Red, White, Blue and Free: Fun 4th of July Activities in the Boston Area

With America’s Independence Day celebration coming up, you may be getting ready to splurge and spend in celebration with friends. Luckily, we can also celebrate our financial independence by choosing free activities in the Boston area to celebrate the big day!

In Cambridge, MA on July 3^rd there will be a free concert by the Boston Symphony POPS starting at 8:20pm and lasting until 10:00pm at the Esplanade along the Charles River at the Hatch Shell. On July 4th, the famous free POPS concert including superstar Jennifer Hudson and Michael Chiklis begins at 8:20PM and ends at 10:30PM, with a subsequent fireworks display from 10:30PM to 11:00PM at the same location. Both days there will be concession stands with food and souvenirs and usually there is music and fun festivities going on all day at the location!

Even without the Brandeis shuttles running, Cambridge is very easy to get to with the T’s red and green lines. You can either get off on the red line at Charles-MGH on the Boston side or at Kendall and Central Square on the Cambridge side. You can also get off at Arlington Street on the Green Line. On July 4^th, the T will even have a free fare after 10:30pm meaning you only have to pay for one way! Music, fireworks, and celebration for $2.00 is a pretty savvy move.

Don’t feel like trekking to the city? Stay closer to Brandeis! On July 4th from 10:00am-2:00pm at Prospect Hill Park there will be a family event featuring free children's rides, pony rides, animal shows, music, food, drinks, and much more! That evening at Leary Field, Profile will be performing at 5:30pm followed by fireworks at 9:30pm.

If fireworks are not your thing, there are other free 4^th of July activities available! June 28^th- July 6^th is Boston Navy Week, where 20 U.S. and coalition ships will be open for public visitation for free. For a complete schedule of which ships are open when and where, you can visit http://www.navyweek.org/ . Students are encouraged to wear flat rubber soled shoes and photo ID is required for entry.

Don’t feel like doing anything but eating? No problem, gather some friends and have a homemade cookout to celebrate! To save, buy supermarket brand meat, sodas and chips as well as fresh produce. You can even pick up a George Foreman Grill from Target for under $20. Use regular plates instead of paper for even more savings.

Happy Saving and Independence Celebrating!

~Savvy Student

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Staying on Top of Laptop Savings

Apple caught the nation’s attention  recently by releasing its MacBook Pro with Retina Display. A whole new generation of laptop, this MacBook is thinner than the old MacBook (at the expense of a DVD drive, showing that computer designers find they are becoming antiquated and doing away with them, just like they did away with floppy disk drives), has no hard drive (working off of a faster storage system called flash), and has the high resolution retina display that new iPad and iPhones have. At a whopping $2,199.00, this new MacBook Pro is also the most expensive laptop that Apple currently sells. When buying a laptop for college, it is tempting to go for the most expensive laptop on the market. After all, you want something that will get you through four years of school, and the bells and whistles can be pretty cool. Fortunately, a durable and efficient laptop does not need to break the bank—you just need to do some research to get the best deal! To help you out on your search, Savvy Student has some great tips for buying the perfect laptop for your college experience.

      1.      Check to see what kind the school prefers

When you need to buy a laptop for school you need to ask yourself, just as those Apple commercials ask viewers—are you a Mac or a PC? While your own personal preference is important, it is important to look to your school’s preference, as well. Some schools prefer Macs or PCs because whatever technology services they have are better equipped to work with one type of computer over another. Finding out the school’s preference and working with it can allow you to get computer repairs done quickly and, often, for free! It is definitely worth doing your research.Take a look at this article by ConsumerReports to get more information on the benefits of checking with a school first!

