How to save on books

Buying books can be a huge drag. There are countless ways you can save on books, some of them less obvious than others.

1. Buy online. Period. The bookstores rip you off. They charge you top rate for the newest books and give you hardly a tenth of that when you sell it back. Get it used on amazon or eBay. Also check out sites like Text Swap where you can trade text books with other students at your University.

2. Wait to buy your books. It's good to be prepared for class on the first day but let's face it, we both know day one is nothing but syllabi's. See what professors are really going to use the textbook and then purchase them accordingly.

3. Sell 'em when your done. Don't just take them back to the bookstore though. Use the resources you have available. Sell them to a friend, on amazon, or eBay. Amazon makes it extremely easy. You enter in the ISBN and it displays the book along with the going rate. Check around and see if you can get a better rate elsewhere. If not go for it. But make sure you sell in between semesters. This is when everybody needs books, and if you wait till a few weeks before the semester begins you can increase your price.

4. Ask your teacher if the last edition book will be acceptable for the class. The publishing companies have been updating books every year to increase their sales. Talk to your professor and see if it is really necessary to buy that top of the line $130 chemistry book.

Doing all of these things has helped save me at least $100 per semester on books. Don't settle, a little extra time on your end can but a little extra cash in your wallet.

-Ryan Goins

The 529

A 529 plan is

...an education savings plan operated by a state or educational institution designed to help families set aside funds for future college costs. As long as the plan satisfies a few basic requirements, the federal tax law provides special tax benefits to you, the plan participant (Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code).

I recommend heading over to Saving for College to find out more information regarding 529's and how they can put you on the fast track to paying for your childs college education.

Above all else be prepared...

If there is one lesson I have learned so far in college it is this; I have no money. There is nothing I want to pass on more, than to let as many people as I can know how important it is to be prepared for college. It's a burden, and a huge one at that. We all know it too. But we just sit on our ass, and when it comes, we turn to the banks for money. We know that to get a Bachelors degree it will easily cost $60,000 over the course of 4 years. With this in mind here are 4 tips to financially prepare for the next step.

1. Start saving now! I don't care if you had your son or daughter yesterday, or, if they're leaving in August, but any money you can scrape together helps! Even an extra $400 is books for a semester so just go out and do it. If you are the student don't just sit and look at mom and dad. You better have a job. You don't have anything to pay for except maybe some gas and a cellphone, so say no to the movies and put it in savings. I nor my parents did these things. And I regret it more than anything. Today I submitted an application for a student loan in the amount of $17,000. Guess what? That's for PART of one semester. I am an aviation major so I have flight fees near $10,000 per semester on top of the normal tuition fees. I work, but between 15 hours of classes and 15 hours at the airport I only have time to work 20 hours. At $7.50 per hour that's only bringing in enough for rent and gas for the month. When I get out of school I'm going to have over $60,000 in student loan debt. Why? Because I did not save one single cent for college, and now I know better. That's one expensive lesson that I don't want you to learn the hard way. This brings me to my next point, get a job.

2. Let's face it, if you are older than 16 and don't have a job go get one. You need to begin easing into the adult world. Otherwise when you get to college you will have no idea what responsibility feels like. To give you an example. My friend went to the bank the other day. Keep in mind he is a sophomore in college. We get into the bank and he didn't know how to deposit a check. In fact he didn't know what his account number was, or even what an account number is. This isn't his fault though. He was just ignorant like all of us can be. His parents never showed him how to do these basics things that are required as adults. It is important to learn these vital skills now, at a young age. Learning how to be responsible will set you up on the right path to saving and learning about your money.

3. Scholarships. I know, I know, I know... Ryan I'm not about to sit down and right 20 different 3 page essays for a 1 in a 1000 chance that I'm going to get $150. Let me give you a hint. This is what everyone is thinking, which leaves very few who actually submit entries. So here's the key. Don't submit an entry for the $10,000 scholarship. Go for the small guys. Take a weekend to write out one really good essay. Give it everything you got and more. But.... make it generic. It needs to be adaptable. You should be able to submit this essay for a hundred different scholarships. With that many entries your sure to win 1, 2, or even more. I'd suggest finding 10 or so that you like and reading all of the topics. Then write a paper that incorporates all of those.

4. Work while you are in school. If you or your parents are lucky enough to read this years before you attend college then you may not have to work in school. For the rest of us though it's a sealed deal. Even if you save enough for tuition and room and board that will not be enough. You will need gas money, beer money (sorry mom and dad but it's almost a given. I'd say I'm one in a few hundred who don't drink in college), food money, and money money. Not to mention you should be saving any money you can. If you have extra money or the ability to make extra money then save it. You'll be wishing you had sometime in the near future.

If you can follow these four guidelines then you will be on track to an all expense paid visit to college. It's no where as easy as I'm making it sound. But, you can do it. What's stopping you. Get out there and make some money. Save it up, and when all of your friends are bitching and moaning because they can't afford college, you will be sitting at the table writing a check for yours! Congratulations!

-Ryan Goins

P.S. Another option is to become a french citizen where tuition is payed for. Aah, your parents will probably want to keep you at least in the country.

Welcome to the University of Fast Food

Mmmmmm fast food. There is just nothing like it. Especially once your in college. Those late night taco bell runs followed by McDonald's for lunch the next day. Oh an don't forget the pizza your going to eat for dinner. And, I literally mean the entire pizza all to yourself. This may be the college norm (it was for me), but non-stop Big Mac's don't have to be in your future!

