Cooking at Home

Many college students waste money on a weekly basis eating out and not getting the nutrition they need to maintain their physical and mental well being. Let's face it, there is no healthier or economical way to eat other than at home assuming that you're not eating Ramen on a daily basis. This is a good article on how to get started eating at home more often. It may seem that eating at home is time consuming which it can be but with proper planning it does not have to be.

Learning To Eat More Meals at Home [via Get Rich Slowly]

Finance Tips for College Students

With how volatile the economy has been lately, everyone should be looking at their finances to make sure to stay out of debt and managing their cash efficiently. Get Rich Slowly has some great tips for college students in regards to managing their money for college and personal life.

27 Money Tips for College Students [via Lifehacker]

A Great College Credit Card

As a followup to finding the right plastic, I ran into a great website that reviews every conceivable credit card out there. I have been searching for a website that does in-depth reviews for quite some time and have found this site to be very informative. So informative in fact that it even had reviewed a great credit card for college students. The Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa card is a great card as it awards for paying on time and even GPA scores. I would recommend this card to any college student looking to apply for a credit card for the first time. You can find the review for this card via the link below;

Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card Review [via AskMrCredit]

College Loans Drive Careers

Since the state of our national economy has been of great importance lately, I felt it was appropriate to post an interesting article in regards to how college loans are affecting the way students are choosing their career paths.

High student loan balances are a factor in post-college decisions. Recent grads report that:

• 40% took a job offer that offered higher pay, but less career satisfaction, in order to help pay off their student loans;
• 47% say that their student loans impacted their decision to pursue a particular career
• 88% said they had to make sacrifices in their budget because of their student loan payments; 23% sacrificed continuing education or graduate school

I find it unfortunate that students are being forced into choices about their careers based on financial reasons alone and not what their passion is. I would recommend anyone in this situation to read Kiplinger's guide on How To Pay Off Student Loans as not to force you to make certain career choices.

Recent College Grads Say Loans Driving Careers [via Austin Business Journal]

Finding the Right Plastic

As a follow up to an article about some great credit cards, I was directed to a site that does a great job of selecting the right credit card for you based on information you provide such as how much you spend a month, your credit rating, and what you spend on. It provides a list of credit cards that work well with your situation. If you're looking to either get a credit card for the first time or add another to help your credit score this is a good place to start.

BillShrink [via Lifehacker]

Banking Basics

On top of all the things going on at college such as studying, clubs, and overall partying, you still need to manage your finances. I am sure that most students at this point don't stash their cash under the mattress at home but have an account open at some major banking instituation. What matters though is avoiding bank fees and getting the most bank for your buck. Below is a link to a great guide towards picking the right bank for you. I personally have a Washington Mutual Free Checking Account as well as a HSBC online savings account.

Best Student Checking and Savings Accounts [via Broke Grad Student]

Recycle Into Cash

An overlooked commodity by most college students is the cash value of recycling. Over a year of living on your own, parties, and social gatherings, a college student can accumulate hundreds of aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles. At a conservative estimation of 5 cents per container you could end up with some extra cash at the end of the year to spend on anything you want. Let's do some simple math.

Assuming that the average college student consumes one caffeine drink every day you've already got 365 aluminum cans. Tack on containers accumulated from parties and get together you could end up with at least 500 containers which equates to about 26 dollars at the end of the year.

Obviously you won't make money back on the purchases of your beverage but 26 dollars can go a long way for a college student. I have provided a link to a recycling calculator below:

http://www.bottlesandcans.com/what_calculator.php

Credit Cards Galore

Credit cards can be a college student's best friend or their worst enemy. On one hand credits cards, used with responsibility, provide you the opportunity to begin building your credit score up that will qualify you for simple things such as cell phone accounts under your name and access to apartment leases. Unfortunately, credit cards can also lead many students down a dark path towards debt mentioned in an earlier article. I do believe that building your credit score up early is an essential way of transitioning into the working world. Even if you use it sparingly it will get you ahead of the credit score game and get you on the right path towards different financial options.

There are so many different credits cards from different banks, credit unions, and creditors that it can be headache just finding the right one. The credit cards I would recommend to anyone and not just college students are those that have no annual fee and a rewards program such as mileage or cash back. Certain credit cards provide 2% to 5% cash back on gas and groceries or miles rewarded for every dollar you spend and can be redeemed for round trip plane tickets. Below are a list of credit cards I would recommend to anyone looking to increase their credit score:

Chase Freedom Visa Card

Rewards:

2% on Supermarkets, Gas Stations, and Fast-Food Restaurants
1% off everything else
No Annual Fee
Link

Citi Driver's Edge Platinum Select Master Card

Rewards:

6% on Supermarkets, Gas Stations, and Drugstores for the first year
3% on Supermarkets, Gas Stations, and Drugstores following the first year
No Annual Fee
Link

Capital One No Hassle Miles Rewards

Rewards:

Earn 1.25 miles for every dollar you spend
Book Travel on any airline, any time, and no blackouts or restrictions
No Annual Fee
Link

Finance 101 - Saving Some Extra Dough

College students always have a need for extra money. Its not easy to save money when your friends call you up Thursday night for a party or invite you to a birthday bash. Food, alcohol, gas, cover fees, etc. – they all add up in cost. Nevertheless there’s always a way to get the best bang for your buck. While you might not think about it, little things can add up quite quickly to huge savings.

Getting a good rewards credit card can help you out. Most credit card rewards programs don’t charge a dime to join like Chase Freedom, it offers 1% cash back on all purchases and 3% on gasoline, groceries, and fast foods. While 1% might not seem like a lot, big ticket items and cumulative purchases can bring in a nifty chunk of change. If you travel considerably, you might consider a rewards card for frequent flier miles, since flying with a certain airline can add up to free tickets or cash back. If you are having trouble looking for a good type of rewards card, checkout the forums on Fatwallet.com for in-depth deal discussions.

