Lexi Ward: I Was Spending $1,100 a Month at 18
Freshman year at Boston University, Lexi Ward had $3,000 saved from working at a salad bar in high school. By Thanksgiving break, it was basically gone. She spent it on what looked like a normal freshman lifestyle, from blowouts, coffee, nails, Ubers, workout classes, and keeping up socially. No one around her seemed worried about money, so she wasn’t either. Until the numbers stopped working.
Now, Lexi works a full-time marketing job in NYC while building Campus Collective, a student-to-student services marketplace she launched at BU in January 2026.
We sat down with Lexi to talk about the exact numbers behind her freshman spending, waitressing burnout, moving back home post-grad with no job lined up, and how she launched her startup with almost no money.
⬇️Read the full interview below ⬇️
To set the stage, what are you doing now, and what did freshman year look like?
Right now, I work a full-time 9-5 marketing agency job in NYC. Outside of work, I’m building Campus Collective, which grew out of an idea I first had in college.
My days are split between agency work during business hours and founder work at night. I coordinate with my CTO in Hong Kong, so we’re constantly navigating a time difference. On top of that, I’m adjusting to adult life in NYC – rent, groceries, social life, everything.
One of my biweekly paychecks goes entirely to rent. I try to save as much as possible from the other.
Freshman year was very different.
I had just moved from Long Island to Boston University. My priorities were making friends and keeping up socially. I wasn’t thinking about money much at all. I came into college with about $3,000 saved. Boston University has a very affluent student culture. It felt like no one around me was thinking about money, so I didn’t either. That disconnect is what sets everything else in motion.
During freshman year, what did your finances actually look like month to month?
Freshman year, my spending looked like this:
- Blowouts: $75, 1-2x/week → about $450/month
- Coffee: about $120/month
- Nails & brows: about $120/month
- Eating out, Ubers, social plans: about $350/month
- Workout classes: about $100/month
I was spending roughly $1,100 per month without fully realizing it.
The reality check came after Thanksgiving break when I opened my bank account and realized I had basically nothing left. That’s when I started DoorDashing over break and helping high school seniors write college essays just to make quick money.
When you took on waitressing to cover expenses, what did that look like?
When I started waitressing in Boston, I was making $6.75/hour plus tips. I worked 3-5 days per week, 6-8 hours per shift. After I turned 21, I started bartending and shifts got longer.
Earnings were unpredictable:
- Great shifts: $150+
- Slow shifts: $30
Weekday shifts started around 5-6:30PM because I had class during the day. I only worked day shifts on weekends because I didn’t want to give up my social life, but that meant missing the most profitable hours.
I walked to work in the freezing Boston winter and walked home late at night. After busy shifts, my body ached and I was completely drained. I was making money, but my entire schedule revolved around it.
What specifically made waitressing unsustainable for you?
It was the burnout and lack of control. You could work an eight-hour shift and make almost nothing if it was slow. It felt dependent on luck. On top of that, my boss had no consistent payment system. Sometimes I’d get paid weekly. Sometimes it would take months.
I had class all day, then went straight into night shifts. I was constantly planning my academic life around work instead of the other way around.
During one of those shifts, I was brainstorming an idea for a startup pitch assignment in my marketing class. I had once thought how nice it would be to have a central place to book affordable services from other students on campus, like blowouts, manicures, and tutoring. But sitting in that restaurant, I realized the real opportunity wasn’t just for the person booking the service. It was for the student offering it.
That idea eventually became Campus Collective.
What did post-grad look like emotionally?
I didn’t start building Campus Collective in college. I worked my waitressing job all the way through graduation. The emotional weight hit after I graduated.
I moved back into my childhood bedroom on Long Island while most of my friends were signing leases and starting careers. I was one of the only people without a job lined up. Every day was job applications, cold LinkedIn messages, and refreshing my email. It was the most stressful period of my life. I felt behind, embarrassed, and lost.
There is something humbling about going from being a busy college student to sitting alone in your room with no clear next step. That’s when the idea came back.
Building Campus Collective gave me structure when everything else felt uncertain. Sending job applications felt passive, but building something felt active. Even when I wasn’t sure if it would become something serious, it made me feel like I was moving forward instead of standing still.
What did the early stages of Campus Collective look like financially?
We officially launched at Boston University on January 27, 2026. I work full-time, so most founder work happens at night. In the weeks leading up to the launch, I don’t think I went to sleep before 2AM.
Financially, I kept everything extremely lean. Upfront costs included:
- Trademark filing (two classes): about $700
- Canva Teams subscription
- Facebook and Instagram ads: about $200
- ChatGPT Pro subscription
- Ambassador welcome packages + launch merch: about $400
Everything at this stage has required time, effort, and small strategic expenses. My mom helped me assemble materials and hand-stick logos onto cookie packaging before the launch pop-up. This stage was built more on resourcefulness and support than on money.
Did you have financial support?
When I realized I needed technical help to build the app, I spoke with a development agency. They quoted me thousands of dollars, which I didn’t have and wasn’t willing to take a loan for.
Instead, I posted on BU’s alumni network looking for a technical partner in exchange for equity. That decision allowed me to build without debt.
My dad fronted the $700 trademark cost with the understanding I would pay him back. That felt like my biggest risk at the time. I also opened a Bank of America business account that offered a $500 bonus after 90 days, which covered a meaningful portion of early expenses. Not having funding forced me to be strategic with every dollar.
For students choosing between exhausting hourly work and building something flexible, what should they think through?
Pause and ask:
“What is my time worth, and what is this job giving me besides money?”
I thought I was giving up a few evenings to waitressing. In reality, I was giving up flexibility, energy, and opportunity cost. Students are already paying for services like nails, tutoring, photography, and fitness training. There’s a difference between saying, “I waitressed in college,” and saying, “I ran a small service business, set my pricing, and managed clients.”
When you run something flexible on your own terms, you decide how much time you put in. It comes down to asking yourself where your time will be most useful.
Follow Lexi’s Journey ✨
From sending $1,100 a month at 18 to launching a startup with under $2,000 in upfront costs, Lexi’s story is proof that your lowest financial moment can be the start of something bigger.
Check out our Instagram collaborator post with Lexi here.
TikTok: @lexi.warddd
Instagram: @lexi_warddd
