Survive the Holidays on a Student Budget

College students anticipate the holiday season for numerous reasons—final exams are over, festive celebrations lie ahead and to top it off, no class for weeks. But if you are like many students, the excitement surrounding the holidays is marred by the looming pressure to give the perfect gift to everyone on your nice list. These ideas for surviving the financial pressures of the holiday season are designed with the student budget in mind.

-Look for opportunities to save on travel. If going home for the holidays involves taking a flight, it is best to purchase airfare as far in advance as possible to get the lowest price. Also, experiment with the rates for departing and arriving on different days of the week, because prime travel days are always more expensive. If your travel plans involve several hours on the open road, having a tune up beforehand can improve your vehicle’s fuel economy and save you money in the long term. Issues such as a clogged air filter, worn spark plugs, and underinflated tires can cause your vehicle to consume more fuel than necessary and cost you more at the pump.

-Tap into your creative side. Even a $20 gift can be difficult to afford when you are trying to give a gift to everyone on your list. Purchasing a pricey gift for everyone is not only unnecessary, but self-imposed pressure to be everyone’s Santa can cause you to overspend and go into debt. Expressing a sentiment does not have to cost a fortune; you can save money and add a personal touch by using your imagination to put together homemade gifts with minimal investment. For instance, create individual, decorative packages of hot chocolate mix for loved ones, and couple each with a recipe and a mug personalized to suit that person’s taste. Simply pairing creative packaging with holiday basics can make for a personalized and memorable gift that doesn’t break the bank.

-Organize a gift exchange. Regardless of whether your social circle is large or small, the pressure is on when it comes to giving holiday gifts to friends. No one wants to be the friend on the receiving end of a holiday gift unprepared to spread the love in return. An organized gift exchange can be a fun way to alleviate the pressure from everyone. There are a few ways to go about a holiday gift exchange. You impose an expenditure limit, have each friend draw a name and bring one gift for that person. Or, you can arrange a “Dirty Santa” type exchange, in which everyone brings one gift, draws a number, and gifts are selected and opened in numerical order. Typically there’s a twist—each person may open a new gift or take a previously opened one from another player. Organizing a gift exchange provides the opportunity for a fun social gathering and removes the pressure for each person to purchase several gifts for friends.

-Capitalize on your time out of school. Many retail stores, restaurants and other businesses seek seasonal staff to cover the high demand of the busy shopping season, providing the perfect opportunity for students to earn extra income without committing to long term employment over the holidays. Students have a lengthy hiatus from school during the holidays, affording them the free time to earn some much needed extra cash.

The holidays are a time that should be centered on family, friends and reveling rather than financial struggles and societal pressures. Students can free themselves of the pressure to overspend by indulging their creativity and making conscious effort to minimize spending over the holidays.

About the Author: Edmund Rogers, a graduate student in English, is the editor for iStudentLoan.com, a student loan and student loan consolidation provider which also supplies a free online resource for learning about and applying for a student loan. For more information, please visit http://www.iStudentLoan.com

College Students can Save Big in Small Ways

When it comes to saving money, every little bit counts. Even the least budget savvy students can make their income, student loan or funds from parents last longer using these simple ideas for saving money in college:

-Take advantage of student discounts. Companies which offer discounts to students on goods and services do not always advertise that they do so. By showing a valid student ID, students can get discounts on movie theater tickets, computer software, airfare, food at restaurants, the list goes on. Student discounts are particularly common in areas near colleges, so make sure to ask whether student discounts are offered at the establishments you frequently patronize.

-Anticipate your needs and minimize shopping trips. Though drug stores offer many common household items as well as groceries, their convenience comes at a hefty markup. If you wait until you run out of paper towels and toothpaste to purchase more, you will likely end up at the nearest convenience or drug store paying top dollar for the items you need, not to mention picking up your favorite overpriced snacks in the process. This habit can diminish funds fast. Keep a running list of items you are almost out of on your refrigerator, for instance, and make one trip to a reasonably priced grocery or discount store to purchase everything on the list. Not only will you pay less for the items on your list, you will avoid the trap of making multiple trips to the store and wasting money picking up extra items on each visit.

