Category Archives: Money
Save a Sh*t Ton of Cash With Groupon Coupons!
If you haven’t checked out Groupon Coupons yet, you’re missing out! For students it’s a godsend with over 70,000 coupons from 9,000 retailers. You can save big on everything from a new computer from ASOS to new kicks from Foot Locker.
There are an astonishing 70,000+ coupons available and lots of different ways to save some extra beer money on something you might need/looking for from clothes to school supplies and everything in between!
you can also save a ton on travel from flights to hotels. Head to the Coupons tab on the Groupon website to start taking full advantage of all the money-saving benefits.
5 Ways Students Can Save Money
With in-state tuition for public universities approaching $10,000 these days, and other costs like housing and books escalating in lockstep, it has never been more important for students to save money while at school.
While it is easy to just use credit to charge all these expenses, the bill will come due someday soon, so you owe it to your future self to not cripple yourself with an unmanageable debt load. As such, here are five ways students can save money so that they can give themselves a brighter financial future, as well as more disposable income for the important things in life.
Like beer.
And video games.
1) Take on roommates
While you might crave privacy after 18 years of living at home with your parents, the unfortunate reality is that college is more expensive than it ever has been. The good news is that you get to choose who you are sharing a living space with, making for a living atmosphere that will be much more lively than if you were to go it alone. This will divide your house or apartment rent to a level that will allow you to enjoy a diet that consists of more than ramen and water.
2) Cook meals with friends
When you share a house with friends, another opportunity to save your precious cash presents itself. Instead of cooking meals individually, you can take turns making meals for each other. This will require coordination when it comes to shopping at your local supermarket, but once you settle into a groove, you will be spending less per person, eating better than you would individually, and the kitchen will be less crowded. So much win!
3) Order as much as you can online
The internet age has made our lives so much easier, with no better example than online shopping. Why burn gas and time running all over town to buy the things you need for school and life when you could just click a few buttons and wait for it all to come to you?
If you want to save money on school supplies, this is the perfect way to do things in 2015, as many coupon sites allow you to spend even less than the already reasonable prices listed, and with many deals waiving shipping charges, you can spend the time you just saved playing Call Of Dut- … er, I mean, studying for that stats term paper coming up. Yeah, that’s right.
4) Have house parties instead of going out to the bars
With prices for booze escalating with every passing year, going out to the bars is a fun pastime that composes an ever-larger chunk of student budgets. While heading out to a venue out on the town is always a great time, the whole point of drinking is to have a killer time with your buds.
Why can’t you do that at home at least some of the time? Buy a 30 pack of PBR or Natty Ice, organize a playlist of awesome tunes from your totally legal song collection, and enjoy the fact that you can socialize without having to pay a $10 cover charge for the privilege.
5) Buy used textbooks
These days, it’s estimated that students in some faculties will have to shell out more than $1,000 for books per semester. This is truly insane, and while books have new editions every six months or so, they often change so little that students can buy them off each other for much less than what it cost new.
Tips For Cheap European Travel
GET A EURAIL PASS
A Eurail pass can help you save a lot of money especially if you are travelling across vast countries. Europe boasts of some of the best railways and speed trains across the globe. However, if you buy a single ticket for every time you travel from one point to the next, it may be too expensive. According to sites like this, Eurail passes are a fantastic way to save money when travelling across several countries in Europe. All you need to do is plan your itinerary carefully, to avoid ending in one place twice and book in advance.
EAT LIKE A LOCAL
Have you ever wondered how chameleons survive in the wild? Well, they change their color to match with the environment. This concept should help you as you travel on the cheap in Europe. Avoid the touristy high-end restaurants, cater for yourself in markets, and eat in places where you see most locals, chances are, the food is great and affordable. Eating local dishes also gets a taste of authentic dishes as well as great services. You can also shop for snacks in local department stores and have picnics in any of the numerous parks across UK.
BOOK A LARGE VILLA WHEN TRAVELLING IN A GROUP
Group travelling is always fun and apart from offering safety in numbers in a strange country; it is also a fun way to save money on travel in Europe. Accommodation can really clear your travel budget, and fast, however when travelling as a group, you can enjoy all the comforts of a villa like this and split the cost. Villas are a smart way to save money for groups as they often have more rooms, kitchens to prepare your own meals and offer privacy. Some villas also allow parties on the premises, so you can always party with your friends as you explore Europe.
TRAVEL SECOND CLASS IN TRAINS
Travelling first class is tempting, with all the comforts, but it could end up leaving a huge hole in your pockets. However, travelling second class can cost about 50% off compared to first class but it will still get you to your destination same as the first class. The differences in comfort are always minimal yet the difference in cost is vast, so save money and travel second class.
TRAVEL OFF SEASON
Travelling across Europe when everybody else is on the move can really end up being costly, travel agencies, airlines and hotels are looking up to recover from the low seasons. However, in the low seasons (usually in the winter) you can travel in Europe on the cheap, you can save on flights, hotels, restaurants and avoid long queues in major attractions. During the low seasons, the attractions have fewer tourists and you can be able to visit more attractions than when they are overcrowded. Major cities in Europe such as Paris and London are always fabulous to explore any time of the year, hence travelling during low seasons does not mean missing anything, but it saves you a lot of money.
