Devaluation of $10 hits student in pocket
by Mary Barrera, south news editor

    I bought $10 in gasoline two days ago. Now I’m out.

   I remember when $10 worth of gas would last me a week.

   Granted, I had a smaller car back then, but I drove a lot more miles than I do now. You would think it would even out.

   Now that I’m thinking about it, $10 really doesn’t buy much these days.

   Ten dollars is also probably the most money a student has, in cash, on any given day.

   Ten bucks will get you a sandwich, a bag of chips and a drink. It will buy you a movie ticket and a box of candy. It will get you a six-pack of your favorite beer and a bag of pretzels.

   However, ten dollars will buy you only two ice cream cones.

   If you show up at Starbucks with a $10 bill, you’re pushing your luck.
   If you go to the grocery store with $10, you can walk out with a box of crackers and a block of cheese.

   You can get two pounds of bananas, a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. You can buy a gallon of milk and a box of cereal.

   You can afford one sirloin steak.

   As far as household items, $10 will get you some detergent and a box of light bulbs. A pair of sweatpants will cost you $10.

   You can purchase a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush, maybe two.

   Ten bucks will get you two pairs of socks.

   For school, $10 will almost get you some ink for your printer. You can almost buy a planner, too.

   Ten dollars will buy you a haircut, but it won’t be enough to leave a tip … so you might not want the kind of haircut you can get with it.

   On the other hand, since so many things cost $10, sometimes you can find a good deal.

   You can load up on stuff at the dollar store. They have hair gel, cups, pens, window cleaner, pet chews, children’s toys, knickknacks, tools and cookies.

   You can get an entrée at just about any restaurant, as long as it’s between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Can you say “lunch special”?

   Ten dollars will get you some fresh fruit and veggies at the farmer’s market.

   Payless Shoes sometimes has a buy one pair, get one pair for half off sale.

   Two students can go to Payless, pick out two pairs of shoes for $10 each, go to the register and pay together, saving them five whole dollars.
   Then they can put on their brand new shoes and head to Krispy Kreme to get two free sample donuts and splurge on two cups of coffee. (That’s only five bucks.)

   That is … as long as they are not out of gas.