When I was an academic advisor, I used to just cringe when I saw the lines of students that wound through the campus bookstore and around the corner. The college bookstore is THE most expensive place to buy your college textbooks. Now, let me say that I understand why many students choose to buy their books at the college bookstore. It’s incredibly convenient, and if you’re planning to use financial aid to pay for books, it can make financial sense, too. But when I was in college, I was … [Read more...]

Summer vacation may have just started, but it's not to early to be planning ahead for back to school. … [Read more...]

The first day of school will be here before you know it, but we're all set in the school supply department. With elementary kids and a middle-schooler, I know I have to get on top of the back-to-school supply list before summer disappears.  My mission:  To get the list done and to spend as little money as possible. Make a master school supply list. I started by merging all of the boys' school supply lists into one master list.  Rather than think about what I needed for each individual boy, I … [Read more...]

Summer vacation is disappearing faster than an ice cube on a hot sidewalk.  And chances are, any extra spending money you had has been lost to back-to-school supplies and new clothes for the kids. Fortunately, there are plenty of fun (and cheap!) activities for you to do with your kids before they go back to school. Create a summer scrapbook.  Use photos and memorabilia from your summer activities to create a summer memory book.  Encourage your kids to draw pictures and write down their … [Read more...]

Teacher Appreciation Week is a time for those of you with children in school to thank a teacher.  Personal preference among teachers is a wide and varied as in any other profession.   Here is a list of do and don’ts that can help guide you to ways of showing your appreciation that will be, well, appreciated. Do: Think about a gift of classroom supplies.  The average teacher in the US spends $350 of their own money on school supplies for their students to use.  I buy pencils, colored pencils, … [Read more...]

photo credit: wohnai The following is a guest post by Tina Jacobs. Walking around a college campus, you'd assume students were ATMs. No, Iím sadly not joking. The truth is that on top of already high tuition, college students pay, on average, a whopping $100 per textbook at the campus bookstore. If you consider most students require at least 2 textbooks per class, per semester, we're talking a minimum of $800 spent on books each semester. Talk about gouging the student body. It just … [Read more...]