Ms. Guidance: How to pay the rent without pawning CDs

Dear Ms. Guidance,
I cannot seem to scrape enough money together for all of the things I need. I've always heard the expression “struggling student” but things are getting ridiculous. I am working every moment I am not at school or doing school-work and I still cannot make ends meet. I am seriously considering selling some of my things, like CDs and movies and what not. Do you think this is a good idea?
~Pondering the Pawnshop

No, I do not think that selling your worldly possessions which you have worked hard to obtain is a good idea at all. Even if you didn't work hard for them and someone else worked hard to obtain them for you, selling your possessions will only end in disappointment and regret. Not to sound completely material, but it is truly heartbreaking to go to listen to an album or watch a movie only to remember that you actually sold it two weeks ago for a few bucks. If the album, movie or miscellaneous possession is not something you care much for, it is far more emotionally rewarding to donate it to a second hand store or some other charitable cause than to trade it to some shady-looking character at the pawnshop for an even shadier-looking loonie. Believe me, I too have faced dire financial times and under these circumstances I too start to question whether or not I really need all those Disney films, Green Day albums or Intellivision game cartridges. Then I realize that yes, I do. These seemingly unwanted things are, in some way, a part of my past and it would be almost cruel to give up on them just because I can't make rent. Not to mention, it would take more than my copies of 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, 101 Dalmatians, and Burger-Time to put anyone in any sort of state of financial stability. Selling valuables puts you no further ahead, really, unless all you need is a pack of cigarettes or some other inconsequential nonsense. If your hydro is about to be cut off, or you're going to be evicted because you're three months late with the rent, it is not the time to take a stroll on down to the Pawn & Loan with a grocery bag full of CDs from the mid-90s, but rather time for some careful planning and reconsideration.

I cannot stress enough the importance of creating a budget and strictly following it. (If anyone is interested I have created a budget program in Excel that I will gladly send to anyone who emails the address below requesting it.) The one sure fire way of creating massive debt and financial disaster is living beyond your means. If you have $500 to spend for the month, your rent is over half of it, hydro is $40, food is costing about $30 a week and this month's phone bill has arrived in a red envelope stamped “PAST DUE,” perhaps it is not prudent to spend $150 dollars on beer for the month. If you are adhering to a well-planned budget and still just do not have enough money, consider applying for an emergency bursary through Fanshawe or make an appointment with a Branch Manager at your bank to discuss any funding options they may have for you. There is also the Student Sharing Shop within Fanshawe, as well as the Co-Operative Grocery Store and Food Bank in London to help cut down on the cost of amenities. I suppose as a last resort I would prefer someone to sell their valuables as opposed to starving, but, inasmuch as you're going to be just as broke next month but this time without anything to do because you've sold everything, it isn't really the most constructive option.

Dear Ms. Guidance,
In your first column, you seem to have insulted Maroon5. What's so wrong with them?
~Maroon5's Biggest Fan

I did not seem to insult them, I did insult them. Mediocrity should not earn anyone money…and yet. There is just an absolute multitude of better music than Maroon5 to listen to. Plus, I was trying to think of the most tragically hilarious tattoo ever, and Maroon5 on someone's forehead would totally be in the top ten.