Staying Financially Safe After the Storm

This weekend, Hurricane Sandy hit several states along the east coast, causing heavy rain, wind, and even snow in Virginia and West Virginia due to the fact that the hurricane combined with a Nor'easter. New Jersey and New York have seen particularly severe and costly damage-- The New York Daily news reports that New York City alone suffered $20 billion worth of damages as a result of the hurricane. Along the coast, individuals are now dealing with both public and personal damages.

The storm has now passed, and disaster relief is key. Even though the physical danger is primarily over, financial danger is becoming a major issue as scammers inevitably take advantage of natural disasters. We at Savvy Student hope that Hurricane Sandy didn't affect you too much, and our thoughts are with those who were hit hard by the storm. We hope you check out these tips from Time magazine on how to avoid getting scammed during the disaster relief process--  http://business.time.com/2012/10/31/avoid-getting-scammed-in-sandys-aftermath/?iid=biz-main-lead.

Best wishes,
Savvy Student

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

The Benefits of Being a Student

Getting off campus is never an easy or budget friendly affair. From the time it takes to find a place to go to finding a way to get there, the whole outing can be very stressful and difficult to accomplish a midst a week of schoolwork on campus. At the same time, staying on campus without leaving for a long time can get old and boring, so what is one savvy student to do, you ask? Well, we did some research and found a variety of places around Waltham that offer great weekday specials to get you through to the weekend  Take a look and try something new this week!

Monday:

What better way to get over the weekend blues than to get your wings on? Joco’s on Moody St. is serving $.25 wings all day every Monday! Just imagine how much you can eat with just $5 dollars while enjoying a fun, relaxed atmosphere at this local favorite.

Tuesday:

Tuesday brings in a double whammy of savings with not only dinner, but a movie as well. Asian Grill on Moody St. is offering half-priced sushi, which means you can get your favorite spicy tuna roll for just $2.50! To make your Tuesday even better, go across the street and take advantage of Waltham Theater’s $6 movie Tuesday. Can you believe this? You can take someone out for dinner and a movie for less than $10.

Wednesday:

American on Monday, Asian on Tuesday, so of course, we’re going Mexican on Wednesday at Margarita’s on Moody St. Every Wednesday, Margaritas offers one free entrée to every two students that come in with a student ID. This means that your friend can order a burrito and you can order a taco all for the price of one burrito. Who said there were no free meals out there?

Thursday:

Although we’re getting close to the weekend, Thursdays are a good time to unwind to get you ready for Friday when you can really get out there and have a fun weekend. Spend it at Chateau, a wonderful Italian family restaurant where you can get appetizers for $7 before 7 PM. This place is famous for the baked ravioli appetizers!

Friday:

We have come full circle on Friday by going back to Joco’s for FREE wings between 4-6 PM. No better way to say TGIF!


Hope you enjoy these weekly specials and always feel free to tell us if you come across a new deal!

Savvy Student

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Cheap Plane Tickets

Headed home for Thanksgiving break? Need to book a flight for vacation? The RetailMeNot Insider recently posted an article on tips for getting cheap plane tickets.

Some of their best tips are:
-Book tickets early...but not too early: For domestic flights, the lowest average ticket price occurs 21 days before departure. While for international flights, the cheapest flight price is 34 days prior to departure.
-Booking at the right time and day of the week can save you serious $: Early mornings are generally the best times to book since inventory is marked down overnight. Additionally, Tuesdays are the best day to book for flights since they are typically the most unpopular day to search for flights, since it's after the weekend rush, so you're more likely to find a cheap flight.
-Stopovers: If you would like to visit multiple cities,  you can pay a small fee to extend the duration of your layover, so you don't need to book multiple flights. So for example, if you are traveling from Boston to Miami, and would like to stop in DC on the way, you could just extend your layover in DC for a few days.
-If possible, try flying on Tuesdays, Wednesday, or Saturdays, since flights are cheaper then. You avoid the Sunday rush on returning flights, and you avoid business travelers who typically leave on Mondays.

The article, also mentions some good resources for cheap tickets:
-Matrix Airfare Search finds the lowest priced tickets, although you can't book them directly on the site.
-Priceline.com: Name your own price on this site, and although you won't know the airline company or the arrival/departure time until after you book, but you can save a lot of money booking this way

For more tips and to read the full article, click here.

Bon Voyage!
Savvy Student

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Sweet Tooth Tips

With the month of October in full swing and Halloween quickly approaching, it is officially candy season! Whether your sweet tooth is craving chocolate bars or hard candy or lollipops, Savvy Student wants to help you satisfy your cravings without breaking the bank!

Here are some tips on how to spend less on your candy this Halloween season!

• Try buying your candy online!
  Websites like orientaltrading.com offer fantastic deals so that you can spend less and get more. Oriental Trading has holiday-themed options that are perfect for the Halloween season. *The one caveat to this option: Make sure you buy in advance so that your candy has enough time to be shipped to you!
• Use discount warehouses!
  If you have a COSTCO or BJ's membership, buy your candy in bulk from one of these warehouses. These warehouses also offer a variety of options for buying in bulk. Are you craving a huge jug of twizzlers? You can certainly get a good deal at COSTO or BJ;s!
• Pay attention to price!Popular candies like Reese's and Hershey's may seem like the obvious choice for candy this season. However, there are many different options that can end up being much cheaper! Check out this interesting article we found on the cheapest popular candies available.
• Look for deals!Pay attention to deals and discounts that stores might be offering on Halloween candy. As the holiday approaches and stores become overstocked on Halloween-themed candy, more and more deals may become available on your favorite Halloween candies.
• Be weary of dollar stores!
  Although the idea of getting "candy in bulk" for just 99 cents is tempting, sometimes these deals aren't as sweet as they seem. These packages generally have less candy then you may think. In addition to this, try to avoid candy made in China and stick with American brands. Good dollar store brands to search for are products made by the Tootsie Roll company and Palmers.

