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In the News

July 30, 2008

Two Montana college students must learn to save on essentials

Everyone around the globe is feeling the sting of rising gas and food prices. Two Montana college students, Sean Bannon and Megan Eaton, have found that they, too, are no exception.

Sean Bannon is a senior at the University of Montana and is still adjusting to the changes that he has had to make in these challenging economic times. Although Sean lives what he considers to be a rather frugal existence, he has been floored as of late by how high his fuel and grocery bills have been. His solutions? Sean has learned that taking public transportation, biking and walking to his desired destinations have helped him save money on gas for his truck. Additionally, Sean shares the burden of his rent payments with two roommates, holds a campus job, packs his lunch for work, and eats out less. These strategies have helped him make paying for things like food, his cell phone bill, clothes, trips and other social activities a lot easier.

Megan Eaton, a student at the University of Great Falls, has had to make some adjustments to her overall lifestyle, as well. Two years ago, Megan traded in her van for a much smaller and more gas efficient car. At first, it made a big difference in how much she spent on gas. Lately however, she is finding that even her more economical car is costing as much gas as her van did two years ago. Megan has started to cut back on clothes shopping, and plans to seek out other types of transportation to keep the use of her car to a minimum. She hopes that these strategies will make a difference for her.

Source: Great Falls Tribune

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What do you think?

How do you handle holiday finances?
Plan and stick to a budget
Use savings
Shop on credit and pay-off over time
No plan, I just shop