We are three siblings and im the only one who went far ( Quezon City) for college.Our eldest went to Centro Escolar and the youngest to AMA both in Bulacan. I am the one whose " malakas daw ang loob " ( strong willed) according to my two sisters. We grew up with the care of our grandparents because our mom is an OFW and a single parent. Being raised by your grannies , wise spending of your money is one of the lesson we have learned from them. Always telling us to be thrifty and dont waste our moms sacrifices and hardwork abroad for us to finish our studies.

College days was the start of my journey in the so called real crazy world.Time where your values are being tested by peer pressures. As a "probinsyana" ( the one raised and live in the province) we have ways that is quite different from the one who lives in the city. Though adapting to a new community was not that hard in my part coz i easily got along with a nice set of new friends.Some from school and some from the choir i joined in at Project 4,Quezon city.Those in the choir are the ones that friendship lasts until now.We are from different Colleges and Universities and serving through singing in the church choir was our common denominator and later on became my real close friends.They are my circle. My " budgetarian circle".

Budgetarian?

Have you heard of that word? Budgetarian? hahaha! according to our circles dictionary it was a term we use - it refers to a person who budget their finances wisely. Looking for significant buys that is worth every penny they have. and that's us! Since we are all students and only relying from our allowances , we need to make sure that our little money will fit in for a week or one month. So careful and wise budgeting is a must. I have two circle of friends. The one from school and the other from church choir. Both circles are always in a budgetarian mode.hehe!

Lunch at the campus are mostly if not always , was spent in " point,point" ( turo-turo) as our " conyo" ( students who belongs to high class or rich families) classmates called it. Turo-turo coz all you have to do is point the food you want to eat and the server would give your order pronto. No need for a menu. Your 30php will go a long way , rice with your choice of viand and of course the " sabaw " or soup that will complete the student meal. And if you get along very well with the owner of the karinderia you might get a free banana for dessert. And at times where you were not able to finish your food because its your time already you can ask " manang" the owner of the stall to make " balot" or wrapped your food into a plastic and keep it for later consumption because if you are a budgetarian it is a no no to waste food.

Every weekend , after choir practice my other circle will hang out to a friends house near the church. And if there s nothing to eat in the house , we are going to ride a jeepney going to Cubao. Our usual stop was Wendys. That time they still have their salad bar wherein all six of us will chipped in to pay for a single order of their macaroni salad. The catch is you have to pay for the single medium plate in the counter in order for you to have access in their salad bar or station and in there you will prepare your own salad . You stack it as high as you want as long as it wont spill. And the great part is you can share it with friends. It was like an " eat all you can salad " that was super dooper worth of every penny you'll spend.

I am always the designated one in preparing the salad coz according to my friends, i do have the " magic hands" hahaha! i can artfully stacked the salad and other ingredients such as lettuce,macaroni,gelatin,cheese ,pineapple,corn kernels,cucumber,hard boiled eggs,cruotons etc .etc. as high as over 8"inches so it could feed all six of us! It literally save our growling stomachs every weekend. The crew eventually recognized us by our first names and probably thinking of banning us to enter the store. Hahaha! that did'nt happen anyway. Probably thinking " lugi sila sa amin" ! The crew are happy as well seeing us enjoying our meal into their store every weekend.

Closing thought

Those are just a few happy memories to look back at. My friends in the picture above are the same friends i am with during those " budgetarian days". Now we are capable of dining to a resto. Actually they usually pay and treat me and my family whenever we have our get together. We laughed our heart out everytime we remember those happy days. My budgetarian friends are now successfull in their own respective fields. True friendships lasts even if you dont have much!

grey23espartinas