Necessity Edition

Props to esc

Not factoring in the Recession, spending paper is pretty short for a college student, especially those with an acquired taste for the best. There is books to buy, tuition to be paid, food ain't cheap, if you are an art student, materials are far from painful to the pocket, and most of the entertaining events are far from free with even movies costing double digits. What is one to do when there is a surplus of goods that catch the eye and scream, "BUY ME. YOU KNOW I'M FRESH AND NEEDED IN YOUR CLOSET," at least that's what they say to me. The best rule of thumb I've come up with though when it comes to spending that job checks(in my case birthday money) is to buy what you don't already have a lot of, which means they are the closest thing to necessities in comparison to pleasurable buys.

Props to Bok_Bok

With winter getting ever closer, I'm tempted to plan to spend some bills on some new jackets, but the problem is I already have a more than satisfactory M65 and while it is a wee bit big on my skinny frame, it protects me from the wind like a tweed shield. Therefore, my buying of a new jacket would be a waste of paper. This is an example of something unnecessary.

Yes I really want this backpack. Can you read this Mom & Dad? I know you gotta squint real hard.

The product I do need the most though is something that I have overlooked for an amount of time, a nice backpack. For the entirety of anyone's school career, a bag has been present carrying a ton of books, but most of the time no one ever thinks about a book bag for anything more than color. While I do have a carrying tool that does a good job of protecting my laptop while also toting some other goods, it is becoming more and more of a burden with the amount of pencils, markers, books, sketchbooks, ruler, exacto knife, etc etc that I have to carry on a day to day basis. I personally need something that can be comfortably carried while riding a bike, and something that can carry a multitude of objects all while no crushing or breaking any of those materials. This is an example of a pleasurable necessity being that it isn't really needed in the sense that it costs 3 digits, but in my experience those walmart bags have a life span of a year, so you either pay a bundle of money on something good, or you pay a little bit of money each passing year. I'm getting off point a little bit though, I'll get back to worthy expensive goods vs unworthy expensive goods vs cheap goods at another time.

Props to Lactose the Intollerent

The best thing one could ever buy is something that goes past a material pleasure, and leads to a psychological goal oriented pleasure that will last an eternity. Any amount of money spent on providing a future for one's self is never wasted. In my case, I have to buy trademarks licenses or whatever the correct term is, server connections, web-space, stickers, and a web designer, but while this is more expensive and more time consuming compared to that of going to a store and walking out with a new piece to one's closet, the enjoyment from these are far better. Nothing can beat the feeling that you have done something that not only you can enjoy, but others can enjoy, and are fulfilling your own dreams.

In short, if you have a lot of sneakers and don't have cash to burn, don't buy sneakers; if you need something that will make living each day to day easier and won't leave you starving, by all means buy it, and if you have the chance to spend money on something that will make you truly happy and build a future for yourself....do I really have to say do it? Naw I didn't think so.

Peace and Love(props to Lucy because I stole that saying from her).