-Treat yourself with a tradeoff. Spending your money wisely does not mean you have to give up every indulgence. Make sacrifices that will allow you to save up for a splurge. For instance, cut back on the number of meals you eat at restaurants for a designated time period, and use the money you save to treat yourself to something you cannot usually afford. Regardless of whether you splurge on clothes, a steak dinner or a video game, choose wisely and consider your indulgence a reward for having the self control to save money. You may just discover the inspiration to save money more often!

-Make every cent count. Start a coin jar, and drop all of your loose change into it as often as possible. Modern coin machines have eliminated the need to spend countless hours rolling coins in order to cash in your pennies. Coin machines allow you to trade in coins for their cash value minus a service fee (usually a percentage of the total), though many stores providing access to coin machines will give full credit if you redeem it in the store. Using a coin jar allows you to save money without much thought, and regular contributions can add up fast.

Saving even a small amount of money can be extremely rewarding, and even more so if you can manage to contribute to a savings account. College students are often under the assumption that their money problems will magically be solved once they graduate and get that assured high paying job. Ask any recent college graduate, and you will likely hear that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Many entry level positions are unglamorous to say the least, and marginally sufficient to pay the bills at best. Developing good money saving habits in college will benefit students throughout their collegiate career and beyond.

About the Author: Edmund Rogers, a graduate student in English, is the editor for iStudentLoan.com, a student loan and student loan consolidation provider which also supplies a free online resource for learning about and applying for a student loan. For more information, please visit http://www.iStudentLoan.com

Establishing Credit as a College Student

Some college students shy away from credit altogether in effort to be financially responsible. The prospect of becoming trapped under the weight of unmanageable credit card debt can be quite daunting, and many students are not confident in their ability to manage debt responsibly. Though refraining from opening a credit account in effort to remain debt free can seem like a sound financial choice, a lack of credit can be detrimental in the future as having a solid credit history becomes increasingly important.

Contrary to commonly held perceptions, having a credit card does not necessarily equate to spending beyond one’s means and falling prey to mounds of debt. Managed responsibly, a credit card can be utilized as an instrument to build an excellent credit score that will expand the financial options available to a student in the future. Without credit history and an acceptable credit score, it may be difficult to impossible to get a car loan, obtain cellular phone services, and buy or even rent a home.

Your credit score is a numerical rating of your repayment history that lenders use to ascertain the risk of lending to you. Establishing a good credit score will allow you not only to get approved for a student loan, vehicle financing and other types of loans you may pursue in the future, but will help you qualify for better interest rates, equating to true dollar savings in the long run.

Like it or not, your credit score remains with you, so it is best to be conscientious and make effort to boost it from the beginning. Your FICO credit score is calculated based on your track record of making timely payments on accounts (35%), the ratio of account balances to available credit (30%), the length of your credit history (15%), new accounts and applications (10%) and the mix of the types of credit you use (10%). As you can see, a majority of your credit score is calculated based on your history of making payments on accounts on time. Staying up to date on all accounts, including credit card bills, loans, utility accounts and cell phone services, will contribute positively to your credit score over time. Even during months when you are short on funds, making a partial payment on time is better than making no payment at all before the due date. Almost as important as having a solid payment history is managing the levels of your total debt vs. the total amount of credit you have available. Some common sense is in order here—an outstanding credit card balance of $1,900 is worse on a card with a $2,000 limit than it is on a card with a $10,000 credit limit.

Waiting until you are ready to buy a house or a vehicle a few years from now to start paying attention to your credit score will likely result in disappointment. Building good credit involves responsibly handling all of your financial responsibilities and debt consistently over time. Managed wisely, a credit card can be a valuable tool for building credit or improving your credit score. Even with a good credit score, you can be denied loans because your credit history is not lengthy enough. Practicing financial responsibility with all accounts will provide a solid foundation on which you can build your credit score over time.

About the Author: Edmund Rogers, a graduate student in English, is the editor for iStudentLoan.com, a student loan and student loan consolidation provider which also supplies a free online resource for learning about and applying for a student loan. For more information, please visit http://www.iStudentLoan.com