Extra Money For College

We all are aware of the image of the broke college student. With college costs on the rise, and an already hectic schedule, it may be hard to find extra money for your daily needs. Still money is often needed for laundry, food, entertainment, or to even contribute to books and school fees.

Here is my latest article from Fastweb which details some ways a college student can earn extra money while maintaining their already intense school schedule.

Check out the article here.

Money, Money, Money!

I'm a huge proponent of scholarships. Why borrow money if you can earn a scholarship? Most scholarships are available to college students of any age.

 Here are some recent scholarships opportunities I've come across:

GotChosen: This award is available to college students. The prize is $1,000. A winner is selected at random every month. You don't have to write and essay or have a top GPA. All you need to do is enter to win every month. It's worth a shot.

From Failure to Promise: This award is still available. All you have to do is read a book and write a essay answering the questions on the scholarship website. You also must have a 3.0 GPA to apply. Deadline: July 31, 2013.

Student Transportation Video Contest: Do you like to make videos? Well you could create one discussing some aspect of transportation in America and win a prize of $500. Visit the website for more specific information. Deadline: August 15, 2013.

Here is proof that students actually are awarded scholarships. Read about how one student earned $40,000 here.

What scholarship opportunities have you come across?

Travel on a Budget

Do you dream of traveling to Europe, or laying out on a beach in the Caribbean?  Does taking a vacation seem like a far-fetched notion? I'll admit for me, it often does.

I think of all of the great countries I would love to travel to and experience, but then I tell myself that it's too expensive.  Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person is a "one day" sort of dream.

In an effort to live in the "now", I decided to look up some budget friendly travel ideas. I was surprised to find that travel is way more feasible than I would have imagined. 

Here are a few of the travel ideas I found. I hope that you will explore them and plan a trip of your own.

• Where to Travel and Save Money in the Caribbean-Virgin Islands & Punta Cana on a budget.
• 20 Trips, 10 Cities, 1 Tank of Gas- I really like this idea of traveling to cities within the U.S. Often we dream of seeing other countries, when there is so much to explore here in the states.
• Photos of destinations you can tavel to on a budget, to motivate you to start planning now.
• 11 Steps to Transform a Cruise Deal into a Dream Trip. Cruises often offer cool deals, this is a great way to travel on a budget.
• 10 Amazing Christmas Light Displays Around The World- Sometimes seeing beauty can be so motivating.
• 10 Family Adventures In Latin America
• Hawaiian Island Hopping For Beginners. Have you always wanted to visit Hawaii? I know that I have.
• 7 Hotel Rooms in Manhattan for $150

Money Links

Here are some stories on money, ways to save, companies hiring now,  and some overall interesting things to think about.

Surprising jobs with a $100,000 salary that only require a two-year degree

5 Uncommon ways to save 

Medical Tourism, is it worth it?  

25 companies that are now hiring  

Your freezer can save you money

Macy's suing Martha Stewart  

Things you should rent instead of buy

Want To Be Debt Free?

Well the holidays are over now. A lot of people are left having to dig themselves out of financial ruts thanks to the spending sprees they went on at the end of last year.

If you are anything like me, it wasn't just the holidays that started the financial rut. That rut began a long time ago. In my case with student loans.  I wish I would have had my article, What To Know Before You Borrow (which was written in hindsight) to guide me through my college process.

Here's financial guru Suze Orman discussing how to pay off not only that holiday debt, but debt in general, including student loans.

Let each video end and the next one begin to see the different financial tips.

The Big Give

Tomorrow 11-10-11 begins a 24-hour period of philanthropy known as "The Big Give".  From November 10th at 11:00am to November 11th at 11:00am you can give to a non-profit organization that you care about and have that donation matched by The Columbus Foundation.

Givers are able to choose between 600 different non-profit organizations to support. Any money given by you will be matched. Now is the time to make a  great  difference in your community. So give, give, give!

Find out how you can support your local non-profits here: