Spring Break
Bank the break
Andrea Robertson
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Opinion
Walking to class with a friend, a reporter stopped us and asked us about our spring break. Her question: "Has the recession affected your spring break plans in any way?" My answer: "Yes."
In addition to my job here at the paper, I also work at least four nights a week at another job. My parents help me pay for necessities as well; however, the recession has still found its way into my pocketbook to prevent me from finding the means to plan a big spring break trip. Trying to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, saving money for the future and having more left over for trips seems to be nearly impossible, bringing me to my point: Is this really the best year for a spring break trip?
Spring break packages are available, ranging in price from a couple hundred dollars to much more. On top of that, you're probably going to have to save money for the cost of food, drinks, entrance fees and some extra cash for whatever. I can't speak much for the guys, but I know it takes a lot for many of the ladies to prepare for a beach getaway--there are weeks of pre-bikini tanning, manicures, pedicures, bathing suit shopping and warm weather clothes shopping. A lot of money becomes involved when preparing to travel.
That was the expensive version of spring break, but let's say you want to just disappear to a beach that isn't too far from here -- something within driving distance and just for a few days. The Outer Banks is less than two hours away; Myrtle Beach is only a few hours more than that. If you and three friends go together and split room costs and gas, you still have to assume that you would spend at least $300. It would cost even more than that if you stayed the whole week.
When you go on vacation, you don't want to have to be frugal. You don't want to have too much togetherness because you couldn't afford another room. You want to live luxuriously for a while and worry about nothing.
It is possible to have a frugal spring break, but where is the fun in that? If you have four or five people packed in one room and stress from deciding how much you can spend, you have a formula for disaster.
Sadly, as soon as you get back home, it's back to reality. Our country will still be scraping together pennies, and hopefully you won't need that money you spent on a week of fun.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't go have fun -- it's not wrong to spoil yourself. Everyone deserves a break. I'm just suggesting that we all need to be a little more money conscious.
Many of us are preparing to take our first real glances into the real world when we graduate, so having a little more financial security may not be that bad of a thing.
Are blacked-out nights on a beach really worth the money, when -- let's be real -- you would probably do the same thing here, anyway?
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
In addition to my job here at the paper, I also work at least four nights a week at another job. My parents help me pay for necessities as well; however, the recession has still found its way into my pocketbook to prevent me from finding the means to plan a big spring break trip. Trying to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, saving money for the future and having more left over for trips seems to be nearly impossible, bringing me to my point: Is this really the best year for a spring break trip?
Spring break packages are available, ranging in price from a couple hundred dollars to much more. On top of that, you're probably going to have to save money for the cost of food, drinks, entrance fees and some extra cash for whatever. I can't speak much for the guys, but I know it takes a lot for many of the ladies to prepare for a beach getaway--there are weeks of pre-bikini tanning, manicures, pedicures, bathing suit shopping and warm weather clothes shopping. A lot of money becomes involved when preparing to travel.
That was the expensive version of spring break, but let's say you want to just disappear to a beach that isn't too far from here -- something within driving distance and just for a few days. The Outer Banks is less than two hours away; Myrtle Beach is only a few hours more than that. If you and three friends go together and split room costs and gas, you still have to assume that you would spend at least $300. It would cost even more than that if you stayed the whole week.
When you go on vacation, you don't want to have to be frugal. You don't want to have too much togetherness because you couldn't afford another room. You want to live luxuriously for a while and worry about nothing.
It is possible to have a frugal spring break, but where is the fun in that? If you have four or five people packed in one room and stress from deciding how much you can spend, you have a formula for disaster.
Sadly, as soon as you get back home, it's back to reality. Our country will still be scraping together pennies, and hopefully you won't need that money you spent on a week of fun.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't go have fun -- it's not wrong to spoil yourself. Everyone deserves a break. I'm just suggesting that we all need to be a little more money conscious.
Many of us are preparing to take our first real glances into the real world when we graduate, so having a little more financial security may not be that bad of a thing.
Are blacked-out nights on a beach really worth the money, when -- let's be real -- you would probably do the same thing here, anyway?
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.
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