Free college tuition for everybody! 4 countries that are making this happen
It is a seemingly inescapable problem for many young Americans. The work force is getting more competitive as the bulk of new jobs are being created in highly skilled fields, yet the cost of education is skyrocketing to healthcare-esque heights.
As a result of this conundrum, many feel they are in a proverbial Catch-22, having to choose between taking on crippling amounts of debt in the hope that the jobs they seek will be there for them when they get out of school, or take their chances with a high school diploma in the job market, or as an entrepreneur.
Meanwhile, across the pond, a tantalizing Third Way is materializing, as many schools in European countries are either drastically lowering or eliminating tuition fees for foreigners in a bid to attract them to their schools.
But why? In the article that follows, not only will we review each country’s free college tuition incentive programs, you’ll find out the method behind their madness…
1) Germany
With the scrapping of tuition fees in Lower Saxony this past year, every single university within Germany’s borders are now 100% free to attend, for residents AND for foreigners. What’s more, the degrees that these schools offer span most disciplines, with some programs not even requiring that you put together a formal application.
This all seems too good to be true, but in this case, it is, as the government of Germany has invested enormous amounts of money to attract English speaking foreigners to German schools so that its citizens might be exposed to native speakers of the language.
Germany also has many glaring skill shortages that it is staring in the face over the coming years, so the hope is that after foreigners complete their schooling, they will have loved their time in Deutschland so much that they will decide to pursue a career here as well. Go to school for free and get a job in an in-demand field after graduation? What is this, 1955?
2) Slovenia
Those looking to immerse themselves in a relatively obscure Central European country may want to consider spending some or all of their college career in Slovenia, as this nation offers easy access to Croatia and Italy for those seeking exciting weekend trip ideas.
In addition to only paying a paltry €30 registration fee, your meals here will also cost much less than you may be projecting, as the Slovenian government subsidizes meal plans, with the average meal costing half of what it would back in America.
While no school here tops international rankings, those looking for a piece of paper and a good time in their college years may want to consider coming to Slovenia.
3) Norway
If the fjords of Norway are beckoning you, then you’ll be happy to know that the schools here cost foreigners nothing to attend … not a single krone. Of course, the fact that Norway is one of the world’s most expensive countries, or that some schools in the Norwegian arctic are cloaked in 24 hour darkness for a portion of the winter will weigh on your decision, but there are many other positives that make this country a strong contender.
Outdoor lovers will have their hands full with activities such as skiing, hiking and Northern Lights viewing, while those that are serious about their academics will love the small class sizes, professor approachability and lightening fast internet access in even the most far flung of communities.
4) Sweden
Like its Nordic neighbor to the west, Sweden also offers college programs to foreigners that are highly attractive. Unlike Norway though, Sweden’s programs do charge tuition fees for those seeking a bachelors or masters degree.
Sweden makes an exception for those seeking a PhD, waiving tuition fees for those seeking the highest attainable academic honor. The workforce of the world is getting more competitive with each passing year, with even master’s degree owners beginning to feel the heat.
For members of this crowd, this program may be the opportunity to finally break apart from the pack, all while experiencing life in a foreign country in the process.
How to score scholarships
While applying for scholarship programs may not yield a windfall this big for you, yours odds of getting it are exactly zero if you don’t!
It has been said by many observers that a college degree is the new high school diploma these days. The price of admission to even decent jobs is often a piece of paper of varying specialties, be it from the arts, science or business, or another field of study. The problem with this is that while secondary school is free, having been paid for through our taxes through the years, colleges and universities shift the funding burden to the student.
While this expense had been easily payable through hard work and diligent saving on the part of former generations, the exponential rise in the cost of school has made it virtually impossible to get through these years debt-free even with a paying side gig. However, there is one avenue of funding still remaining that allows bright and deserving students the opportunity to get through college without stunting their post-school life underneath mountains of loan payments.
This method is none other than the scholarship, which allows applicants the chance to receive money in part or in full for the course of time that they spend in the school and program of their choice. So, how will you get your grubby little mitts on some of this life-changing money? The steps outlined below will help get you over your attitude of inadequacy and on with the task of applying for scholarship programs that will liberate you from financial worry.
1) Start by searching locally
Don’t look on wistfully at the high profile scholarship that require high grades to even qualify for applying – right now, in your community, there are businesses, service organizations, trusts, and religious institutions looking to give a motivated, hungry individual like yourself some badly needed cash to get you through school with greater ease.
If you can write an essay showing your passion for a subject, your community involvement, and your ideas for a better future (among other topics), there is an excellent chance that you’ll be able to score some cash at home before moving on to the heavier hitters.
2) Take your cash quest to the internet
The internet has changed the game in countless quarters of life – and the process of applying for scholarships are no different. Databases like Scholarship.com has organized countless post-secondary funding programs under one digital roof, allowing you to line them up and apply to these sources of money en masse. Using lessons learned from successful applications locally, use your best practices and track your results as you go, making changes where necessary.
3) Don’t give up
If your initial efforts are met with deafening silence, don’t get down on yourself. Try niching down and applying to smaller, lesser known scholarships, where you stand a better chance of being noticed by evaluators. Consider experimenting with specific aspects of your application, from citing specific activities over others, to writing essays on a completely different subject. Track the results of each approach, and go with the better performer.
