Who said the only way to learn about money was to read articles on top of articles? Financial education is all around us—provided you look closely enough. Increase your awareness with the SALT Blog video of the week, picked fresh from YouTube.
I wish I’d seen this video 10 years ago. Eleven-year-old me would have strategized, segmented, and dominated the candy market like Brad Pitt in Moneyball.
But what can this video teach those of us too old to trick or treat?
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Trading stuff for college is both fun and helpful. If it’s done right, everyone leaves happy and better off. If not—well, that is a whole different story. Fortunately, with a little help from the world of candy, we can figure out how to keep things on track.
LOOK FOR THE RIGHT OPENING AND DIVERSIFY
Move-in day and move-out day are opportune times to make a deal. There’s always someone looking to get rid of something or with a little extra room in the trunk. If you notice too much of something in your room (3 microwaves?), a nice swap could help all parties involved.
It’s just like dealing with Halloween candy. You may lean toward chocolate or fruity tastes, but too much of either will get sickening. For every bag of M&M’s, you should have no more than 5 bags of Skittles, and vice versa. It’s all about balancing out what you need.
SWAP CHORES, BUT PLAY IT CLOSE TO THE VEST
I hate coconut, but if I’m trading candy, I’m not sharing that info. When I’m unloading an Almond Joy or Mounds, I want something better than a York Peppermint Patty in return. That’s a glorified pillow topper.
The same thing is true when you’re trading chores with roommates. It can be as simple as “I wash, you dry” or a much bigger, blockbuster deal. I’ll do the dishes 7 or 8 times before doing any toilet scrubbing. But I don’t want my roommates to know that. (Uh-oh, I just published that thought on the Internet.)
As long as no one knows which chore you can bear the most, you’ll be able to pull off some nice trades.
THE TAKE 5s of COLLEGE: BOOKS
Hershey’s chose 5 unique ingredients (chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, peanuts, and PRETZELS) to make a sweet and salty snack (the Take 5 bar) without including more polarizing ingredients like coconut or licorice. These quintuple threats offer something for everyone, and there’s a similar currency on campuses: books.
Here’s a secret: Everyone takes the same classes. Someone could use your old books. Maybe they could pay you cash for it, but maybe they already took a class that you’re headed into. This is especially true in between semesters. People with the same major don’t always take classes in the same sequence —providing a perfect chance to swap.
Want to swap suggestions about trades? Go ahead in the comments.
