Thanksgiving on a Budget!

With the current economy and the high cost of food, many people are wondering if they can even afford to host Thanksgiving dinner. Savvy Student wants to reassure each student that there are many ways to cut cost but not flavor for this Thanksgiving.

One of the easiest ways to trim your budget for this holiday is to host a pot luck dinner. If everyone brings something, it will really keep the cost down. Remember, no one person provided all of the food for the first Thanksgiving, so get into the spirit of the holiday. Pot lock dinners are also a great way for your loved ones to show off their culinary skills. To ensure you have all of your bases covered you may want to confirm the menu with each guest beforehand.

You can also buy a bigger turkey! Larger turkeys are cheaper per pound than smaller ones and you can always split the cost with a friend or family member. The time it takes to cook a full turkey makes purchasing a larger one worth it. If you put in the extra time and a few extra dollars, you'll have even more leftovers to hold you over the week after Thanksgiving. You'll be hard pressed to find someone (herbivores excluded) who won't love a a nice turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving.

Use coupons. Get organized and find coupons for the ingredients you need. You can buy them early so that you don't have to buy higher-priced items because the store is out of what you want. You can also do some research for ingredient substitutions. Don't invest in a cupboard full of new items until you determine if what you already have will do the trick. Here's a great place to start.

You can even make your own pies and freeze them. Homemade pumpkin pies are easy to make (especially if you use frozen pie crust) and much cheaper than store-bought treats. If you make them early and freeze them, you won't have to worry on Thanksgiving Day. Also consider the added bonus of having a warm pie right out of the oven with no prep work involved. Delicious, frugal and practical!

You can cook some meal stretchers like brown rice and whole wheat pasta to add some fiber and filler to your menu. Foods like these are filling and if you find yourself with less cash to splurge on fancy side dishes, your guests will still be full of delicious food.

We can't forget the Thanksgiving ambiance, so to create the perfect centerpiece, step outside! Fill a vase with autumn leaves and pine cones, fill a decorative bowl with apples of all varieties, and bring the autumn color inside using cheap votive candles placed inside of orange, red and yellow candle holders. Try your local dollar store for the candle idea; discount shops tend to carry all different kinds of candles for less than a dollar apiece. Another fun idea: take some fallen leaves (make sure they are fully intact) and spray paint them gold. You can glue the leaves to a disposable table cloth and place a clear cloth over the top. Instant thanksgiving glamor!

As you can see, there are many ways to make Thanksgiving special without breaking the bank. We at Savvy Student hope you enjoy your time off with friends and family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Savvy Student

When Not to Throw your Credit Card in the Trash

With all of our cautionary advice, it probably seems like Savvy Student opposes the use of credit cards across the board. The truth is, credit cards, when used wisely, can help a financially responsible person build an excellent FICO score that can be used to secure a loan, a job or an apartment in the future. Some cards even come with travel and shopping "points" or reimbursements that can actually save money (assuming you don't carry a balance on your card). Credit cards are certainly not all bad.

However, if you lose control over your spending, it may be wise to close your credit card account completely to squash the temptation to spend. This choice does involve a compromise, as closing the account completely may actually hurt your credit score, particularly if you are carrying a balance.

Get Rich Slowly explains the reasons:
"1. The longer you’ve had an account, the more weight it carries. 2. Say you have two cards, both with $5,000 limits. You’re carrying a $2,000 balance on one of the cards, or about 20% of your total available credit. If you close the unused card, you’ll then be using 40% of your available credit, and your “utilization ratio” will jump, giving a temporary ding to your credit score."

Canceling an account early or utilizing more of your credit limit due to card cancellation can hurt your credit score, but if your habit of spending money you don't have is putting you into serious debt, you may have to take a hit to your score to preserve your finances. This decision is truly a matter of determining which option is the least detrimental in the long run.

If you do decide to cancel your card, make sure you call the company to do so. If you're closing a card with a balance, note that some companies will increase your interest rate on the remaining balance if you close your card. Then, cut up the card and dispose of it. If you would prefer to keep the card open but avoid using it, try opening a safe deposit box to hold it or freeze the card in a block of ice à la "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Just be sure to keep the card in a safe but inconvenient place so you don't reach for it when items on your wish list go on sale.

Decisions like these are all about making trade offs. Sit down and figure out what will hurt you more in the long run: the possibility of a higher interest rate on a future loan because of a slightly lowered credit score or the temptation to spend with plastic?

Good luck,

Savvy Student

Liven Up the Old and Reinvent the New

Scuffed heels, loose buttons and hems that fall out are very annoying to deal with and often cause us to ditch the old and buy new replacements. Unfortunately, it can be expensive to always replace a pair of shoes or pants, especially when they are our favorite pair. This can be even more frustrating if the items were recently purchased. Instead, help your old wardrobe look new again with some simple and inexpensive tricks. You can also take your bargain basements finds and add little reinforcements to ensure a longer wear.