Now that you can make your Halloween costume on a budget and buy your candy for cheap, Savvy Student trusts that you will have a safe, fun, and afforable Halloween.

Happy trick-or-treating!
Savvy Student

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Halloween DIY Costumes

With Halloween just around the corner, Savvy Student has come up with a scary good list of DIY costumes that are sure to be a hit this year. As these are mostly homemade they will likely save you both time and money, so it's a win, win!

Some of the best costumes we thought of had to do with pop culture, events, and news of 2012.

- Olympic Spirit: Get a group of people together and be the Fab 5: All you need is a  gymnastic leotard and a ribbon around your neck with your very own "gold medal!" The more Team USA spirit you have the better! You could also dress up as Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, or Usain Bolt.

-Politics: In light of Mitt Romney's recent debate gaffe, you can be Big Bird, or even Fired Big Bird. You'll need to wear all yellow, get some yellow boas, and some orange knee socks. If you have friends that are also looking for costumes, there are plenty of Sesame Street characters you can be: Elmo, Cookie Monster, or even Oscar the Grouch!

-2012 in TV: Reality TV has also offered up some good costume ideas: TLC's Toddler's in Tiara's has created some great costume options. All you need is a dress, a crown, and a pageant sash. You can also go pageant girl specific, and dress up as Honey Boo Boo Child!

-Movies of 2012: 2012 has been quite the year for movies. Try dressing up as  Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games, or a super hero from The Avengers, including Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, or Captain America. For example, for the Hulk, you would just need to wear green tights, a ripped shirt, and purple shorts. Other popular movies were The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man, Men in Black, The Lorax, and Magic Mike, which all offer up some great costume ideas.

-Pop Culture: You could also dress up as some of the most prevalent pop culture references of 2012 such as: Tan Mom ( think orange face paint and lots of make up), love birds Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, or Snookie and her baby.


Whatever you choose, Savvy Student wishes you a fun filled Halloween!
Savvy Student

Check out more costume ideas:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/women-halloween-costumes-2012_n_1901424.html#slide=1549377
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/09/17/top-adult-halloween-costumes-for-2012/
http://caldwells.patch.com/articles/what-are-the-most-popular-costumes-for-halloween
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/halloween-costumes-2012-pictures_n_1929161.html?utm_hp_ref=comedy#slide=more253109
http://holidays.thefuntimesguide.com/2005/10/costumestomake.php#FunnyHalloween
http://pinterest.com/worlds/2012-halloween-ideas/

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Protect Yourself from Online Predators

With the holidays approaching, your online activity may be on the rise. Whether you are seeking a good bargain, shopping for presents, gathering ideas or even looking for ways to earn extra cash, Savvy Student wants you to be on the lookout for scams and online predators.

In a recent post we spoke about identity theft and ways to protect yourself, as it is way easier to be proactive than to handle the clean up after you have become a victim. Now, we want you to be aware of what can happen online as we approach the holiday season. And sure, you might be thinking, "I would never believe that an Egyptian King has left me $1.3 million", but online predators can be very savvy and you may not recognize their tactics right away.

When reviewing emails, if your spam filter did not do the work for you, a surefire way to know you should be cautious is when the "To:" line is sent to "undisclosed recipients".  Send those emails to your spam and trash folders right away.

Even though you have heard it multiple times, always remember that if it is too good to be true, then it probably is. The same holds true when shopping online, looking at Craigslist, and searching for part-time jobs. Hind sight is 20/20, but one piece of advice is to be aware of individuals looking for your account information or those wanting to send payment via money order. If you are buying or selling items online be sure they are paying you with cash or that you are using a payment vendor like Paypal. If it is an online purchase be sure to check out the company's entire website to see if they are associated with the Better Business Bureau or that they are a legitimate organization. Just recently, we were reviewing a website for a company that was offering a scholarship; however, the ".org" site that the flier referred to quickly changed to a ".com" site in the web browser, so we opted not to post that information, as it was quite questionable.

In the job market, always do your due diligence. If you see an ad for a job that you are interested in, be sure to look at all of the details. If the ad is for babysitting, see if you can get an address and use Google Maps to verify the location and residence. If the job posted is for a personal assistant or other company, be sure to look them up online and see if you can get references or reviews. If you are unable to locate information online, don't be afraid to request references or ask questions of your potential employer. Also remember, if you are looking for a job, it is to make money, not lose it- right? If any employer asks you to spend money, buy in to something or wants/needs you to transfer money somewhere, that is your red flag to walk away.

Your first focus at Brandeis is school, but while you are here, we at Savvy Student want you to be safe and be aware of what's around you and what may be happening right in front of you. It can be easy to fall victim to online predators, especially if you are not looking for or expecting it. However, if you equip yourself with the right information you'll be able to spot these scams right away and avoid a whole host of issues.


~Savvy Student

reade more... Résuméabuiyad