Buying Textbooks

Every student hates the beginning of new semester because it means big bucks for new textbooks. It seems like textbook prices keep rising and many students can’t afford the high cost of new textbooks.(Image from Iowa State University website)

Here are some solutions:
1.Shop around and especially check out Amazon.com

2. If you must buy textbooks in the bookstore, try to buy used ones

3. If you have friend who took the class last semester, ask if they kept their book and if you can borrow it

4. If you have a friend in the same class, consider sharing the textbook and cost

5. See what books the closest Book Exchange has to offer (Links to Towson Book Exchange)


Hopefully next semester, you won’t face high textbook bills. Good Luck shoppers.

Moving Out!

The school year is starting to come to end and it’s time to start packing to go home. (Image from Sun Sentinel website)

I have been living off campus in Fairways at Towson apartments off of Goucher Blvd for about two years now. As we all know, a lot things start to build-up over the school years, like junk and other random items.

My roommates and I are trying to get a head start on cleaning and deciding what could be sold in garage sale. But none of us have personal experience running a garage sale, so we looked online to find some help.

Here are 6 tips for future garage sellers from an article called “How to have a successful Garage Sale”.

Garage Sale Tip #1: Get a Friend

You will need someone to help you with your garage sale. Besides needing help moving tables there will also be times during your garage sale you are going to be bombarded with people asking for lower prices. It’s more enjoyable with another person (or persons) and probably more cash. Also note that people tend to flock to the multiple family garage sales.

Garage Sale Tip #2: Let People Know Ahead of Time

Get garage sale signs out at least three days in advance. People need some forewarning and some encouragement when it comes to getting up early on Saturday morning. Many customers show 30 minutes before your posted start time. Early birders swarm garage sales and are some of the best customers of all. They are your friends when it comes to a successful garage sale.

Garage Sale Tip #3: Timing

You need to know that no matter what time you start the garage sale, there WILL be people there earlier. “Early Birds” are often ready to buy, buy, and buy. It might be wise to purposely list the garage sale a half of an hour later than you really would like to start. For example, set your start time to 8:00 knowing that folks will be there at 7:30.

Garage Sale Tip #4: Location, Location, Location

To state the obvious, you need to have your garage sale in a populated neighborhood. However, if you have garage sale signs directing folks or an ad on Craigslist.com, you won’t have an issue with numbers

.

Garage Sale Tip #5: Limit the work

Don’t get hung up on marking every single garage sale item with a price. Arrange your garage sale in separate pricing areas. Make a box full of socks 25 cents each. Try to limit your pricing to a few different numbers (e.g. $.25, $.50, $1, $5). This will help you when folks start wheeling and dealing.

Remember your goals when you are asked to lower a price at your garage sale. You do NOT want to have a lot of stuff left over to haul to Goodwill; that would be more work for you. So don’t be stubborn and refuse to knock 25 cents off the price. You will be surprised at innate bargain quality that arises in the heat of the bargaining moment.

Garage Sale Tip #6: Enjoy the Interaction at Your Garage Sale!

Have fun talking to people. Most people that frequent garage sales are enjoying the process. (Otherwise they wouldn’t be up at such an early hour on a Saturday). If they are enjoying it, you should too!

By following these simple garage sale tips, you can turn your trash into cash! One more note: once you have completed your garage sale (most garage sales tend to slow down in the early afternoon), gather up all of the remaining unsold stuff and haul it immediately off to Goodwill. Not only will you be cleaning out your garage but you will be helping people in need.

Recent news story!

ReStore is a new thrift store. It sells donated building supplies, furniture and household appliances at 50 to 90 percent off the retail prices.

While other stores are closing in New York, ReStore is staying open and doing well.

"People want to save a little money fixing up their house, so instead of having a contractor do it, they can find great bargains themselves" said Cynthia Jennings, a Habitat for Humanity board member.

At ReStore, much of the merchandise has never been used or has been used so little that it appears new. A $1,200 refrigerator with a bottom freezer might sell for $500. A $1,000 slab of granite could sell for $150. A variety of items, such as flooring materials, toilets, lighting and nails, might show up on any given day.

It’s great place to start when working on a building project. To learn more read “In Tight Times, Thrifty Loudoun Store Shoppers Thrive”.

