The first year (or two) after college can be both incredibly fun and incredibly scary. You go from “college world,” with its parties and dining center meals and all-night cram sessions, to the “real world,” full of jobs and bills and waking up before the crack of dawn. And most likely, you’ll be broke.

But that doesn’t have to mean you can’t still have the time of your life. Here are a few tips to help you stretch your money and have fun in the process in the first year after college.

Ditch the Cable

Instead of paying for cable, get a Netflix subscription. The monthly streaming-only package is only $8 a month — easily $50 less than what cable will probably end up costing you (you know, once the “introductory offer” expires and your bill quadruples without warning). Their movie selection has become kind of “meh” lately, but the TV shows they offer are great. From Parks and Rec, to Mad Men, to Workaholics, to all 4,000 seasons of Law and Order, the selection is pretty good. Plus, they have exclusive rights to stream the new season of Arrested Development next month, so you’ll need to sign up for that alone.

Also, don’t make a habit out of renting movies from Redbox. If you’re anything like I was, you’ll never return them and end up accidentally adding titles like 17 Again, Grizzly Park and Doll Graveyard to your film collection (at like $30 apiece). 

Learn to Cook (and while you’re at it, learn to brew)

I shudder to think about how much money I spent eating out (and ordering in) my first year post-college. Going out to eat was just as much about entertainment as it was about, you know, needing to eat. Once I discovered that not only was making food at home not that hard, but actually kind of fun, I saved a lot of money. My friends and I would have sushi nights at home, or get together and down a bottle of wine while attempting to make the perfect Pad Thai. The internet is full of great food/cooking blogs to help you get started (Here’s a list of some of the best; also check out the hilarious Thug Kitchen).

You know what’s even more expensive than eating out? Drinking out. You can get a starter homebrewing kit for less than $75. Making your own beer or hard cider is easy, fun and saves a lot of money in the long run.

Just Say No to Credit Cards

I guess if you are uber-responsible and can resist the temptation to spend more money than you actually have in your bank account, go for it. But for me, credit cards were just bad news. I’d see a pair of $100 jeans I wanted but couldn’t afford and think, “No worries! I’ll just put them on my card!” Thankfully none of the credit cards I got right out of college had very high limits so I didn’t dig myself too far into debt, but I certainly would have been better off without them!

Treat Yo’self

It’s very important to make a budget, be smart about spending, and put as much money away in savings as you possibly can. But for every 10 days you’re stingy, you should have one day where you allow yourself to splurge on something special. As Donna and Tom from Parks and Rec would say: sometimes you just have to treat yo’self. Get that urge to splurge out of your system every once in awhile and you’ll be more likely to spend sensibly the rest of the time.

Pop Some Tags

Thanks to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, thrifting is like the new hip thing. But it’s also a really great way to get yourself cool stuff without spending a lot of money. There are few things more exciting than scoring the ultimate thrift store find. I’ve gotten a $200 wool Pendelton blanket for $5, dozens of designer jeans for under $10 apiece, tons of $0.50 records, a brand-new Timbuk2 bag for $7…the list goes on and on. The secret is finding a shop in the right part of town, usually a more affluent area where rich people donate their stuff.

Craigslist is also good for getting cheap furniture and stuff, but not nearly as much fun.

Get a Bike

Right out of college I signed up for a Lifetime gym membership for like $60 a month. I think I literally went three times in the four months I had it. A much better way of staying active is to get a bike. Not only will riding around help you stay in shape, it will also save you a lot of gas money. Instead of driving to Target, bike. Or instead of driving to the bar, bike (another perk of biking is never having to pay for a taxi home). Obviously, certain cities are going to be better for biking, but you might be surprised that most probably have pretty decent trails/paths for you to use.

Make sure to watch Ben’s for deals on bikes (you can get a decent one for a couple hundred dollars).

Surviving the First Year After College Without Going Broke

Of course, there’s one thing that Disney knows quite a bit about: overcharging customers. Here’s a batch of toys and collectibles that you should absolutely avoid, unless you like using stacks of one hundred dollar bills for blaster practice.

$28,500 Imperial Star Wars Watch

Designed to combine elements from Darth Vader’s helmet and gloves as well as a TIE Fighter and the Imperial crest, this horrifically overpriced wristwatch requires a $2,500 down payment just for the privilege of paying another $26,000 on delivery. But hey, they are throwing in some TIE Fighter cufflinks with a watch that costs more than some midsize sedans.

$4,500 to $6,500 LEGO 1st Edition Millennium Falcon

Regularly selling on eBay (or Amazon) for several thousand dollars, the original LEGO Millennium Falcon sports more than 5,000 parts with sections such as a rotating radar dish, extending boarding ramp and detachable cockpit with all the original trilogy mini-figures. While the new version is a far less complicated build, it’s also about 3% the current cost of the original version.

