Amazon in September
I didn’t buy too much from Amazon in September. I think two items qualifies as not too much…I paid for another item but is was not for me and was not shipped to me.
I bought this book after hearing the author talk on Allie Beth Stuckey’s podcast. I’ve so many thoughts about the book after having read it! I plan to do a more in depth review of it. It’s good... but so far I have not made many changes to my diet and lifestyle after having read it. I did highlight a lot of sentences and I want to go back and look at them. One of the themes (there are several) is that food, “is nothing more than a set of molecular components, and whether those components meet our cells’ needs largely determines health.” As you may imagine, the doctor author says little good about the typical American diet of way too much sugar and processed food.
The only other item that I bought from Amazon and had shipped to me were these waterproof shoes. They were for Abby. Abby sent me a list of items that she wanted for her birthday. The list quite helpfully contained links to the items that she wanted. Only one item was from Amazon and it was these boots. She was happy to get them! There’s a large and pretty state park close to her campus that is a popular destination for hiking. Now she can return my Sorel boots that I let her borrow for her post rain hikes!
Alyssa bought herself an expresso machine for her college dorm room and asked if we would be willing to buy the pods. I told her that we would buy them so Alyssa ordered them from my account and had them shipped to her. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. These are the ones she wanted.
I didn’t mind buying the pods (if I did, I wouldn’t have bought them!). But that got me thinking about buying things for the kids in college and some of the gray areas. We are paying for all of the kids’ education expenses pertaining to college and even for many non needed items like dorm decor and snacks for their dorm rooms. But we are not bank rolling meals out at restaurants when they are on campus and coffee when they go out to Starbucks or Dunkin’. And also, if/when they choose to purchase adult beverages, we are not purchasing the beverages for them. Those kinds of extraneous expenses are on them.
Alyssa says that it is not uncommon for girls in her dorm to DoorDash Starbucks. Whuut? Who is paying for this? The girls’ parents? More power to the students if they are spending their money in that way. Alyssa has enough money saved from her job that she could DoorDash Starbucks; I am glad that her tone took on the incredulous when she told me that story- she is definitely unwilling to pay for a cup of coffee to be delivered to her dorm and that makes me glad.
Alyssa also told me that girls in her dorm use Uber. Now I can see how that would useful if a student needed to go off campus and didn’t have a car. But Alyssa says that girls in her dorm Uber from one side of campus to the other! The dorm that the girls are in is on one end of the campus... and the campus is large. But... there are campus buses that run almost continually for students to use, at a very reasonable cost, in lieu of walking. Alyssa doesn’t love all the walking she does (she doesn’t Uber or use the buses- she walks) but she regales me with stories of all the steps she has in at the end of the day. And she hasn’t parted with a dime to get from point A to point B.
Heaven knows that I don’t always and haven’t always made 100% smart purchasing decisions from a purely economic standpoint (the ceramic Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol diorama that I bought earlier this year on a whim comes to mind). But we do only make purchases within our means. When Donnie and I had much less “extra money” we made good and sometimes hard decisions (no Dickens dioramas for me back then, lol). We have made it a point to share with the kids the stories of how economically we lived when we were younger- when we had to live in a state of denying purchasing many things we wanted if we wanted to not have credit card debt. I think some of our stories made an impression…None of the kids in college are DoorDashing Starbucks at any rate!
Linking up late with Tanya
We are the same way with college expenses; but he did get his own credit card for his own purchases and I think he may have even bought his own books since I didn't see anything come through from the school book store on our joint card. We're already talking about who will pay for what with his "extra" study abroad he's thinking of signing up for. The semester long study abroad during Junior year is pretty much covered by tuition but he's looking at possibly doing another one next semester or over the summer. I told him we'd help but not bankroll the whole thing. Luckily he's always been a saver and has a pretty decent savings account he can dip into.
ReplyDeleteThat is great to hear (that he´s a saver!). Our kids have been really good about saving most of their hard earned money. I think it´s great to not pay for everything especially something like an additional study abroad- he may appreciate it more with some of his own money funding it!
DeleteThose are such nice boots that y'all gave Abby for her birthday! I laughed over her having to return yours to you. I loved hearing about your stance on finances and how students in college spend/waste money. That's so crazy about how they Uber instead of using the bus, but way to go Alyssa for walking and getting her steps in! That's one sure fire way to not put on the freshman fifteen, or whatever they call it now. I hope you've had a good week, my friend!
ReplyDeleteThat is true- At this point, I think she is down a little bit in weight! She is getting in over 20k steps most days with all of the walking around she does...Abby is glad to have a pair of boots that fit her. Mine were too big so she had to wear two pairs of socks, lol.
DeleteGabbie has a credit card that is ours and she uses it...and she asks me to buy things from Amazon too. But I think she pays her own if she is buying extras. I'm not even sure. lol.
ReplyDeleteYeah, some areas are gray! Abby had one of our credit cards last semester. She pretty told me when she needed to use it. I want the kids to have a bit of skin in the game but I don´t want them burdened with expenses either. Things they obviously don´t need like a meal out at a restaurant when they could eat a dorm meal, that is on them!
DeleteWay to go...helping college kids learn financial responsiblity. I don't think that is the norm actually. And I had to laugh at "the author had little good to say about the typical American diet..." Honestly, what could she say?? I will look forward to more thoughts on the book. I have read several similar-themed books and always find them fascinating - but never seem to make any lasting changes. Hmm -
ReplyDeleteThat is the kicker, Jennifer!! Putting what we read into practice. I was fully committed to making changes... and then I saw my pretty container of Peanut M&M´s! I have truly made one change though it is not a big one or the most important thing I could be doing- I am eating an apple every day. I know my fruit and vegetable consumption was/is too low. I am getting in a fruit habit and then will tackle the greens...
DeleteI agree with this! My kids in college had their main expenses covered, but anything extra is on them. I haven't thought about the Ubers on the college campuses between buildings. This was all interesting to read. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marilyn! I find it interesting to hear about others´ take on expenses and items for our kids as they get older :).
DeleteWow, that is crazy about ubering across campus. I have heard about all the doordashing going on. So different from my college days! Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeleteI thought the ubering across campus was crazy, too!
DeleteUbering across campus-wow! When you walk you run into people which is so much more fun. Neither of my girls are big spenders. They both have husbands who are also conscientious about spending which helps. I would not have been paying for Starbucks delivery I can assure you of that lol. But we paid for the usual stuff and all necessities. And I enjoyed sending treats from time to time too. Have a nice weekend!
ReplyDeleteAgree, Joyce- it is great to be generous at times and to do something completely unexpected can make a student´s day. That is great about your daughters and the men they married!
DeleteHeck even high school kids are doordashing Starbucks and Chic Fil A- etc- craziness- a good Christmas present idea might be an Uber gift card though I am thinking- promotes safe transportation while they are not under your watch right?
ReplyDeleteOh wow, the high schoolers are doing it, too? That is a good idea about an Uber gift card. One thing that I noticed in college tours was the emphasis on safe transportation, especially for young women who have to be out in the evenings. Most colleges have numbers students can call if they feel unsafe and schools provide free or very reduced transportation costs. It is definitely peace of mind!
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