      2.      Find out if laptop companies have any deals

Some laptop companies give discounts to college students buying laptops off of their websites. Apple, for example, gives its customers a $100 store credit with new laptop purchases or a $50 credit for iPad purchases. Check out Apple’s website to explore their student discounts. Other companies also provide deals for purchases over a certain price—Toshiba provides free ground shipping for orders of $499 and up, and Dell provides free standard shipping on purchases of all laptops from its website. There is also a student discount Dell offers to Brandeis students, so be sure to explore online for additional savings.

      

      3.      Look to major retailers for deals

Especially as fall gets closer, retailers like Target, BJs, Best Buy, and Walmart release weekly deals on laptops. While it might not be in your best interest to wait until the last minute to purchase your laptop (after all, you need time to learn how to use it before the year begins!), staying on top of and utilizing these temporary price cuts can help you save money on a laptop you really want.  This information is generally provided on the store’s website or weekly flier.

      4.      Compare and contrast on the computer’s specifics

As with all things in life, what matters in buying a laptop is not the brand-name or the bells and whistles, but how effective the technology is. Tech News Daily lists specific items for students to consider when deciding what to buy. Five main things to compare and contrast amongst laptop options are processing speed, battery life, RAM (random access memory), hard drive figure (which determines how much data can be stored), and computer weight. On all but one of these fronts (weight), more is better. A faster processing speed means your computer won’t slow you down when you flip through lecture slides to do some last-minute studying for your final exam in a couple of hours, a longer battery life means your laptop won’t die in the middle of your chemistry lecture, more RAM means your computer won’t slow down when you’re trying to write a paper and a Facebook message at the same time, a larger hard drive means you can store all of your pictures from the year and still have room for the new music you got from mix CDs your friends gave you, and a lighter computer means it won’t rip your backpack when you trek up the hill on your way to the library.

      

      5.      Keep your laptop safe!

No matter how fast or flashy your laptop is, it is no good to you if it has been lost, stolen, or broken. Once you get to school, make sure you always know where your laptop is and store it in a safe, consistent place, so that you never misplace it. You should also never leave your laptop (or any other valuables) unattended in major areas like your university’s library, student center, or dining hall. It does not matter how late at night it is or how much you need coffee to keep yourself going—you’ll never be able to finish writing that paper if your laptop gets stolen while you’re gone! Finally, make sure you get a laptop case or cover after purchasing your laptop to make sure it stays secure while you are carrying it around. These cases can be either hard or soft, come in all sorts of patterns and colors for any size laptop, and protect your laptop from scratches or cracks. 

We hope these quick tips will help  you find the best (and most cost-effective) laptop for your college days! As always, please send us your thoughts on how to get great deals on laptops or any other tips you have on ways to stay financially responsible. We would love to hear from you!

Happy Saving!

~Savvy Student

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Summer Savings equal Lifetime Luxuries

         Summer is finally here--and with summer comes summer jobs and internships.  While working diligently may be easy for some of us, knowing how to save our money is not.  It may seem like fun in the sun spending unknown amounts of money on shopping, eating, and going out, but before you even know it, there will be no money to spend.  Before that happens, Savvy Student wants you to think twice before your next buy. 

       The first thing you must do is live by the motto " SAVE FIRST, SPEND LATER".   Make sure you deposit a part of your pay into a savings account before you get a chance to spend it.   It’s called paying yourself first, and it's much harder to miss money you’ve never seen in the first place. This will alleviate those "O NO! When did I spend all of that?" moments when reviewing your bank account after the weekend.      

    Next step, AVOID DAILY SPECIALS! With the easiness of clicking the mouse or swiping a credit card, comes hardship when you are unable to use your money on things you need.  When you see your favorite store advertise those daily specials, remember that a marketing team was used to plan ways to stimulate your "spending senses".    You should always plan your purchases in advance and buy what you need, not want.

     Its always important to SPEND SMALL ON DEPRECIATING ASSETS.  Traveling on the T might not be as convenient as you thought it would have been, so buying a new car might be an option.  Remember that a new car will generally lose around 50% of its value over a three year period. If you buy a car that cost $30,000, three years later it will sell for about $15,000.  That is $5,000 lost a year!  With the prices of gas going down, that could have filled up your tank for a whole year.

