Applicant #6: Zachary Cox

Zachary Cox is a 21-year-old from Florence.

Zachary's video application:

Zachary online:

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Zachary's current situation:

I'm a 21 year old student at the University of North Alabama. I'm in my 3rd year and I just switched to an Interdisciplinary Studies major with an emphasis in International Business. I enjoy playing guitar and am currently learning banjo. Music is a beautiful art to me. I'm a traveler, I've been over 3 continents in the never ending search for adventure. I like adventure and new things.

Zachary's blog post:

Money makes the world go around or so they say, but how do I get money? When I have money, how do I keep it? The importance of saving money and how to save money is a subject I feel strongly about. Saving money is one of the most beneficial skills any person can have, and everyone needs to have this skill especially people in generation Y. Fast food, new releases, a night out on the town, or a night in playing on your pay-to-play World of Warcraft account can be "necessary" expenses for us young folk. Have no fear! I have a couple ways I’ve used to save money that may be some use to you!

Fast food might be the quickest source of grub, but it isn’t always the cheapest. Lately, I’ve been taking a couple minutes extra to pack my lunch instead of going out and buying my lunch, which on average saves me at least $10 a week! Over the course of a semester (12 weeks), I’ve saved myself at least $120! If you do have to eat out though, dollar menus are definitely the way to go. Very few cheap fast food selections beat a good 99 cent Chicken Burrito from Taco Bell. It also pays to take advantage of local specials. Chik-fil-A offers two-for-one combos for college students on Tuesday nights. You can impress your special person while saving money, another good two-for-one deal! Since gasoline is extremely expensive now, it’s best if you don’t drive everywhere in order to save money but that doesn’t happen. Carpooling, bike riding, and public transportation are good ways to save money, but that doesn’t often happen. Sometimes, I have a stop or two where I only stay there for a minute or two and I just leave it running. Starting a car uses a lot of gas, and if you leave it running for a couple minutes it uses less gas than turning it on then cranking it back up. Also, coasting down hills and not flooring it at every red light that turns green will save you some gas and court cost.

The biggest tip on saving money I can ever have to offer is, believe it or not, to put the money in a savings account and pretend like you never had it. Banking is the best way to save. Savings account compound interest (which makes YOU more money) and you won’t have the money burning a hole in your wallet. Every time I get a little money from my grandparents, or a paycheck, I always take some money out and put it in my savings account -- you’ll never know when you’ll need it. It’s better to have it there, trust me!

Zachary