Pop Star Shopping

Australian pop star Kylie Minogue was spotted shopping in thrift stores in her home town of Melbourne last Wednesday. It’s hard to believe that pop star like Kylie would shop at thrift stores, but with today’s economy I can believe it.(Image from Scarlett website)

“She looked happy as she browsed around before buying a couple of summery dresses, a trendy little hat with a peak and a skirt. All up, she spent under $40.” What a great buy for Kylie. For more on this story click here, Kylie's thrifty shopping spree.

After reading this short article, I noticed some important information was missing, like if Kylie usually shops at thrift stores or why she likes to shop at thrift stores. I think readers would like insight into Kylie’s life and relate her pop star life to shopping thrifty.

Save Money on Dates

With our economy in serious trouble, everyone is trying to save a little extra money, even on dates. Back in the day the boy would pick up the girl, go to dinner and maybe movie and boys were always expected to pay. Now times have changed and so have prices.

Here is some date money saving tips from article called “A Student's Guide to Great Cheap Dates” for next time when you ask that special someone out:

1. Take advantage of Mother Nature. One idea for students trying to create a magical date on a small budget is to have an outdoor picnic, take a hike or stroll through a park, tube along a river or relaxing relax on the beach.

2. Coffee anyone? AskMen.com suggests taking a date to a coffee house, preferably one that provides free refills, and spends the night getting better acquainted with one another. The website highly recommends visiting coffeehouses for a first date.

3. Use your surfing skills. CitySearch.com is an excellent resource for free events happening in cities across the country. The website not only lists the events in each area, but also ranks and critiques them as well. For example, the website suggests that students attending college in Richmond, Va. spend an evening walking the grounds of Maymont, a 100-acre estate filled with romantic pathways and gardens, while students 21 and over in Jacksonville, Fla. can tour the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and receive free beer samples. The only money you'll need for these activities is for travel expenses.

4. Maybe you can get lucky... Another idea is to take advantage of radio station giveaways, which can include concert tickets to some of the area's most highly anticipated shows.

5. For the not so lucky... For students not fortunate enough to win any contests, many radio stations, especially those in large cities, host free concerts. Radio station DC 101 in Washington, D.C. provides free concerts each Saturday evening during the summer in downtown D.C., with such notable headlining acts as G. Love & Special Sauce, Better Than Ezra and Cake. A picnic beforehand and a daylong date can be spent at practically no cost, says Bursey.

6. Check out the campus scene. "Many colleges offer lots of free activities," says Greer. "Such as lectures, readings, movies, dances, barbeques; lots of different things. Students should check their college's Web page to find a calendar of events and take advantage of what's offered."

Free Samples Over Here!

I don’t know about you, but I love getting free samples. I enjoy walking down different rows while I am shopping to hear someone ask me “Would like to try free sample”. Wouldn’t it be great if there was web site that told about different free samples? (Image from Google Image)

Well, there is it’s called “Shopping 4 Freebies”. “Shopping 4 Freebies” gives a list of the free samples for the day, where to find cheap gas prices, coupons, saving tips, freebie hunting tips, lists of different categories and much more.

Take Control of Your Expenses

When you’re a new student at college, it’s hard to understand and control your expenses. I wish I had some direction on how to save money at school.

In the article “27 Money Tips for College Students” the author J.D offers money saving ideas under different categories like Money Management, Organization and Planning, Campus Life, Personal Life, Decision Making, and Making Money.

These are few of tips that I found to be the most useful from the article:

1. Make smart choices. You can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything you want. Decide what’s important to you, and pursue that. And remember to leave time for yourself.

2. Don’t hang out with big spenders. Some kids have parents with deep pockets. Other kids are well down the road to financial trouble. Hanging out with them can lead you to spend more than you can afford.

3. Take advantage of campus activities. There’s always something to do. Attend free movie festivals. Pay a few bucks to see the local symphony every month. Support the sports teams. Attend lecture series. Get the most from your student ID!

4. Limit vices. Beer, cigarettes, and pot are expensive. They also screw with your body and mind. Take it easy on the vices. There’s nothing wrong with a drink or two on Friday night, but don’t go overboard.

5. Track your spending. Use a notebook, or use Quicken if you have it. Good records will prevent you from getting overdrawn at the bank or charging more than your credit limit. This habit also allows you to detect spending patterns.

6. Make a budget. It doesn’t have to be fancy. At the start of the month, estimate how much money you’ll receive and decide where needs to go. Remember: you don’t need to spend it all.

7. Save your receipts. Put them in a shoebox under your bed if you must, but hold onto them. You’ll need to be able to compare them with statements at the end of the month. And some you’ll need to keep for several years.