      With that in mind, AVOID GETTING INTO DEBT FOR PURCHASES THAT FALL IN VALUE.  Thinking of taking out a loan or using your credit card  for purchasing the latest technology, a car,  or fashion is one way to stray from your goal of lifetime luxuries.  Some credit cards have interests rates up to 20%!  If you buy a cellphone for $500 using a credit card, you end up paying back over $100 in interest, and that's if you are making the minimum payment each month.  We suggest you save for every purchase. While you are saving, you have enough time to think about your purchase and decide if it is a temporary want or lifetime need. 

      Always CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND SET AMBITIOUS GOALS.  Be realistic--if you know by the end of the summer, there is no way that you could potentially save $1,000,000,000 dollars, then do not set that goal.  Always have an end goal, but have smaller goals along the way that you could celebrate when you have achieved them.  While setting this goal, keep in mind your expenses.  Figure out what can be reduced, or cut. Also have a big enough safety net in which you can plan for unexpected increases in expenses. 

     
          Lastly, PROTECT YOUR NUMBER ONE ASSET: YOURSELF.   We know how hectic your summer can be. After all, you ARE Brandeisan--one job, one internship, summer classes, and volunteering at the local summer camp, how can you make time to eat, sleep, and shower?  Well, in order to enjoy the lifetime luxuries that you are saving up to get, you must actually BE THERE.  Please, make sure to sleep 8 hours every night and to never skip out on the most important meal of the day--BREAKFAST.  As Mark Twain once stated, "Principles have no real force except when one is well-fed."  Savvy Student wants you to know that "Savings can not be made except when one is well-fed" (we like to think we are philosophers)!  So enjoy your summer by staying healthy!

Happy Savings,

Savvy Student

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Google Does It

It seems fuel efficiency, reliability and price tag are among the top priorities for consumers in the market to buy a car and rightfully so, given the status of the economy and price of oil. Yet, consumers are still faced with a tough decision as the automobile industry has created a variety of vehicles that run on alternate fuel or battery power. What seems to differentiate vehicles in today's market are the technologies provided such as backup sensors, rear cameras and GPS capabilities. Ford, Lexus and BMW are amongst several dealers that even provide self-parking options. Back in the day if a car came equipped with power windows and locks that was considered a luxury whereas today it is commonplace. With a self- parking option for cars, why not take it a step further? Well, Google has!

The software giant, Google always on the cutting edge of technology has developed a Driverless Car. Yes, a driver-less car! A team of fifteen engineers have created a system which combines information from Google Street View with artificial intelligence software that uses input from video cameras inside the car, a sensor on top, radar sensors on the front and a position sensor on the rear wheel. As of 2010, several vehicles have been tested driving on their own for at least 1,000 miles without any human intervention. They have also documented vehicles with this technology driving for up to140,000 miles with occasional human interaction. The driverless car system has been tested over the Golden Gate Bridge, down Lombard Street and on the Pacific Coast Highway. The program allows cars to be driven at the speed limit, using its stored maps and maintains distance between cars with its system of sensors. Google has given drivers the ability to override the system by stepping on the brake or turning the wheel as seen with the use of Cruise Control. There has only been one documented accident with the driverless car near Google HQ in which the company stated it was being driven manually at the time.

The driverless car program provides a world of possibility for consumers, the economy, insurance companies- you name it. By having a vehicle that drives at a constant controlled speed it will reduce a vehicle's wear and tear and fuel consumption, not to mention it should greatly reduce the number of automobile accidents. The downside? We don't know the price tag. According to CNN Money, the base price tag may be as high as $92,000.


What are your thoughts on today's new technology for cars. Do you like the idea of self parking and how would self driving programs impact your daily life?

Check out the CNN Money video here or read the Wikipedia webpage here.


