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Budgeting

03/09/12  |  Posted by Tami Liss  |  Posted in Student Blogger

"Make the most of what you have" is something you quickly learn to live by, as a student investing in a school in order to gain use of its resources (and of course, learning to budget to maintain that investment). It's important to keep this notion in mind with regard to time management, money, personal effects, skills, etc. It's a good thing to remind oneself when you're feeling overwhelmed by thoughts of things you need or lack, want but don't have, wish you could do but can't - or can't figure out how. As artists, we're talented at looking at things a different way, re-appropriating and re-contextualizing. "Make the most of what you have" is similar to the excellent creative challenge of working within strict limitations. It may be annoying or frustrating, but it teaches us to flourish as problem-solvers. I don't mean to get overly sentimental by calling it a "life lesson" but, as an avid thrifter, scavenger and efficiency nut, this idea holds special interest for me. I equate it on a certain level to the fine art of bargaining. When haggling, you can usually bring a price down by 20-40%. "Aggressive" or determined haggling is a delicate process, dependent on a lot of factors like your personality, appearance, word choice, how much money you have/bring/show?that's barely the tip of the iceberg. Point is, it's a surprisingly good exercise for forcing you to think on-the-spot, adapt, and determine the best way to use your resources for a desired outcome. I am NOT advising anyone to go out and con or finagle. Simply to use that inventive and resourceful art-student brain to think more deftly when you get that awful trapped feeling we all fall pray to now and then. Break things down, and think how you can use what you DO have to achieve what you don't.

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