once a week, family of five, $25

Planning a student’s budget, especially on financial aid, is tough. Techniques for making your money last often focus on things like not eating in restaurants, making your own coffee at home, shopping at second hand stores and soon. One of the biggest expenditures of a college education, though, is your required texts for courses. The average cost of textbooks for a full-time student is $550 per semester, according to scholarships.com. Reducing what you spend on this budget item makes getting occasional lattes a reasonable treat.

Check Your Library

Once you get your syllabus and list of required texts, check your university and local library catalogs. What you find there may be a previous edition of a textbook. But, in many cases, texts are not changed significantly from one edition to the next. Contact your professor if you’re concerned about changes or additions. College libraries have extended loan periods for students and you should be able to make it through a semester that way. If you are checking the book(s) out from a public library, inquire about their copyright policies. You may be able to scan or photocopy assigned reading and use it as the semester progresses. That way, you can still return the book to the library on time. If the library doesn’t carry your text, explore inter-library loan options. Many libraries are networked and can get the books you need from another library system. This is more easily done by a university library but public libraries have options, also.

Shop Online

Purchasing your texts online can cut your textbook bill in half. Cheap textbooks, even current editions, can be bought and sold on the Internet. Check the ratings of the independent sellers that offer your text(s). This way you can make sure you’re buying from someone reputable and reliable. Shipping costs are generally minimal (or nonexistent) and you won’t have due dates to return the books by. Advanced, rare, or narrowly focused texts are easier to find this way. The selection at online stores is extensive and, with many stores to choose from, you can find any book your professors assign. You can also avoid the lines at the bookstore and get your texts delivered to your home. Choosing this method can save you time as well as money.

Explore Renting

Universities are adopting rental programs in many cities. If your school offers this, you can pay a lower or partial fee for texts. Then, when the semester ends, you simply return the text(s) to your campus bookstore. In some cases, this even applies to eBooks or PDF formats of texts. Check with your university bookstore about what options they offer.

You can make any or all of these options work for you. Talk with other students, your professors and employees of the university you attend. They can tell you what’s available on your campus and share what’s worked for them before. You may even find that a fellow student has just the text you need.

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When you go on a shopping spree, out to dinner, or even for a night out on the town you will in all likelihood attempt to take advantage of deals and build up rewards.  While paying through cash or debit can keep you from overspending beyond your means, the best way to accumulate rewards points is by using your credit card, specifically a rewards credit card.

The great thing about rewards credit cards is that they provide you a rebate on every purchase you make.  For example, you head out to a nice restaurant for dinner, enjoy a full course meal with all the trimmings, and whip out the credit card when the bill arrives.  Once you pay the balance, a portion of the balance that is typically between 1 and 2 percent is redeemed in the manner of rewards points or even cashback depending on your credit card.  These rebates make rewards credit cards appear invaluable for the average person, especially if you are attempting to build your personal credit.  Rewards credit cards after all, encourage you to spend.

However, just as the incentive to spend can be seen as an asset, it can just as easily be turned into a liability.  You may find yourself more focused on collecting rewards for any and every type of purchase regardless of whether you need the product or service you are buying.  You spend and spend until your budget is stretched well beyond your means, which instead of helping you build your credit, actually erases your credit score.

The annual fees on rewards credit cards can be as much as $100, which is a lot of extra money to spend if you are young with little savings.  In addition to the expensive annual fees, the interest rates charged upon outstanding credit card balances can increase the amount you owe to even more unaffordable levels.  The catch of rewards credit cards is that the reward comes from finding a balance between spending and restraining, building credit and limiting expenses.

Before you acquire a rewards credit card or even if you have one but are unsure how to best capitalize on its benefits, you should speak with a credit councilor.  Councilors act independent of credit card companies, and analyze your unique financial situation dispassionately before suggesting the best credit card, reward or otherwise, that fits your needs.  A councilor may also advise you to compare credit cards, their corresponding interest rates, and any of their associated rewards plans by using the internet.  This way, you can view offers from a variety of providers, and select the best credit card available.

The right credit card is especially important if you are someone who likes to shop, or prefers eating out on a regular basis.  While it’s great to indulge yourself, you want to ensure you don’t get too far in over your head.  Once you are secure that you have the right card, you can sit back and enjoy your nights out with a clear head – and a good credit score.

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The following is a guest post.

