In This Chapter

I’m probably going to date myself with this a bit, but as a kid, one of my favorite shows was MacGyver. In addition to the lead character sporting a mullet that just wouldn’t quit, the show was wonderfully predictable. In the last 15 minutes, MacGyver would end up trapped, stranded, or surrounded by bad guys. Yet through sheer resourcefulness, he would manage to escape the situation every time, usually by building something like a helicopter out of a paperclip, a broom, and half of a ham sandwich.

Well, it’s your turn to play MacGyver. But instead of building a nuclear reactor out a hair dryer and a Styrofoam cup, you’re scrambling to scrape together as much cash from your monthly budget as you can. That’s because every dollar you can pile up and every penny you can wring out of your budget will lower your ongoing need to beg and borrow. Even if you have just 3 or 6 months, you can begin making changes today that will arm you with more money when you start college, as well as free up cash flow during college that you can devote toward ongoing tuition expenses.