By: Jason Montoya
Dormitory life or off-campus housing = $
Car payments or transportation = $$
Tuition, books, lab fees, equipment, supplies, snacks, drinks, personal bills, social and recreation expenses- such as movies and other social events- or personal expenses like toiletries, haircuts, laundry and clothing, groceries, restaurant meals = $$$$$$
When times are hard and the wallet is soft, there are ways to escape the boredom on a limited budget.
It is not only a fact, but a hard-faced reality that New York, besides from being one of the most intriguing places one can come across, also takes a substantial monetary stand for a person to get by. The average college student not only has to worry about surviving through limited budgets that their overpriced education results in, but they also have to find ways to bring some leisure without causing a heavier burden on their wallets.
If people don’t learn from advice, then personal experience will become even more influential than any professor at any college. Unless a student has no financial troubles, overspending, especially at the most inconvenient times will likely create severe frustration and embarrassment. Obviously, quick solutions to money problems can include calling parents for money or borrowing from a friend, or even anxiously waiting for your puny student-employment paycheck to come in the mail; but what will happen to life until then? As we all know, money makes the world move, but when one’s bank account is frozen, how does a person manage to live in the world? Part of the solution is to create a budget that realistically takes into consideration the cash flow of an individual.
A student budget should also be one that adapts to changing circumstances of college life. Once a student has designed a realistic plan for spending, he or she will know how to go about spending his or her limited financial resources. To help alleviate the burden of financial limitations, Dímelo’s staff has compiled some ideas of cool places one can go to with friends, when the wallet is not necessarily on fire.
The Bronx Zoo:The Bronx Zoo is open every day of the year!!! From 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays, and from 10am to 5:30pm on weekends and special holidays. To get to the Bronx Zoo, you can take the #2 or #5 train to East Tremont Ave/West Farms Square. Then, walk straight ahead following the train uptown for almost two blocks to the Zoo’s Asia gate entrance to be admitted. Normal Costs: the average adult would pay $14.00 and there is a special offer called the pay-one-price pass (POP) that will cost an additional $11.00, which will allow you to ride a few special rides. However, one can also take advantage of Wednesdays, when the admission is a pay-what-you-wish donation. The zoo suggests a donation of $14 for adults, but being college students with economic hardships it is okay to get away with giving a couple of dollars to support the work of the zoo. Suggestion: It is preferable to use public transportation like the trains as parking can cost up to $10.00 per visit.
MoMA (Museum of Modern Art): Adults have to pay $20, while students pay a reduced admission of $12. This is a great reminder for you to take your student I.D, in spite of how possible hideous the picture could be. The cheapest way to get in, however, is not to take your student I.D., but to take advantage of the Friday specials. Admission is actually free for all visitors during Target Free Friday Nights, which are sponsored by Target. Every Friday evening, from 4:00pm to 8:00 p.m., tickets are given by Target; however, these tickets are not available in advance, so if you want to ensure your ticket, you should anticipate people in your same circumstances trying to get these tickets as well. The museum is open everyday from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm and on Fridays, it is open until 8:00 pm.
Subway directions: take the E or V to Fifth Avenue/53 Street or B, D, F trains to 47-50 Streets/Rockefeller Center.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Located on Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, the museum has a rather tricky schedule. It is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 9:30 to 5:30 pm. However, the guards will begin to remind the visitors that the galleries will close, in advance. On Fridays and Saturdays the museum remains open from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm. It is recommended that you take the 6 train to 86th street, unless you don’t mind the extensive yet pleasantly appealing walk across Central park. There are suggested admission costs that help sustain the museum ranging from less than $10 (with student I.D) to $20.
Brooklyn Botanical Garden: This is perhaps one of the most budget-friendly-curiosity-based trips. This trip also allows the opportunity for people to appreciate what the botanical community has to offer New Yorkers. Adult visitors would be requested to pay $8 and students with ID get their price reduced to $4. On Tuesdays, admission is free of cost as it is be on Saturdays for a limited visit of two hours from 10am to Noon.
Subway directions: Take the #3 train to Eastern Parkway.
Manhattan Mall:The Manhattan Mall is a local and not as easy place to catch, because it is indoors. The mall is located at 33rd Street and Sixth Avenue near Macy's. The mall offers a fluid variety of stores made to cater a community of people wanting to look nice and trendy at very reasonable prices. Stores like Charlotte Russe and Strawberry guarantee an access to an updated wardrobe that won’t pull the purse strings. If the multitude of stores does not seem enough to satisfy your tastes, then outside of the mall, at reasonable walking distances, there are many other cool places like H&M, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret and others. For food there are some occasional fast food places within the mall like Starbucks and McDonald’s and the occasional ethnic restaurant that can be found inside or outside the mall. In general, anywhere beneath midtown, like the East and West Villages and Chelsea offer the possibility of making it through the day with a decent budget.
Theater Shows:
It is hard to conceive that shows are actually accessible to students, but there are ways of getting around and experiencing these shows without having to pay the full price. Here are two suggestions:
1. TKTS (pronounced "Tee-Kay Tee-Ess" not "tickets") allows people to purchase Broadway tickets at a discount rate. There are two booths: one in Duffy Square (near Times Square) and the other by the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan. However, these booths sell their tickets almost always on the day of the performances, so one must anticipate possible traffic congestion and time constraints that could make getting these tickets difficult.
2. Rush tickets: These tickets are sold on the morning of the scheduled performance, which is why it is imperative for a person to get to the lines of the ticket booths at least a couple of hours before the show opens just to ensure her or his ticket. Tickets can run as cheap as $20, which is practically a bargain compared to the original price. For off-Broadway shows, however, one might be lucky enough to get tickets without having to go through so much trouble.
Union Square: Offers stores and costs that range depending on where one goes. If one is willing to go on without spending money, then window shopping would be an ideal activity here as there is an eclectic selection of places and stores to get to know.
Times Square: It is not so much the ideal place to shop money-wise, but it certainly offers a variety of stores for the curious eye.
Central Park: Every year the Park offers a wide variety of theatrical performances brought by Shakespeare in the Park. There are also several artistic showcases which satisfy the diverse tastes of people that visit the park.
Chinatown: Offers little shops and tasteful restaurants that are near Canal Street. Also, it offers a different environment that isn’t as extravagant in comparison to Lincoln Center.
Other Tips: Walking along 5th Avenue, and Greenwich Village, or anywhere in NYC should be something to enjoy and experience. After all, this is apparently one of the most exciting places in the world, so at the corner of any place there should be something to look at.
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