 Drive on...
Savvy Student 

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Guide to the Perfect Father's Day Gift

Since Father's Day is right around the corner, it is that time of the year to start thinking about how to tell your dad "Thank you".  Every year father's are bombarded with ties, wallets and socks--yes these may be convenient gifts, but it is now time to think outside of the box.  According to our research, father's are asking for impractical gifts that they secretly want but would not buy for themselves. Check out our list of awesome Father's Day Gifts below.

1.  Man Crates--The gift baskets for men!
        The great thing about this gift is that it comes with a CROWBAR! What other  way to say "You are a great father" than with this gift.  Filled with all sorts of goodies, fathers will enjoy opening their wooden crates to find little treats that they love.  With options for carnivores, survivalist, beer lovers, athletes, gamers, and snack enthusiasts---you can find something here for any type of dad. 

Check out Man Crates here. 

2.  Boxee Box by D Link
        Since the Internet has become a valuable aspect of our lives and Dad finally learned how to YouTube and Facebook now, why not combine his love for his sport shows and the internet together.  The Boxee Box is a device that sits on top of the TV and pulls in media from everywhere online and puts it all on your HD TV. Enter in your friends and the Boxee Box will even quietly scan their Facebook and Twitter feeds and pull in any media they have been sharing.  This gift is great because everyone can enjoy it--not just Dad.

Read more about the Boxee  here.

 3. Artifact Puzzles
         With all the ringing from phones, buzzing from text messages, and "dinging" from calender reminders, it might be a great idea to unwind with a challenging, yet enjoyable puzzle.  Artifact Puzzles uses the latest in laser technology, soy-based inks, and environmentally friendly plywood to create puzzles that immerses you into past, present, and imagined cultures. With puzzle pieces shaped like airplanes, ballerinas, and peace signs, Dad will be proud of his feat after completing these puzzles. 

View the beautifully crafted Artifact Puzzles here.

4.  HistioGraph--History lover's dream!
           The Histiograph  is a world history timeline chart that depicts the rise and fall of nations, peoples and cultures from 1500 BCE to the present day.  This gift will transform Dad into a world renowned Historian, well maybe just in his mind; regardless it is a learning experience for the whole family.

Learn more here. 

5.  Uncommongoods.com
          I know we said we would give you a list of gift ideas and uncommongoods.com is NOT an actual gift but this website has such an array of different AMAZING gifts for dads that we had to put it on the list.  From ridged glass guitar picks to stone drink dispensers and baseball bat openers that are actually made from bats used to hit home runs, this website will have any dad ecstatic with joy. 

View their gifts here.

Since Father's Day is this Sunday, many online retailers are guaranteeing shipping before Sunday if the order is placed TODAY. 
As always let us know any great gift suggestions you have! 

Happy Father's Day,

Savvy Student

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Sun of a Savings!

Though it hasn’t looked or felt like summer this week, everyone’s favorite season is here, and it’s about time to start looking for fun things to do over the next few months in and around MA. Going to the beach is a great way to relax and keep cool, but sometimes a trip to the beach, especially those in Boston, can get  expensive! With parking, food, and, of course, the expense of gas the cost for a trip to the beach can easily get out of hand. Here are some quick tips to having fun in the sun without breaking the bank—

On Parking

   
1.Get a season pass

If you have a favorite beach which you frequent during the summer, you can save money by getting a season pass, but you should do it early while prices are still low. Many beaches in the greater Boston area, Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard charge $15-20/day for parking. However, with a parking pass averaging $175 for the season you can theoretically go to the beach 106 times from Memorial Day to Labor Day. And, at an average of $15/day you could easily get your money's worth by visiting the beach just 11 times from June to late August, so a pass may be just the right ticket.You can take a look here for some quick facts and parking prices for popular beaches in Massachusetts.

