College Advice - Part I - Save $$$

I can't believe it!  I am finally graduating in 9 days and who would have thought that I would be a college graduate?!  

I've always been rather resourceful and thrifty... I managed to save a lot of money by doing a couple of things, and since I am graduating... I wanted to share some tips for you to save some $$$...

Tip #1 - Buy your Books EARLY!!

Most of the books are already listed for the spring semester - what are you waiting for?!  Buy them online - shop and compare!!

Head to: UH BOOKSTORE (CLICK HERE FOR LINK!)

Select your classes... and voila!! a list of books will be presented! Note: you will have to recheck this at least once a week as some professors wait until last minute to publish the book list (which feel free to email them as well).

Shop online!  My top 2 choices are: Amazon and Barnes & Nobles - each of these shops have a used sections... pretty much all you have to do is cut and pate the ISBN number and shop!

Let's compare a couple of books!

Example #1 - A required textbook for ANTH 484

From UH Bookstore:

 From Amazon (with free shipping if you spend $25 and no TAX!)

Example #2 - ANTH #151

From UH Bookstore:

From Amazon ($3.99 for shipping!)

Those 2 books alone - you just saved $30!

Tip #2 - Check out scholarships!

While this is not theoretically saving money, its free money you didn't have before!  Yes! Log onto your star account and apply to those scholarships!  Deadlines are normally February (FOR THE FALL SEMESTER! APPLY EARLY and get ORGANIZED!)

Also, check out ASUH portal for more scholarship opportunities - everything ranging from GRE/GMAT prep, field schools research grants, and tuition payment!

This also ties into my next blog... College Advice - Part II

UPDATE: CLICK HERE for Presidential Scholars Program - FULL RIDE + Monthly Stipend

Tip #3 - Student Discounts

With student discounts you can save on everything from your cell phone bill, travel, activities, etc.  Just be smart about it.  Example... Google "Sprint Education discount"... the link http://sprint.p.delivery.net/m/p/nxt/dev/wdyw.asp should be the first link... You just click on it... add your school email and voila... you're given access to saving 10% off your recurring bill.

Ha, I could seriously write more about saving $$, but I'm sure you're already being resourceful!

Off to study for finals!

Mahalo for reading. 

Until next time.

Cable... To Cable or to Stream?!

Over a year ago, I decided to give up my cable box and save myself nearly $100/month in cable bills.

For about a year now, I have scoured the web, trying to find my favorite shows.  I am very happy to say how successful the hunt has been.

Most of the shows I watch are available on:
http://www.hulu.com (top chef, Naruto)
http://netflix.com (stream TV shows, movies - largest library!!)
http://www.cwtv.com/ (America's Next Top Model - woot!!)
http://abc.go.com/ (Desperate Housewives and Wipeout)
http://www.logotv.com/ (Ru Paul's Drag Race!)
http://www.mylifetime.com/ (Project Runway)

In addition to steaming online via computer, some are also available for free with a corresponding mobile application.  ABC and Netflix have Apple Store applications that allow you to stream the television shows online, on your iPhone, on your iPad.

There are certain shows that are a must buy, and why not?! Saving $100/month, you're allowed to purchase other media in lieu of.  On iTunes, ANTM is only $8.99 for a whole season so you can watch it over and over until your heart's content.

There are so many ways to stream now that you can even watch your shows on your TV.  You can buy a Roku Box, a Xbox 360, Wii or PS3 and you can stream shows via Netflix.  If you buy a Blu-ray player now, you can probably also stream Netflix or Amazon's Video on Demand.

Cut the cable and upgrade your WI-FI!

Mahalo for reading.

Until next time.