After years of dealing with hostile Black Friday crowds, fighting with people over gaming systems, and long lines in the checkout counter, the majority of shoppers have turned to online shopping. Most consumers have made a purchase of some type online, and many continue to use the Internet for gift buying. Nothing feels as good as getting your Christmas shopping done from your comfy chair, without the stress of pushing through crowds of noisy people. While shopping online is definitely the most convenient way to get your gift buying done, there are also some safety risks to consider. A lot of identity theft is the result of people shopping online. Here are a few tips to make your online shopping experience safer and more enjoyable.

Avoid Shopping Through Search Engines

If your first shopping instinct is to simply Google the product you are looking for, you might want to switch up your strategy. Many hackers are rigging up websites and getting them indexed in major search engines. These websites are expertly designed and often look like professionally made retail sites. The whole point of the site is to get you to put in personal information such as your credit card number, name, and social security number. Once a hacker has this information it can be difficult to stop them from using it to make their own purchases. Try to stick to websites that you know are legitimate and have made purchases from in the past. If you want to try a new retailer, do a quick search to see if any reviews exist of the site. If you research the company and it comes up clean, you can probably proceed to shop with that retailer.

Check Credit Card Statements

One of the best ways to keep your online shopping experience a positive one is to keep a close eye on your credit card activity. A lot of people wait until they get their monthly statement to check their activity, but by then it could be too late. Someone could’ve already maxed your card and left you with the bill. Check your activity online every few days by logging into your account. If there are purchases on the card you didn’t make, contact the company immediately and cancel the card. Be aware of how much each of your purchases cost before completing the order. If the retailer has offered free shipping on most orders over $50+ sitewide, and you see a shipping charge on your order, this doesn’t mean you’re being scammed. Read all of the fine print on the order page to see if it falls into the free shipping category. This prevents you from being paranoid that your credit card number is being phished.

Don’t Shop on Public Computers

Individuals who do not have a computer, or are in between devices, should avoid making purchases on publicly used computers. You could forget to log off the computer, or someone could see you putting in personal information and gain access to the computer later on to steal that info. Always make sure to log all the way out of a public computer to ensure that no one has access to personal files or information.

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The costume industry has ballooned in recent years with the success of Halloween and the year-round popularity of fancy dress parties. While the variety of styles and costumes has increased, the prices have as well—making it harder and harder to have unique fancy dress ideas on a budget. You don’t want to spend £100 on a custom-made costume you’ll only wear once. Here are some ways to be inventive without straining the budget.

 Puns

 Puns are by far the go-to way to impress the whole party, and can be very low maintenance. Natural gingers might cash in on their hair to go as a “gingerbread man”—a ginger hairdo with a basket of bread. Fans of Hugh Laurie can go as a “Haunted House,” complete with a suit, a cane and dark shadows under the eyes. Go in yellow and white with a devil’s horns to be a “devilled egg,” or try dressing up as a chicken and going as “Party Fowl”—the possibilities are endless!

 Partner up

 Whether it’s a best friend, a boyfriend or girlfriend, planning for a fancy dress party with others is more fun and less pressure. A couple can go as anything from table salt and pepper to Homer and Marge Simpson. You can also raid your wardrobe for nineties gear to go as Charlie’s Angels, the Spice Girls, or N’Sync. Showing up in a duo, trio or larger group also minimises any embarrassment that may arise from over-gelling hair.

 Onesies

 If you can’t think of any puns, you may want to purchase something in particular for the dress party. Onesies are relatively inexpensive and adequately amusing for any fancy dress event. Plus, you’ll be able to wear them to bed during winter months as full-body sleeping bags, and everyone likes clothes that can be worn again and again.

 The revamped little black dress

 French parfumerie Guerlain released their much-anticipated scent “La Petite Robe Noire”—the little black dress—in summer 2012. Debuted by Coco Chanel over eight decades ago, the little black dress has been a go-to style for celebrities and women that has never gone out of fashion.

 Audrey Hepburn famously wore one in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and going to a fancy dress party as Audrey Hepburn is certainly an idea. The pearls, tiara and little black dress can be recycled in any wardrobe for years to come.

 Make, don’t spend, money

 If you’ve accidentally bought clothes you don’t think you’ll wear again, there are more lucrative ways than donating to get rid of them. Services like musicmagpie.com collect anything from clothes to old-school electronics to DVDs and CDs, and if there’s enough of a haul they’ll even pick it up from your house—meaning you can make back some of the money you spend on your fancy dress.

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PortAventura is one of the theme parks that are designed to please everybody, not just a certain category of people. A trip to PortAventura Theme Park will bring benefits to both adults and children, although children are usually more enthusiastic than their parents.