2. Go to a DCR Beach

DCR stands for Department of Conservation and Recreation, and DCR Beaches are simply those which are considered state parks. You can save a TON by heading to DCR beaches because a year-long (January-December) DCR parking pass is only $35 for Massachusetts residents and $45 for non-residents. This pass gets you unlimited one-day parking for not only DCR beaches, but any state park facility that charges a parking fee (note that not all of them do—so you could try looking into those for another fun but frugal summer outing!). Parking fees for a single day are cheap, as well, and range from $2/day in smaller areas to $5 at inland water areas to $7-$9 at ocean beaches. Given how cheap the year-long pass is, however, it might be best for you to buy your pass in January and reap all the benefits of DCR state parks and beaches in summer and beyond. And here’s a fun tip—the Nantasket beach was just named the cleanest DCR beach in the Boston area! Check out this article in the Boston Globe for the list of the cleanest and least-clean DCR beaches as ranked by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. 

           3. Head out of state

Sometimes, beaches out of state can be worth the commute. At Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, for example, you can spend just $5 to park for 10 hours on weekdays and $10 for 15 hours on weekends! You can even park overnight for $15 for the night and whatever the following day’s fee would be for the next day. Hampton also has cool events throughout the summer that you can attend for no extra cost, such as a firework display, master sand-sculpting contest, Children’s Festival, and Seafood Festival. 

On Dining

   

     1.Leave the beach to eat

Find out about the surrounding town before heading to the beach to see if there are any restaurants in the area. These locations could be cheaper than the restaurants at the beach, as well as, less crowded. If you have a day-long parking sticker, you will be able to take your car to find a place to eat and not have to pay for parking a second time when you return. If you do not have a sticker and must pay every time you park, see if there’s a place within walking distance where you can grab lunch or dinner. 
 2. Have a picnic on the beach

Bringing your own food can be a great way to save money and, by turning it into a picnic, you can make your meal fun! There are a ton of other benefits to picnicking on the beach—you can bring food that you actually like, you don’t have to wait in long lines or sift through crowds during lunch or dinner time, and you don’t have to eat the often-unhealthy beach food. 

On sun-safety

1.       

      1. Don’t be fooled by a higher (and more expensive) SPF

While sunscreen is important for any trip to the beach and should actually be used consistently throughout the year (see the facts from the American Cancer Society here), the most effective sunscreen is not necessarily the most costly one. Higher SPF sunscreens often cost more than those of lower SPF, but their benefits are minimal. The American Cancer Society tells us that SPF 15 sunblock protects you from 93% of the sun’s UVB rays, SPF 30 protects against 97%, and SPF 50 protects against 98%. Furthermore, SPF 100 does not protect you from 100% of UVB rays and other types of radiation, though it gets close (then again, all SPFs, as you can see, get pretty close, as well). It is more important to buy sunscreens that offer a “broad spectrum” or “multi-spectrum” of protection, because that means they protect against UVA and UVB rays, which impact your skin in different ways.  Check here for more truths about sunscreen.

           2. Don’t splurge on waterproof or water-resistant sunscreen

The fact is that water-resistant and waterproof sunscreen washes off, too, just not as quickly. The AmericanCancer Society tells us that a water-proof sunscreen must be re-applied after 80 minutes of water exposure, water-resistant sunscreens must be re-applied after 40 minutes, and regular sunscreen must be re-applied after 20 minutes. Regardless, you will need to re-apply your sunscreen frequently, but waterproof and water-resistant sunscreens are often a lot more expensive than regular sunscreens. Unless you plan on swimming for the duration of your trip, in which case waterproof sunscreen might be best because you would have to return to land and re-apply less frequently, you could save a lot by using a regular sunscreen.

As always, please tell us your summer savings tips and we will post it to Savvy Student!

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On Your Mark, Get Set...

