Freshmen learn the benefits of using flex dollars
Jacob Davis walked into The Market Monday afternoon ready to pick up some snacks.
“I didn’t know about flex dollars until I got to campus,” Davis, freshman and Lapeer native said. “Once I got here I was so excited that I had $250 extra.”
Central Michigan University has made it easy for students to find uses of flex dollars by having convenience stores, coffee shops and restaurants peppered throughout campus that are flex dollar-friendly.
“Students can use flex dollars for anything in the stores and restaurants on campus,” said Angela Dowis, assistant manager of Campus Dining.
Flex dollars come with students meal plans, but students without a meal plan, staff members who wish to partake in the use of flex dollars or students who go through their flex dollars before the semester is up, can buy more flex.
They can be purchased online, through the ID office in the Bovee University Center or by filling out a form that can be found in convenience stores on campus.
“I am going to try and spread my flex dollars out,” Davis said. “But most of them will be going toward Papa John’s.”
Living in Merrill Hall makes it easy for Davis to fill his need for Papa John’s.
“I have already spent $40,” Davis said.
Another freshman, Joe Frey from Grant, is planning on using their flex dollars for emergencies only.
“I (will use my flex dollars) when I don’t have cash on me,” Frey said. “Most of the time I use cash, but, like when I was on my way back from the gym and I needed water and didn’t want to break a $20, I used my flex.”
Frey sees flex dollars as being more useful for small-priced items, such as a bottle of water or a slushy, but he also wishes that some of his flex dollars could be used at the bookstore.
Although flex dollars can’t be used at the bookstore, they can be handy for students all over campus.
“I don’t see people on my floor using flex for more than small snacks,” Frey said. “But I know of a few of my older friends that used theirs all the time.”
