It’s the bane of all existence.

It’s where Green Beret tactics have payoffs.

It’s where the rubber meets the road.

The “it” here is none other than parking.

Students who do not have the luxury of sliding into a similar parking space every day that is relatively close to everywhere they need to go and does not threaten the exterior of the vehicle experience one of two emotions when looking for parking — frustration or sleuthing.

Frustration lies in a combination of areas. It begins when having to grudgingly fork over a paycheck just to pay for a permit all the way to driving to class on a daily basis and searching for a parking spot that your car may not fit into anyway — either because of the oversized SUV on one side or because you actually drive an oversized SUV.

But the frustration will increase with a five to 25 percent increase on individual parking permits.

And just in case you don’t remember, the increase is here in the first place because our state legislature messed up and we’re biting the bullet. We basically owe North Carolina public schools more money than five years’ worth of Coach Amato’s yearly salary.

Anyway, parking enforcement needs to increase — especially at metered spaces. Often times the meters are overdrawn, sometimes by more than two hours. Tickets could certainly be given out more frequently in those places. If the number of tickets increase, and even the cost, then the price of the permits will go down. It has to be an even equation, but they still relate to one another.

Undoubtedly, students will be looking for ways NOT to pay this increase. Adding 20 percent to a $250 permit is $300 — which translates to almost a month of paying the power bill.

So other options become more appealing. One is to find better ways to sneak out of getting a ticket — i.e. hidden parking spaces on or near campus or parking at the “right time” in order to avoid parking enforcers that just left.

Another option is just parking in pay lots as well as parking behind Hillsborough Street. They have their advantages, with pay lots being available while Hillsborough is cheap — but neither one works with a busy schedule that requires you to stay on campus for long periods of time.

But there is another option that is a bit old fashioned … but still applicable.

Car pooling.

That’s right. A little over 7,000 students live on campus, which means the majority of students are driving to school. Save yourself some money and split a permit. For anyone who lives in a complex, especially one that is heavily populated with students, get them to provide a shuttle like Wolf Creek and University House. Demand it because it is a worthwhile investment that other complexes could capitalize on.

But even if you and your friends are driving to school — at least you’ll be saving gas.