The following is a guest post by Andrew Rombach of ScholarshipFly. As you prepare yourself for college, one of the most difficult things to manage will be money.  The broke college kid stereotype is around for a reason, and it is never more relevant any other time than during college. In college, there are two types of expenses: the cost of attendance and the cost of fun.  College is characterized by these two expenses.  Tuition has been skyrocketing, textbooks have been following suit, … [Read more...]

With three boys in school, I have quickly learned that buying trendy character backpacks is a complete waste of money. Those fun backpacks that go on deep discount at the big box stores barely last through the first half of the school year before a strap wears out or a zipper breaks.  And even if they miraculously survive a school year, the odds are good that your child will outgrow whatever character is on that backpack. … [Read more...]

This is the time of year when a lot of folks are talking about back-to-school shopping. They're talking about how much money they're spending. They're talking about making special road trips to shopping malls with bigger and better stores.  They're talking about how difficult their kids are about buying clothes.  And worst of all, they're talking about finally paying off their credit card bills from last year's back-to-school shopping. My plan is to avoid all of that. … [Read more...]

There's still a little bit left of summer vacation but you wouldn't know it with all of the Back-to-School supplies and promotions. According to the National Retail Federation, the average American family is expected to spend more than $634 on back-to-school shopping. Fortunately, you don't have to be average! We've pulled together this round-up of money-saving tips to get you and your family ready for a fresh new school year. Just check out these back-to-school strategies: … [Read more...]