$4,000 Millennium Falcon Star Wars Bed

This insanely priced twin bed at Pottery Barn is crafted out of hardwood and includes a faux control panel with all the knobs and gauges on the Millennium Falcon. We recommend saving your money and use Instructables to build you own Star Wars bed. Perhaps the AT-AT Imperial Walker Loft Bed or this Star Wars X-Wing bed.

$1,500 to $2,000 LEGO Star Wars Death Star II

Selling in brand new condition for $1,500 or more on eBay frequently, this highly complex build of more than 3,400 pieces ranks up there with the original LEGO Star Destroyer in both complexity and cost. Interestingly, the new version can be purchased for 25 percent or less than the cost of this model.

$1,300 Star Wars Stormtrooper Costume

Probably forcing you to wear this for the next 10 to 15 years as a primary Halloween costume to justify the cost, the super expensive Stormtrooper costume includes EVA molded-pieces, a two-piece helmet and a black polyester bodysuit to complete the Imperial ensemble.

Five Ridiculously Overpriced Star Wars Toys / Collectibles

Whenever we post LEGO deals on Ben’s Bargains, they’re usually quite popular because regular-price LEGO sets just seem outrageously expensive for children’s toys. The 3,803-piece LEGO Death Star (10188) is frequently cited as an example, retailing for $400.

Yet, we love LEGO anyway and continue to fork over our hard-earned cash for these fantastically well-crafted pieces of (ABS) plastic. The LEGO Death Star has been in production for 5 years (!) and is frequently seen on eBay for significantly more than the MSRP during peak buying periods, as are many other popular and/or rare LEGO sets.

Among LEGO buyers, it’s known that the price per brick hovers around 10 to 13 cents. According to Andrew Sielen’s excellent analysis What Happened with LEGO, the price of a brick has been relatively static for the past 8 or 9 years and was even significantly higher two or three decades ago — you know, back when most adults today were playing with LEGOs. And this price stability has occurred in the same time period as the advent of LEGO’s licensed sets (Star Wars, Harry Potter) which actually carry very little to no price markup compared to the non-licensed sets.

Expensive, Just Not Crazy Expensive

LEGO toys aren’t always tremendously more expensive than its closest competitors (knockoffs) MegaBloks and KRE-O, which have increased in popularity in recent years with its own licensing deals like Halo (MegaBloks) and Star Trek and Transformers (KRE-O). For example, while the 413-piece LEGO Tie Fighter (9492) can be found for around $45 to $50 and the 443-piece MegaBloks Halo UNSC Mantis is a comparative value at $32,  the 432-piece KRE-O U.S.S. Enterprise is the most expensive at $50.

LEGO USS Enterprise? Nope, this is the KRE-O USS Enterprise!

Even a comparison of plain bricks is a close call. A 450-piece MegaBlocks Ultimate Building Tub is $25 (5.5 cents/brick), while the 405-piece LEGO Ultimate Building Set (6166) is around $30 (7.5 cents/brick). So, yes, LEGO toys are generally pricier, but not by a huge margin.

Resale Value, Quality and Size

The thing is, LEGO sets hold their value and then some. Sealed and mint brand-new sets from popular lines like Star Wars have been known to go for twice as much as the original price, and sometimes even used sets can fetch higher-than-sticker prices. The LEGO Star Wars Slave I (8097) sold for $80 three years ago and can now be found on eBay for as much as $100 new and $75 for used.

LEGO is famous for its crazy attention to detail and precision engineering of the billions of pieces they’ve produced over the decades (over 400 billion since 1958, according to the company).

Not only do pieces from different decades fit together with consistent clutch power—which is not always the case for its competitors’ offerings (i.e. MegaBloks) from the same set!— but its high-priced molds are ridiculously accurate with tolerances as minute as 0.0005″. You’re not gonna be pumping out LEGO-quality bricks with a 3D printer anytime soon. You’re also not gonna find this special sauce in MegaBloks bricks, either.

Besides quality, the size of sets is a major factor in the perceived expense of LEGO toys. The aforementioned Death Star is one of the top-five largest LEGO sets with over 3,800 pieces. The more advanced Architecture series LEGO sets often have over 500 pieces with a few over 1,000 pieces. By contrast, the top-of-the-line LEGO set in 1980, the Inter-City Passenger Train Set (7740), had  786 pieces and the classic LEGO Main Street (6390) had 591 pieces—these sizes are now commonplace.

LEGOLAND Main Street — a classic of its time…

Higher quality production, the ever-increasing size and complexity of high-end sets and the impressive resale value of LEGO all contribute to its high price tag. But the number one reason is, of course, demand. We’re still willing to fork over more cash for LEGO sets, and that’s that.

Revealed!! Why LEGO Toys Are So Expensive