Making Christmas Count: How College Students Stretch Their Holiday Budgets
Lydia Chapman
Senior Reporter
On a chilly afternoon, Serena Thompson stands in the middle of Walmart, clutching a small Funko Pop in her hands. The fluorescent lights hum overhead, Christmas music plays a little too loudly through the speakers, and she bites her lip as she flips the price tag over one more time.
Eight dollars. Clearance.
She exhales, relieved.
“It’s silly,” she said. “I knew my sister would think it was hilarious. And when you’re a college student, finding a perfect gift that doesn’t break your bank account feels like winning the lottery.”
Thompson, a junior IT major, doesn’t have a holiday season filled with big budgets and glossy shopping bags. Instead, she relies on something far more practical: a savings app connected to her bank account.
“It pulls...