Moms everywhere used to warn their children to carry some extra pocket change when they went out in order to use a payphone for emergencies.

Now that payphones are just about extinct and pocket change can barely buy you a gumball, there’s a need to always have a few bills in your purse/wallet. It always feels good to have a twenty-spot in your pocket, but it’s not always necessary.

Three dollars. It doesn’t seem like much, but if you try hard enough, you can stretch it out throughout a long day on campus. Or you can blow it all at once. The choice is yours, but here’s a few reasons why you should always be armed with a few Washingtons:

Caffeine Boost

We all have those days that feel like marathons. When you’re knee-deep in a paper due in three hours after a loaded class schedule, the gift of caffeine could go a long way. Three dollars won’t provide you with an adderall-boost, but it’ll keep your eyes open a little longer.

Impress Someone with Your Origami Skills

Waste of money? I think not.

(barely) Raid the Vending Machines

After you’ve pushed your body to the extreme limits of hunger, just about anything from a vending machine starts to look like a three-course meal. Don’t get greedy though, it seems like those prices always creep up on you in your most desperate hours.

Gum

Your breath smells. Deal with it.

Spot Your Mooching Friend

You know who I’m talking about. There’s always that one friend who just needs to “borrow a dollar.” Unfortunately, they don’t know what “borrow” means and by the end of your college career it feels like they mistook you for a bank.

Pay Someone for their Computer in a Crowded Lab

Get creative. When you absolutely need a computer and forgot your laptop, show the people some green. People will probably think you’re a little weird, but you gotta do what you gotta do when academics are on the line.

Bribe a Professor?

Yeah, don’t do that (but if you do, bring more than three dollars).

Share Lunch with a Squirrel

Three bucks won’t buy you the best meal in town, but you’ll still get something to hold you over. And if you’re feeling somewhat generous, take a seat in the grass and invite some of Penn State’s furriest. Don’t be surprised if one of them is wearing a hat either.

Buy a Cig

If you’re an avid smoker, then odds are you never have smokes when you need them. That’s okay. There are plenty of people willing to make a deal for a single boag.

Buy THON Hot Cocoa

The weather is changing and pretty soon tables offering warm beverages will be popping up. It’s really a win-win: hot cocoa to help a fantastic cause.

Other Suggestions from Katie Tully

Canyon Pizza – I’ve never heard any complaints about Canyon Pizza. I only hear good things like how pizza is $1 per slice or how only sober people go there. Anyway, with $3, you can get three slices of pizza.

Off-campus buses – $3 will pay for a round trip off-campus. But first you’re going to have to find an arcade or a laundromat with a change machine because the fare is $1.50 per trip. You’re on your own for that.

McDonald’s Breakfast – If you just so happen to be up between the hours of 5 a.m. and 11 a.m., $3 can snag you a sausage biscuit, a hash brown and a small coffee. You may need some change for taxes, but if you’re brave enough to search on the floor I’m sure you could scrounge up the total.

Spontaneous Games of DDR in East – Sometimes you just feel the urge to dance. I’m not talking about the grinding crap that happens at frats. I’m talking about REAL dancing that only involves leg movements. Occasionally you just need to pay tribute to the video game that taught our generation how to dance. Although, if you do have these urges, you may also want to consider carrying a towel around with you.  It can get pretty sweaty on those machines.

Chadwick Lynch also contributed to this post. I bet you can guess his contributions.