Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Frugality

So then there was the time I tried to save $1.

I don't mean in a piggy bank. I mean in life.

Tried....

It cost $23 to order a college parking permit online and go pick it up myself.  $24 to have them mail it to me. So you know what I chose?

Yeah. The cheaper one. Because I'm so darn thrifty!

When I went to retrieve my purchased permit, I couldn't find the correct building.  Signs and maps led me astray, and so I gave up that night, thinking for sure I'd get it the next week.  (That first week, they were being lenient with the parking thing, since it's a new gimmick and all.)

Before the next class, I studied a map of the campus online.  I knew right where the building was.

But I take evening classes. And by the time I made it to campus, it was 5:14pm and the parking permit building's door was locked. There were signs posted outside about contacting this or that number "after hours," but absolutely no indication of what those hours actually were.  So I had no idea if 'd be okay if I got there at 4:30 next week, or if they kept some weird schedule, because I couldn't find that info THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

And because I still didn't have a physical parking pass, and because I didn't want to risk getting slapped with a fine (or "citation" as them fancy shmancers call it), I shelled out $3 at a kiosk for a "day pass" to park my car that evening (which I may have neglected to mention was tonight.) And with just seven classes left... Well, you do the math. Nah, I'll do it. Seven classes times $3 is only $21.  Add tonight to that mix and that's... $24.

Exactly what I would've/should've paid to begin with, if I had half a brain.

Next time, no doubt about it, they are getting that darn dollar... and I'm getting some peace of mind!

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