One of my best friends here at UC Berkeley is absolutely addicted to drinking boba tea. Nearly every single day, she tells me that she “absolutely needs her daily boba.” Ever since we met, I’ve been poking fun at her for how much money she spends on boba (she showed me her credit card charges and, trust me, it’s a lot). To be honest, she’s not the only one who indulges in a daily pick-me-up. In fact, most college students have something they splurge on pretty often, myself included.
Let’s face it: college (especially UC Berkeley) is hard. With midterm after midterm, assignment after assignment and every day feeling like an entire month, everyone needs something to lift their spirits once in a while. This past week, I’ve probably bought an iced vanilla latte nearly every single day. And the week before that … same thing. So, as much as I love to make fun of my friend for her daily boba run, I’m no better than her. I think that everyone that participates in getting frozen yogurt from Yogurt Park, cookies from Crumbl and Insomnia or donuts from Kingpin can agree that college has incorporated sweet-treat culture into their life. In the face of academic stress, we treat ourselves in order to keep up our pace and push away burnout. Honestly, I think this is completely OK. Some days after running from class to class, finishing a dozen assignments or a midterm, you want nothing more than a pick-me-up and it’s definitely deserved. I think there are only two things to keep in mind: taking care of your health and your budget.
Too much sugar isn’t good for anyone. Neither is too much caffeine. Knowing the right time to have something and how much is too much is the key to keeping yourself healthy while still enjoying the things you love. For example, one of the things I personally do is restrict my caffeine intake in the late afternoon and evening. I won’t lie and say I always follow this rule but I think knowing when something is good for me and when it’s not is the best self-control tactic. I know that I don’t need caffeine to go about my day; instead, I make sure to get the proper amount of sleep and only have coffee when I really want it.
The real problem for many is actually budgeting habits. We all understand that if we stopped buying a coffee every morning we would save so much money. While that is true, there are some things that we don’t want to cut out of our lives completely and that’s absolutely fine. I’ve mentioned before that treating ourselves when we really want something is part of having a healthy relationship with ourselves. However, there are little tips and tricks that can improve your budgeting habits, since most of us don’t have an infinite cash supply.
Firstly, set a budget for yourself. Know the maximum amount you can afford to spend and do everything you can to stay under that amount. Another good thing to do is take advantage of deals. The reason my friend is able to get boba so often is because she keeps track of Snackpass deals religiously. She tries new places when there are sales or discounts and racks up Snackpass points like no one I have ever seen before. So, even though she spends a lot on boba, she’s spent a lot less than she would have if she didn’t take advantage of discounts.
Speaking of Snackpass, let’s talk about other food pickup and delivery apps as well. Many students use Grubhub, since it’s linked to our flex dollars, but people use other apps like DoorDash and UberEats as well. While these apps can be great when you’re stuck at your desk studying but desperately need to ingest something, they’re not exceptions from your budget. Turns out, money spent online is still money spent. Crazy, right?
All jokes aside, I think nothing matters more than taking care of yourself. Make sure to eat when you want to eat and spend money if necessary to do so. Also, if you play your cards right, sweet-treat culture doesn’t have to become something that depletes your health or your budget. Have boba or an iced vanilla latte when it would make you feel better. Go to Yogurt Park with your friends. Just make sure that you do what you know is best for you, and if that’s a boba a day like my friend, then do your thing.