Not only is fast food terrible for you, but it cost far to much money. I remember one month I spent nearly $80.00 on fast food alone. Not eating out. Not on groceries. ONLY on fast food! That is unacceptable. It is very reasonable for a college student to go to the grocery store and spend $150 on food that will last for an entire month. I understand being in the dorms, this may be a bit unreasonable, however it is possible. Look for things that can be microwaved or used with a George Foreman (if your dorm allows it). If you live in off campus housing than it is absolutely ridiculous to spend that amount of money on fast food. When your friends are grabbing some McDonald's: make a sandwich. This is going to save you money and help to fend off the dreaded freshman 15! Bam! Double Whamy!

-Ryan

4 Steps to Organize Your Cash

Staying organized with money is much easier said than done. It is possible though, and I hope these steps will set you in the right direction!

1. Budget, Budget, Budget! - You have to budget. It's the most important part of organizing your cash flow. There is only so much money coming in each month, and that should be all that goes out. In fact that should be exactly how much goes out. A budget can be a scary thing. It's hard to do, it's a pain in the neck to setup, and I'm going to have less fun with a budget. Your right it is hard at first, it takes no more than an hour or two on a Saturday to setup and then constant adjusting throughout the month. Less fun? Not quite true, but the fun you have will be fun you can afford. It won't be going on the credit card.

So how do I start? Get out a sheet of paper. At the top of the page right down your income for the month. A rough estimate is fine but the closer you are to the real thing the more exact your budget will be. Below this, list all of your fixed expenses. As a high school or college kid these might include rent, car payment, utilities, cell phone, etc... Below that list other expenses such as groceries, fuel, eating out, entertainment. Any big area you spend money on make it it's own category. If you like to go shopping for example, that needs to be in it's own. Savings should be right up there on the fixed expenses. In fact it should be the first thing. A general rule of thumb is save 15% of you income. Now subtract all of your fixed expenses from your income and whatever is left should be divided up between the other categories. Every penny should be spent before the month even begins. This will let you spend your money instead of your money spending you!

2. Focus on your goals! - Goals are the most important aspect of accomplishing any feat. There must be a goal laid out before it can be conquered. Write a list of the things being organized with your money can bring to you in the long run. For example; I, along with many people have the goal of becoming financially secure. I know that by enforcing positive habits at a young age I will train myself to handle money properly.

3. Get advice! - It's important to gather all the financial information available, but be careful who it comes from. Financial literacy is something that one must obtain on his or her own. There are no high school classes on how to spend money the right way. Choose your teacher wisely. Your parents may be a great teacher; or they may not. If your parents have loads of credit card debt and are living paycheck to paycheck then they may not be the best teachers. At the very least take advice with caution. Even if a financial expert is giving you advice, it's vital that you understand why what he or she is saying is correct. Do your own research and learn everything you can.

4. Follow your budget - Following your budget is the most difficult part of staying organized. A fool proof way to do this is with the envelope system. This is a system I plan to begin implementing and I will report my findings. It works like this. The total amount of all flexible spending categories (i.e. groceries, fuel, entertainment) is withdrawn from your checking account. The cash is then split up into multiple envelopes, each containing the title of a category. When an envelope is empty that category is done. The idea is to not swap money between envelopes in order to stick to your budget. Give it a shot and let me know how it works in the comments! I'll also write up a review of what I like and dislike with the system.

You can see that it's all about your mindset and budgeting. Have a positive attitude and work actively toward your goals. These 4 things will greatly improve your awareness over you money!

-Ryan

A check what?

Online banking is just so nice, isn't it? I don't have to keep track of any of my spending. I can just log on and it will tell me exactly how much money I have in my checking account. Haha. I wish that were true probably even more than you do. Let me tell you a story.

My freshman year I signed up for my own checking account. I was really on my own now. I had my own place to live, no parents, and my own money! That is until I hit reality. I had visited my friends at Central Michigan University over the weekend and had to fill up my gas tank on the way back to Western. It was a Sunday night, and I knew I had plenty of money because it said I had $70.00 online when I had checked my account the day before (which was a Saturday). Gas would only cost me $40.00 so I had enough to cover me. All was well. Monday afternoon as I got back from class I decided to check my account balance again. As the page loaded I saw $135.00 and I thought WOW! I have more money than I did yesterday. Then I looked again. It had a small little negative sign before it! What!? -$135.00, what was I going to do? I called my mom and asked her. She told me I had overdrawn my checking and I should go talk to my bank so that they could better explain what happened to me. So I did.

I went to the bank and the teller sat me down with the manager on duty that day. She was very nice, explaining that I had overdrawn my account. What she explained was that sometimes charges don't show up online right away. In my instance it was the gas stations. I had put gas in my car the week before and that charge still had not shown until Monday. There were a few other miscellaneous chargers that hadn't posted either. Then she explained once you go below zero, every time another charge is posted you are charged a $35.00 overdraft feel. I had received 2 of these. Luckily the manager was nice enough to refund the $70.00 and I only had to pay the difference. This is where the check registry comes in handy.

A check registry is a way to keep track of and organize the money in your checking account. For instance when your write out a check to someone that amount is not going to show up online until they cash the check. What if it takes them a month to cash the check? By this time you will likely have forgotten and you will think there is more money in your checking account then there really is. Are you starting to see why this is so important? Ask your parents or your bank before you leave for school how to properly use the check register and balance your checkbook. If you prefer you could use a computer based money management software like Quicken or Microsoft Money to help better control spending habits. Whatever method you decide is best, make sure you are doing it, and that you are doing it right!

-Ryan

March Spending

I think that it would be helpful if each month I laid out all of my spending in a spreadsheet so that you can see where I spend my money. I have converted the spreadsheet into a jpeg so that I could upload it to blogger. In the spreadsheet I break down my spending into 11 main categories. The bigger categories including dining and entertainment. I have broken these down further so that you can see what kind of items I include in these categories. I have also listed suggestions for you and myself in order to spend less. So take a looksy at the numbers below.

-Ryan