Nobody knows when will be the end of the recession. It has been going for months. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced that 17.2% of Korean people are spending less money on leisure, 20.5% less on buying clothes and 16.5% less on eating out than before. There is no exception in campus life. College students are looking for part time jobs desperately as a means of living and for school expenses.

Money is shrinking whenever we check our account because of rapidly rising prices of basic commodities. Essentially we have to rearrange our life style and cut down on nonessential expenses. Here are a few tips we use:


Get a Free Movie Ticket at a Blood Center

Visit a nearby blood center and donate your blood. It will help other people`s lives and in appreciation they will give you a movie ticket. If you do a plain donation it will only take 10 minutes to finish but if you do a blood ingredient donation it will take 30 minutes.

However, two weeks later you can do the donation again while the plain donation takes two months to do again. You can go with your family or friends and watch a movie together at theater near there. If you don`t want to watch movie you can get a gift certificate instead. The blood center also provides some breads and juice.


Eating Out Is the Biggest Cost of Your Saving

Suppose you spend 5,000 Won on dinner and spend 3,000 Won on drinking coffee at a café, then it costs about 250,000 Won per month. So unless you live too far from school you`d better go home early and have dinner with your family. If you live alone, choose inexpensive food items like beans and eggs which are healthy and make you full at the same time.

In addition, it costs less when you shop at the traditional market than at the sales of large retail stores. You can also find yourself losing weight, as cooking healthier food at home replaces high calorie foods (and drinks) out.


Fashion

In this hard time, shopping makes people feel better but we have to prioritize our spending and be more careful. We have to choose our daily meal over luxury clothes and learn to live a simple life. Select apparel and accessories that can be worn in multiple ways for multiple seasons.

Fashion experts say that simplicity of cut, defining elegance and poise of spirit rules when the economy is tough. Many designers have turned to older style trends in a certain era for inspiration. We used to buy the latest and greatest of everything. But this year we`d better scrimp and save wearing old clothes in the closet.


Hair Care with Less Money

When you have to save money, the first place you can easily skim back on is beauty products. But you don`t need to give up having beautiful hair. You can use natural ingredients like eggs or mayonnaise as treatments. Less using shampoo can help dry and curly hair.

Shampooing can strip the natural oils out of your hair, so aside from saving money on shampoo, you`re actually improving the condition of your hair as well. And it`s much cheaper when you buy shampoo in bulk. Don`t irritate your hair with dyes or perms. They not only cost a lot but also damage your hair. Maybe this time might be a chance to give your hair a rest.


Now is the time to re-evaluate what makes us really happy. No more gathering at a cyber cafe and a coffee shop. Just invite your friends home and dust off favorite board games playing all night.

There are many budget-friendly activities like hiking, checking out local parks packing up picnics for friends and family instead of eating out at a restaurant. We shouldn`t seek our happiness from material things any more. The most important thing is who you are with not where you are.

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