Coffee. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I buy it and sometimes I find it for free – the best mornings are when I find it for free.
However, this particular morning I paid $2 for a cup of vanilla hazelnut from Einstein Bros. Bagels. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious, but it was still $2. And 33.9 oz. of Folgers is still going to run you about $10.
After incessantly throwing down cash for a cup of joe, I realized that free coffee is the best coffee. And that led me to ponder other everyday items I always would like to have.
No. 5: Coffee
Other than reasons listed above, the caffeinated beverage wakes me up in the morning and keeps me going all day. If I don’t have time for a full meal, I’ll grab a hot cup of java. That always tides me over until I can find something more substantial. While coffee is often relatively easy to find for free in break rooms across campus, one day when I grow up and move to a cold, hard apartment in the city, it won’t be as easily accessible, so view this one as planning ahead.
No. 4: Plane Tickets
The biggest hurdle to traveling abroad, at least for me, seems to be the cost of the ticket and the commitment that comes with buying one. If you could fly wherever you wanted at the drop of a hat, worrying more about what you would need after you got to the destination instead of how to get there in the first place, you’d have a lot more fun and be a lot less limited.
No. 3: Internet
Now, I realize it’s relatively easy to find free Wi-Fi in certain coffee shops or fast food restaurants, but what I’m referring to by Internet is free Internet wherever I go. Because, let’s face it, I get stressed when I don’t have wireless at my fingertips. Whether on my smart phone, at my house or at my parents house, I don’t want to pay to get online. Dial-up Internet started free, and I’d like to get that back.
No. 2: Music
Let it be known that I love supporting the arts. And, I realize that illegally downloading music and stealing music from friends is kind of lame, but if musicians could still be compensated, I would love to get music for free for the rest of my life. I’d save so much money if I didn’t have to pay iTunes $1.29 just to buy this week’s biggest hit, or $10 for that album I think I might like. I love music, but I hate paying for it. Music is always changing and often, I can’t keep up monetarily. So, if you didn’t have to pay for music, think of how much more music you would listen to, how much easier it’d be to get into different types of jams (the music, not the food) and a perfectly free weekend activity.
No. 1: Tacos
I realize this sounds a little ridiculous, but if I’m going to pick a free food, it has to be something versatile yet consistent while being crunchy, yet soft. I never get sick of tacos. They are my go-to food. From Taco Bueno to Blue Taco to Rosa’s Taco Tuesday, tacos never get old. And they come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and flavors. The soft, crunchy, spicy and sweet treat comforts me in my lowest lows and accompanies me during my highest highs. The only thing that could strengthen my love of tacos would be if they were free.