1) Liven up your footwear by visiting a Cobbler
Old shoes may be nearing their end, but what if they are your favorite pair? A nice polish job or new sole can completely reinvent these oldies, but goodies. If you have a pair of heels, the tip may be glued on plastic. A Cobbler can quickly and inexpensively fix this and even add reinforcements to a new pair of shoes, before they loose their luster.

2) Add Extra Thread
Buttons on even the most expensive outwear or shirts may eventually fall off just because of wear and tear. To keep from loosing buttons or embarrassing yourself in public simply reinforce loose buttons with heavy duty thread. Just hand sew over the stitches with thread that matches the color of the garment and you will be all set. Another option is to take clear nail polish and paint over the thread, that way you'll be sure you're safe!

3) Go Green
Clothes frequently fall apart in the laundry often times because the spin cycle is too harsh or the material can not withstand the heat of the dryer. Save some quarters by hand washing your clothes and letting them air dry. If you would rather not hand wash your clothes, that's understandable, but your laundry will last longer if you avoid the dryer.

4) Got faded jeans? No problem!
This is a messy solution to the faded jeans problem, but it'll save you a ton of money. Instead of buying a new pair of jeans when your old pair starts looking haggard, buy some navy blue, black or asphalt gray dye and brighten them up a bit. Make sure you wash them a few times before you put your newly dyed jeans to use. You don't want to rub off on the furniture.


Let us know how these tips work out for you, and comment if you have any suggestions for more ways to save.

-Savvy Student

Fines, Fines and More Fines

So, you are currently at Brandeis honing your skills for the work force or graduate school, yet you still need work when it comes your personal finances. Your fall semester bill has come and gone and with the spring 2010 bill on its way why pay more than you have to? Many students leave Brandeis having to settling past due balances related to fines they incurred, but never paid for. And, because they have not started working yet money is at a premium or in other words they have none. Many of the fines are related to parking, dorm damage or forgetting to return a book to the library. The fines add up and believe it or not, balances can be in excess of $1,000. Some students even have to consider loans to pay off their balances. Sadly, these fines can be avoided and the money that would be spent on such charges could be put to better use. It seems easiest to blame the parking office because they were being “ridiculous” and you were “just parking there for a minute”, but ultimately, the only person to blame and sometimes the hardest to blame is yourself. So, instead of spending $500 + on fines, you could instead put money towards your loans or credit card debt, heck you could even go on spring break. If this has happened to you, hopefully you have learned your lesson. If you are in this cycle please realize that your $55 fine is a warning sign of what could come and is the equivalent of a nice dinner out for two.

To further illustrate our point we would like to bring back our fictional character Mike.

Mike is a junior at Brandeis and insists that the $25 dorm damage fee was not his fault, it was his neighbors and he miraculously does not remember receiving the $75 parking fines. In fact, he already paid the parking office directly for a $30 fine he received. Nevertheless, Mike now has a total of $100 in fines, $130 if you count the extra parking ticket.

What could Mike have done with this $100? Saved himself a lot of stress, for one thing. But if he vowed to never get another fine for the rest of his time at Brandeis, he could reward himself by putting away enough money each week to accumulate $100 by the time he graduates. With this money he could pay an application fee or a broker's fee to rent his first apartment, or he could shop around for a new outfit to wear on job interviews. $100 can easily buy a discounted designer oxford shirt at a department store like Filene's Basement, or a good pair of classic dress shoes. Planning ahead for purchases like interview clothing will inspire you to save your money and of course, park appropriately.

Thanks for reading,

Savvy Student

The Real Cost of Smoking

When lighting up for the first time, many people don't think about how much their cigarette habit is going to cost them over their lifetime. Most lifelong smokers begin at a young age, which only exacerbates their financial and health costs.

For example, you have a 5 cigarette a day habit and you buy packs at $5.00 with 20 cigarettes in them.
If you quit smoking today, you will save:

$456.25 in the next year and will not smoke 1825 cigarettes
$1368.75 in the next 3 years and will not smoke 5475 cigarettes
$2281.25 in the next 5 years and will not smoke 9125 cigarettes

If you have a pack a day habit at $5.00 a pack, you will save:

$1825.00 in the next year and will not smoke 7300 cigarettes
$5475.00 in the next 3 years and will not smoke 21900 cigarettes
$9125.00 in the next five years and will not smoke 36500 cigarettes

Additionally, because of the higher risk of health problems for smokers, they often face higher life insurance and health insurance premiums than non-smokers. Health and dental care tends to be higher as well, especially as the smoker gets older. A decline in health could also cause dependence on many medications, which can be very expensive.
Also, for those individuals out there who smoke in their homes and cars, the re-sell value will be negatively impacted because there is a smaller pool of potential buyers and less desire for homes and cars that smell of cigarette smoke. You may also be hit with higher car insurance premiums.

Next time, think before you light up.

-Savvy Student

Calculate how much it will cost you at: Health Status