Idaho State University student Chris Bramwell is representing himself and the university in the second season of the Zions Bank Cheapster reality series.
Bramwell is competing to potentially be named the “Ultimate Cheapster” and win $10,000 for himself and $10,000 for ISU.
He has made it through the first two rounds of the competition after being selected as one of the final 13 to be on the show and has high hopes for making it through to the final 10.
Cheapster is a web-based reality series “that’s all about the crazy and creative ways that people save money,” according to the introduction from season one.
This is the second year that Zions Bank has done the Cheapster reality series.
The Cheapster series looks for college students throughout Idaho and Utah who are true “Cheapsters” to compete.
13 students from 13 different universities throughout Idaho and Utah are competing in season two of the Cheapster series.
“We are on the hunt for the cheapest college student in Utah and Idaho,” said Brad Herbert, vice president of marketing and sales for Zions Bank.
According to Herbert, about four times as many students participated and made submissions for the show this year versus last year.
Bramwell found out about the competition while browsing through news stories. He then took five minutes to submit a short essay and received a call back asking him to submit a video depicting just how “cheap” he was.
“I’ve never realized how cheap I was until I submitted this video and did this contest, and I’m realizing now I’m very cheap,” said Bramwell with a laugh.
You can see Bramwell compete and watch his progress in the Cheapster reality series by going to www.cheapstertv.com or www.facebook.com/cheapstertv.
The first and second episodes are currently available and the next episode will be released Thursday, Nov. 1.
Herbert said that the competition is a fun way for Zions to let students know “we understand.”
“[Students] may not necessarily need or be looking for a certain banking product now but you may down the road. We want to let you know that we’ll be there,” said Herbert.
Herbert described the competition as “Price Is Right style”.
In the first episode, contestants faced a wall of coupons. Contestants had 60 seconds to choose the three coupons from the wall that would save them the most money.
“I was the last contestant back from the wall during that challenge but I did very well,” said Bramwell.
In the second episode, contestants were given a picture of a meal and its three main ingredients. They had to guess the cost of the meal.
“I think that the competition is great,” said Bramwell. “It definitely increases the promotion of the Cheapster lifestyle. If nothing else it gets people thinking about how they can save money, and especially now people need different ways to save money with the way the economy is working.”
This year’s competition format is slightly different than last year.
If Bramwell makes it through to the final 10, the public and the ISU community will have a chance to support him and help him win the competition by voting online.
More information will be announced Nov. 1, during the third episode, after the final 10 contestants are selected.
“I’ve really enjoyed [the competition],” said Bramwell. “It’s been a lot of work, but I like doing new things and I can peg this on the board as something new and cool that I’ve done, and I’m just trying my best to win that money for me and for ISU.”
Bramwell is a graduate student getting his master’s in business administration with a concentration in information assurance.
He said that he felt his business, advertising, and marketing classes at ISU definitely helped him market himself to judges and get selected for the show.
Bramwell and his wife have been married for 5 years but never had the opportunity to go on an actual honeymoon.
If Bramwell were to win the competition, he and his wife plan to take some sort of trip together. He would save any money left over for the future.
Bramwell advised students, “You can save a ton of money on campus. You know, just going to see movies on campus, sporting events and the workout facilities—everything here on campus is free to students and faculty, so whether they know it or not that’s a huge savings for them.”
After Bramwell finishes his degree at ISU, he plans to move to Washington D.C. for two years to work for the Department of Homeland Security.
“It’s so expensive in D.C., though. As a Cheapster, I’m definitely not looking forward to moving [there],” said Bramwell.
Last year, Lori Thompson of Utah State University won the competition and was named the “Ultimate Cheapster.”