         Go Olympics! July 27th marks the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympics.  Until August 12th, athletes from around the world will be demonstrating their finesse, speed, agility, and perseverance as they compete for a gold medal.  While many will be watching at home, there are thousands that will make the trip to London to view the games in person. Although, finding the cost of tickets and where to even buy them is complicated the atmosphere of the Olympics will be worth it in the end.
            Tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies start at $32 and increase up to $3,200.   Not only do prices vary depending on the event, it also depends on when you attend.  Preliminary round tickets to all sport events start at $32, but once events progress to medal rounds, prices start to rise.  Cheapest tickets for medal-round events can begin at $104 (example--tennis for the gold and silver rounds)! 
            While in London, spectators will receive free public transportation passes for the Tube and all buses on the day of their event.  While this accommodation relieves some of the worry, we are still left with one important question--how and where do we buy tickets? 
                Tickets can be purchased in three different ways. You can buy them as a package with a hotel room, enter an official ticket lottery or buy them from a broker.  You can find details on each option here.
              
While you search around and see which ticket options are best for you, keep these fun facts in mind.
      1. There will be 20,000 press/media in attendance (5.7 times more people than the undergrad population)! You just might get that 20 seconds of fame you have been looking for by attending the Olympics.
     2. Charities will be given the sports equipment used in the game for FREE once the Olympics are over.
     3.  Food and beverage potential: 18 million meals
     4. Estimated value of tourism benefit:  $3.15 billion (4 years of Brandeis tuition for approximately 18,450 students)
     5. 4,000 trees are planted on the Olympic Park and Olympic Village sites. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth planted the first tree in October 2009 on the Olympic Stadium site.
     6. Total Workforce needed: 200,000 (roughly 121 times more faculty and staff then presently employed at Brandeis)
     7.  Number of foreign visitors: 350,00 per day (that explains the meals)!
     8.  90% of material that will be reclaimed from demolition within the Olympic park can be reused or recycled.  Now that makes us happy! 
     9. This is the third Olympics London has hosted.  The first two were in 1908 and and 1948.
     10.  There will be 26 Olympic sports and 19 Paralympic sports played (there are only 17 varsity sports on campus)

Go Team USA,
   Savvy Student

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Gas App Will Keep Your Summer Bloat at Bay

The pain at the pump seems to finally be letting up—instead of rising, as they have been over the past three summers, gas prices are actually dropping! Gas prices fell during Memorial Day Weekend and many expect them to decrease even further. While this is great for both travelers and commuters, who once dreaded the trip to the gas station, the situation still isn’t perfect.

Consumers feel like they are getting a better deal than they actually are simply because gas prices hit an all year high in April and are now on the decline. Prices may also surprise us and increase later in the season—oil analysts often say that the middle of the summer is a “wild-card” for gas prices. Finally, while national averages may follow a pattern, gas prices can vary hugely from state-to-state on a situational basis. For example, many western states witnessed large increases to their price per gallon largely due to a fire at an oil refinery nearby.

With all of these fluctuations, it is important to stay up-to-date with changes in gas prices and trends. Important updates will always be reported on the news, in newspapers and in online new sources, but can’t do much to help you find the best deal when you are on the road. Thanks to the click of a button, with the “GasBuddy App” on your smart phone you will be able to locate the best deal closest to you! The app is free and can be used on an Android, Blackberry, Iphone, or Windows mobile device. The website featuring this app, www.GasBuddy.com makes all of this happen by tracking prices and constantly updating their maps. GasBuddy users are also able to plan fuel stops before leaving on a trip—you can calculate trip costs, look up fuel saving tips, and even submit your own information about prices based on what you find.

You can check out the article on GasBuddy from ConsumerReports to find some of the pros and cons they have for the app. If you like what you see, you can download the app (remember, it’s free!) and start searching! Remember, as important as great deals are, savvy student would never want your hunt for discounts to put you in danger—remember to put the phone away when you’re driving and either pull over to use your app or have someone else in the car do it for you! Have a happy, safe, and frugal summer!

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