Perhaps one of the greatest features of this park is the countless number of mascots, including the Disney character Woody and the famous characters from Sesame Street that are eagerly waiting to take pictures with tourists. What’s also great about this park is that it’s situated relatively close from Barcelona, so once you arrive to this incredible city you can get to PortAventura in less than an hour.

The wide range of attractions offered by PortAventura will offer unforgettable moments, especially if you take more than two days to explore every corner of this gorgeous park. Most of the visitors have remained with unique memories from stunning rides like the Shambhala. You may only have one chance to try a roller coaster that’s 300 feet tall, so you shouldn’t waste it.

Plus, being divided into areas that represent different countries, PortAventura becomes a perfect place for finding out interesting information that may influence you when deciding other holiday destinations. The park can be visited all over the year, but choosing to celebrate in PortAventura some important events such as Halloween can also lead to unforgettable experiences. During October and November there are countless skulls, zombies, mummies or skeletons that crowd the area and turn it into a mysterious and dreadful location.

You can say you’ve had a perfect holiday when you return home relaxed, tanned, and with a great deal of pictures, souvenirs, and memories. Luckily for you, most of the tourists who visited PortAventura stated that their holiday allowed them to accomplish all the four goals. Apart from thrilling rides and unique shows, buying PortAventura Theme Park tickets from AttractionTix will provide you with impressive sights and quiet places where you can relax, drink good coffee and listen to music. There are also many affordable restaurants where you can try delicious dishes that successfully combine the cuisine of various cultures.

However, because the surface of the park is huge and crowded with countless attractions, you may return home having the sensation that you’ve missed a lot of interesting places. No matter how many days you spend in PortAventura, you will still feel that there is more to discover. After all, perhaps that’s what makes this park unforgettable: the feeling that there is more to be discovered.

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This is a pretty sweet (no pun intended) infograph that tells a story of calories. Some of that story includes what your body would do if you consumed 68 hot dogs in ten minutes…yuck!

This infographic is brought to you by QuickQuid.

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In today’s smart-casual world, we don’t often get a lot of occasions to actually wear formal clothes; for that reason, when a formal event does arise, the pressure to find the right outfit can be enormous. Whether it’s a classy evening wedding reception or a fancy charity gala, if you follow these simple guidelines there’s really no need to get anxious about picking something appropriate and stylish.

Dress code

Start by checking the dress-code; there’s formal and there’s super formal. Check your invite to find out the level of formality expected. Here’s what is considered appropriate when your invite states the following dress-codes:

White Tie

Guys should wear a tuxedo (with tails), a white tie, white shirt and white waistcoat; women should wear a floor-length evening gown.

Black Tie

Black tie events direct men to dress in a tuxedo without tails, a simple white shirt, black tie and black waistcoat or cummerbund; again women should opt for an ankle-length evening dress or a glamorous yet formal cocktail gown.

Optional Black Tie

Men should opt for a black tuxedo (as in the black tie dress code) or dark coloured suit, with a light or white shirt with a conservative/smart tie. Women can wear a full-length gown, but a formal skirt and top combo or a cocktail dress are also suitable.

Creative Black Tie

One of the more unusual dress codes, creative black tie invites guest to be more playful with their formal attire. Men are expected to again wear black tuxedos but can mix these with colourful shirts and more fashion forward cummerbund and tie options. Women should wear a long evening or smart cocktail dress but can be more bold and experimental with accessorise – a great chance to express your personality with a hat, headpiece or jewellery.

Semi-formal

If your invite states semi-formal, males should wear a business suit in a dark colour with a light coloured or white shirt and a conventional tie. Women can wear a formal skirt with elegant top combo or choose a glamorous party dress.

Fashion faux-pas

Even when you stick to the dress-code it’s still possible to get it wrong; ladies, think carefully about the appropriateness of your hemline and cleavage when attending formal event. For an evening party, a little leg or décolletage is fine, but try to be modest – less is more. When it comes to formal fashion, there’s a common rule too that women over the age of 35 shouldn’t wear a skirt or dress that comes up higher than the knee.

Don’t forget the finer details too; make sure that your suits and frocks are freshly cleaned and pressed, an unsightly stain is one way to discredit your formal look instantly! Take care over your footwear too; men should pick socks that match their suit and shoe colour, whilst women can have more fun with formal shoes they should still be practical and comfy.

New Look are a retailer of value fashion apparel, the second largest womenswear retailer in the UK, with over 1,000 stores worldwide. New Look’s designs range from party dress and jacket collections, to accessories and shoes.

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