Another way to save some extra cash is to setup a savings or checking account online. While most local banks offer a few percent yearly interest on your money, online banking such as with Charles Schwab, HSBC, and INGDIRECT can offer higher rates of interest since they don’t have all the capital fees that a walk-in bank might have. At HSBCdirect.com you can have a savings account for 5% yearly interest (one of the highest around) just by having your money sit in the account. Other banks might require you to put your money into a CD account to get that kind of interest, but with HSBC you can have your money liquid and available at the nearest ATM without any penalties that a CD account might entail. Also, online checking with CharlesSchwab.com or FirstRepublic.com can offer no surcharge withdrawls from any ATM around the world. Particularly in tourist destinations like Las Vegas, ATM fees can head up to $5 or $6 just to use their machine. With those accounts, you can use any ATM in sight for free.

Finally, shopping at warehouses selling items at bulk prices such as Costco can add up to some significant savings. Places like Costco may require membership to purchase, but if your parents or friends have cards, you can easily tag along as long as one person has a card. Ground beef, frozen foods, snacks, and party supplies can easily be purchased in bulk – particularly if you’re looking to split between roommates. Savings can range from 10%– 30% off local supermarket prices, so shopping in bulk can add up quickly. Additionally, party supplies such as plastic cups, disposable plates and utensils, beer, wine, and hard alcohol can be purchased for a discount.

Living Frugally – Your Home Away from Home

Though some students are lucky enough to stay in their dorm during their entire stay in college, some of them, including me, must venture out and go and find a new dwelling off campus. Living off campus can get quite expensive, but with some money saving tips it can be manageable.

Apartment searching itself can be a major task and incorporates a number of different variables such as distance from campus, local neighborhood, and the age of the apartment. Once you figure out your budget you can go and find the right apartment for you. One way to keep your costs down is sharing an apartment with a number of roommates. The more roommates you have may lower the price you pay per month, but it increases the likelihood of creating an unstable living situation as people feel the need to have more space.

Now that you found the perfect apartment it’s time to fill it up with furniture. Many stores such as Target and Walmart come out with back to school ads with the perfectly furnished room. I personally have never seen any college apartment room look the way they do in catalogs and unless you are independently wealthy, it’s not worth it to spend that much money on your room. One good cost saving way to furnish your apartment is just taking hand me downs from family and friends. What can be better than free furniture! While we’re still on the topic of free furniture, one of the best ways to add to your apartment is staking out the dumpster areas around the summer time. Many students who move out and don’t want to take furniture with them will leave them out at the dumpsters and are basically up for grabs. Not all of the furniture is old and dingy and you can sometimes score some pretty nice furniture at no cost to you.

Depending on your distance from school, biking or walking to school is the most economical form of transportation. Though I did live within biking distance of campus I chose to drive instead, which added to my costs and didn’t provide me a good form of exercise. If biking isn’t your cup of tea, public transportation might just be the key. Many universities provide “free” public buses to and from campus. I say “free” since the costs of maintaining a bus fleet and paying drivers is incorporated in the cost of your tuition. Don’t let your tuition money go to waste and help reduce your carbon footprint.

Another great way to save money is controlling the way you use your utilities in your apartment. My college was located in an area that is similar to many parts of the US; hot summers and cold winters. By restricting the amount of heat or A/C you use during different seasons will greatly lower your bills at the end of the month. I personally can not stand the summer heat, especially when I’m trying to sleep, so I always need to use the A/C during the summer. In order to offset the cost, I decided not to use the heater at all during the winter months. Though it never got cold enough to snow, it was still cold enough to require extra layers, but it did the trick. If you’re the opposite from me and can handle the heat then flip my strategy and you’ll be saving money too.

Finance 101 - Debt

What I find shocking is the high percentage of students that are in debt before even graduating from college. Granted that everyone’s financial situation is different, but being in debt can have immense consequences. Being habitually late paying credit card bills or paying just the bare minimum will have a detrimental effect on your credit score. Thinking about buying a car and getting a car loan with a low interest rate? Think again. Your credit score is an important aspect for any financial institution reviewing a loan application. Having a low credit score will either force you into a high interest loan, which could price you out of the car you had in mind, or even worse, getting your loan denied.

Not only will debt damage your credit score, but it also increases the amount you have to spend on a purchase. As an example, you decide to buy a nice flat screen TV for $2,000. When that credit card bill comes you figure that you can get away with just paying the minimum , sometimes as low as 20 dollars. You just made your credit card company very happy. The next time your credit card bill comes you’ll notice that they’ve put on an interest charge of 6% to even as high as 14%. That TV you bought is now costing you a possible 300 dollars more than you had initially paid for.

What’s the best way to start paying off your debt and making some ground on your credit score? Cut up your credit cards. Paying with a check card is a much safer way to control your spending and will help ease the amount that appears on your statements each month. Look at your paychecks each month and partition an amount to decrease your credit card bill. If you don’t even have a paycheck to help you out then you probably shouldn’t have been spending money in the first place. The credit line that your credit card company gives you is basically a loan so you don't have to carry a wad of cash around with you and assumes that you'll pay back every penny every month. If you can't pay them back, don't spend the money. If the temptation is just to large then going cold turkey by cutting up your credit cards is the only way to stave off your addiction and protecting your credit score. As a young budding professional in college who doesn't have a stable income, it is better to not have a credit card than having a credit card with debt.