Money Issues

I have decided that, if I am to move out someday, I need to save money. I realized, as I was driving home from school today, there are so many easy ways to spend money nowadays, that I have to consciously restrain myself from picking up something cheap to eat when I am out and about. There is food in the pantry that is cheaper and is perfectly available to me. When I pick up a magazine and they have a featured article titles something sensational like "10 EASY WAYS YOU CAN SAVE $1,000!" I am always disappointed because I find myself already turning off the lights when I leave a room, shutting off the sink while I brush my teeth, and shopping at thrift stores and only buying sale items (with the exception of an already moderately-priced pair of really cute shoes). I don't go on a beach vacation every year and I turn my thermostat up 7 degrees from the normal comfort zone in the summer, and down 7 degrees in the winter. I want to read some miracle way to make me a millionare without giving up everything that constitutes a comfortable, civilized life. 20 thousand extra would be helpful in paying off future college debts.

I have a goal: to graduate college without accumulating any debt. I have the first 2 years knocked out. I am on the A+ plan. For those of you who do not have this wonderful program, I will explain it. If you do well in highschool, do not skip class, and do some 50 hours of volunteer tutoring by the time you graduate, the program will pay for 2 years of community college tuition. Some state universities have scholarships in place for A+ recipients that don't want to go to community college, but this is mainly a state-funded program to get good kids to go to school.

All I have to worry about right now is the next 2 years of college. I am planning on going to a state university, getting into their honors college, and working my way through so I don't end up paying off thousands of dollars in my own debt when I am sending my future kids to college. This seems pretty far-fetched when you see the numbers for a public state university, not to even mention private universities. For University of Missouri, St. Louis, 15 credit hours plus parking as a Missouri resident (not including books or other course-specific fees) is $4,585.68, or $10,380.18 for a nonresident. For the University of Georgia, tuition and fees for a resident is $9,472 and a non-resident is $27,682. University of California, Los Angeles, per year of school, resident, $12,686, non-resident, $35, 564. The price of an education is ridiculous. Of course, you can't expect to be much better than a fast food chain worker or possibly a floor salesperson at a department store unless you have gone to college. This is why I am trying to get involved in as many honors activities as possible. Universities notice this and take it into account with your grades when you apply for scholarships and honors programs with cash stipends. Hopefully I make it. Hopefully I go to the university and they give me loads of money because they see my good grades and test scores and programs I worked in. It is just about all I can do.

Sources:
UMSL: http://www.umsl.edu/services/cashiers/fee_sch.htm
UGA: https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/tuition-and-costs-of-attending.html
UCLA: http://www.umsl.edu/services/cashiers/fee_sch.htm