Posts published on September 8, 2015

Money-Saving Tricks for College Students

BY JANE HURST

Now that you’re in college, you are more on your own than at any other time in your life, and you need to start taking on more responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is handling your money so you’re not always broke. This is not nearly as difficult as it sounds. All you need to do is learn a few money-saving tips that you will use for the rest of your life.

  1. Create a Budget – One of the first things you need to do is create a budget. List all of your actual expenses that you must pay, as well as any income. Set up dates for bill payments, and budget for these payments. If there is anything left over at the end of the month, you can use it for spending or savings.
  2. Visit Charity Thrift Stores – You can get some terrific deals on clothing, small appliances, and more at thrift stores. Not only will you be able to save money, proceeds from your purchases will go to charities.
  3. Get a Budgeting App – If you are having difficulties with budgeting, an app such as Level Money, which is free for iOS and Android users, is a great tool to have. It will link your bank accounts with your credit cards, so you will be able to easily track all of your spending.
  4. Look for Banking Perks – Banks want your business, so make them work for it. While they will all offer a number of perks to get you as a customer, only choose the bank that offers the best perks for your particular financial needs.
  5. Save Money on Clothing – Ordering clothing online is a great way to save money, and you can get even better deals when you order your clothing (and many other things that you need) from China. Visit Taobao to learn more.
  6. Get Student Beans – It is time to get the Student Beans ID if you don’t already have it. This is an awesome digital card for students that gives you discounts at loads of awesome stores and restaurants all year long.
  7. Make Your Own Coffee – If you add up how much you spend on coffee every day, you may be surprised to learn just how much money you are wasting. It is a lot cheaper to brew your own coffee and fill a travel mug. In fact, you can save $5 or more per day.
  8. Get Free Condoms – Safe sex is incredibly important, but condoms aren’t cheap. Luckily, you can get free condoms simply by visiting sexual health clinics and even your family doctor. If they offer you free condoms, take them. If they don’t offer, bring up the topic of safe sex and drop the hint.
  9. Save on Groceries – Learn how to eat smart and stock up on inexpensive staples that you can use to create loads of great meals. Don’t forget to look for cheap recipe ideas online.
  10. Sell Your Car – If you are living on campus, or live at home and have the use of the family car, do you really need the expense of your own car? You can add to your bank account by selling your car and getting your family or friends to give you a lift when you need it.
  11. No More Magazines – If you subscribe to magazines or newspapers, stop. You can follow the same magazines and newspapers online, and often get a lot of what you are looking for at no cost. If you do want a subscription, it is less expensive to get an online subscription.

Byline:

Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a lot.

Thank you!

 

 

College may seem like a hectic time, especially in the beginning, but it doesn’t have to be. All you need to do is find the best tools to help get your life organized, and keep it that way. Here are 10 awesome apps that will help you to do just that.

IStudiez Lite – If you find yourself doing other things rather than studying, this app will help to get you back on track. It will help you to map out each semester, assignments, exam schedules, etc. You can manage as many as five courses with 15 classes and exams for each course. You can even set alarms. There is a free version and the pro version costs just $2.99.

inClass – This app lets you set your courses, instructors, assignments, and more. You can even use it to take visual, audio, and text notes that you can sync with your computer and share through iTunes and Facebook. This is a great app to help you stay organized throughout your college life.

Todoist – This app is the best to-do list app you will ever find. You can track assignments, bookmark web pages, set reminders, and so much more. You can combine the mobile app with the web browser plugin to really get the most out of this learning tool. There are Mac and Windows versions, as well as plugins for Outlook, Gmail, Firefox, Chrome, Thunderbird, and Postbox. There is a free and a paid version.

Lifelock Wallet – Never worry about losing your purse or wallet again when you have this app. It is a digital wallet that lets you upload all of your credit card info, coupons, and more so you have everything you need, wherever you are. You can even track all of your credit card transactions, cancel lost or stolen cards, and much more.

Pearls Only – Not only should you be organizing your studies, you need to organize yourself and how you look. What you wear says a lot about you, and you can say a lot when you are wearing pearls. Find a great selection of pearl jewelry at this website.

MyScript Smart Note – This is a great note-taking tool that actually recognizes your handwriting to decipher the notes you take in the classroom (yes, there are still some people who prefer to do things the old-fashioned way and take written notes). There is a free version with limited features for iOS and Android, and a paid version where you can use all of the features.

Exam Vocabulary Builder – More than six million people have used this app to help better their vocabulary. Spaced repetition is used to help you learn how to remember things better, and there are search and organize features along with study, flashcard, and quiz modes. This is a great app for anyone that doesn’t have English as their first language.

XMind – This is a great tool for studying and taking notes. It is a mind mapping app that lets you plan projects, study sessions, and more. The only drawback is that there is no mobile app, and you can only use this with a desktop/laptop. There are so many features in the free version that you may never even have to pay for the other features, unless you feel that you really need them. Just remember, you will have to pay for cloud storage.

Mint – Here is a tool that all college students need: one that will help you stay on a budget. You will be able to track your spending, and everything is divided into categories so you always know exactly where every penny goes. You will even receive alerts if you go over your budget or don’t have much money in your bank account.

Venmo – This tool lets you send money to your friends’ bank accounts, so if you are splitting the check for dinner, you will be able to easily pay your share even if you don’t have any money on you.

Byline:

Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a l