Who needs coupons to save money on groceries?

You've probably seen TV shows about "extreme couponing", where ordinary people save tons of money on groceries by using coupons, but have you noticed the sort of foods they generally end up with? While boxed noodles and energy drinks may sound like a college student's best friend, we at Savvy Student want you to treat your wallet and your body well. Besides, who has time to coupon during midterms?

Meal planning is a great place to start before heading to the grocery store. We like to think of it as a life hack. By spending an hour or two on a Sunday planning out your week's meals, you can avoid waste, save time at the grocery store and never wonder where your next meal is coming from. Meal planning can be an excellent exercise in time management and strategy, as you can start learning which foods are the most versatile and can be used in various dishes.

Of course your meal planning is a very personal experience and will depend largely on any dietary restrictions you may have as well as your tastes. Brainstorm your favorite meals to prepare. Can you inflate the recipe so you can feed yourself for a few days? Are there components of your favorite meal that can be "recycled" (we'll call it "mealcycled") into another dish? Here are some examples of foods that can be cooked and then mealcycled into various other dishes without much effort:

1) Roasted chicken
Roasting a chicken for a single person (or even two people) can yield quite a lot more than meat than even the hungriest of us can eat in one sitting. With just a few more groceries (bread, spring mix salad, tomatoes,  chicken broth, carrots) you can turn your abundant chicken into: chicken soup, chicken salad and chicken sandwiches! Remember that broth you had to buy? Save the carcass from your chicken to boil in water to make your own broth that you can freeze to use for later.

2) Curry sauces with rice
A rice cooker is such a good investment for a student because it quickly and perfectly prepares a large quantity of one of the cheapest foods that is also the most versatile. If you're into curries, make a pot of any variety you like with some rice, and then with the help of some veggies, soy sauce, oil (coconut, sesame, vegetable, even butter), and some more of that broth you have on hand from your roasted chicken soup, you can make curry soup by thinning out your sauce with broth and maybe adding some more veggies or fried rice using your leftover rice, some soy sauce, some oil and some veggies.

3) Vegetable or meat based sauce
Make a big batch of sauce (try allrecipes.com for some good ideas) and freeze it in smaller quantities to be used over freshly prepared pasta or rice. We recommend you make the pasta sauce in advance but not the pasta itself as carby foods tend not to keep well in the fridge. Cream based sauces can be cooked with rice to make something similar to a risotto, tomato based sauces can be easily turned into soups, and herb based sauces make great meat marinades.

A great way to start your meal planning journey is to learn what sorts of food you like. If you haven't cooked much before, consider inviting your friends over for a potluck. Tell them to bring the meal they like to make that they think is the most versatile. Ask for recipes! Parents, older students and recently graduated friends are great resources. For the internet addicts among us, there are tons of cooking blogs to check out. including:

Collegiate Cook
Stone Soup (learn how to make impressive dishes using five ingredients or less!)
This Week for Dinner (a busy mom makes meals every night of the week by planning ahead)

Send us your favorite recipes, pictures of your delicious creations and any suggestions for more posts on food. Some of us at Savvy Student are major foodies and would love to satisfy your craving for more posts like this!

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Frugal Fun For Halloween!

We're getting started with our Halloween posts a little earlier this year to give all of our Savvy Students enough time to frugally plan their costumes and parties. In prior years we've posted some ideas for homemade costumes, which you can check out here. This year, we challenge our readers to come up with their own homemade and inexpensive Halloween costume ideas. Send us descriptions, links and/or pictures (and permission to repost!) and we'll help make your creativity and ingenuity famous on the blog!

In a college town like Boston, the usual costume shops will be overrun by mid-October and many will likely sell out of the most popular costumes. The typical pre-packaged costumes can also be seriously overpriced and you may find yourself at a party with three other Gatsbys. Instead of going the usual route, here's a list we compiled of thrift stores in the area (with public transportation directions to save you money!) to start scouting out. Remember to start early before the best finds are snatched up!

1) Global Thrift
Global Thrift is located right on Moody St. in Waltham and is easily accessible via the Brandeis Shuttle (get off at Enterprise and walk up Moody St. a few blocks). The BranVan will also get you there if you ask the driver to stop at In A Pickle.

2) Garment District
This is the go-to spot for many of the college students in Boston. As a result of its popularity, it gets picked over very quickly so definitely start early. You can grab the Boston/Cambridge shuttle to Harvard Square and take the red line to Kendall  (exact address is available in the Yelp link above). On your way, you can get off at Central Square and check out some of the shops we're detailing next.

3) Boomerangs and Goodwill in Central Square
Central Square is an interesting neighborhood that is easily accessible from Waltham either via the 70 bus (which stops near Waltham Common), or by the red line from Harvard where the shuttle stops. Central is home to Boomerangs, a small and trendy thrift shop, and Goodwill, a larger store with more options but less curation than the hip staff at Boomerangs tends to do.

4) Davis Square's Goodwill (and other fun shops)
Check out Davis by getting on the red line from Harvard or Central Square and going outbound toward Alewife. Get off at Davis for thrift stores, consignment shops and a beautiful neighborhood to spend a Fall afternoon walking about.

5) Allston's Goodwill and Urban Renewals
The only drawback to Allston's Urban Renewals is the lack of fitting rooms. Otherwise, this store boasts great prices and daily color-coded sales. It's also enormous so there's no shortage of items to peruse. Allston is also easily accessible by the 66 bus from Harvard Square.

Let us know what you find and if you have any other tips for costume shopping. Remember to send us pictures and ideas for costumes!

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How Minimalism Can Save You Money (and keep you safe!)

There are some documents that all adults should have: an original birth certificate, a social security card and multiple methods of identification. These items are necessary when we apply for jobs, search for apartments or purchase things like insurance. Because of how important these documents are, it is tempting to keep these items handy in our wallets, purses or glove compartments. But what happens when you lose your wallet? What if you're the victim of a robbery? Losing those documents that allow you to move about in the world legitimately can be devastating.

Here's a list of items you should avoid keeping on you:

1) Social Security Card

A consistent theme you'll notice in our advice to you is to keep documents that would allow others to use your identity secure. With a name and a social security number, any stranger can start opening up credit cards or take out loans in your name. Fortunately many banks have built-in safeguards for this sort of identity theft, but there are still avenues criminals can take to exploit confidential information. Replacing a social security card is an involved process that includes mailing documents to the Social Security Administration. There is also a limit on how many times you can replace your card. Avoid the hassle of replacing your card by keeping the first one secure and off of your person (unless you intend on using it on a particular day, of course!).

2) Birth Certificate

It's rare that you'll need to show your original birth certificate, but it can come in handy to acquire other forms of ID, so you should definitely keep it safe and out of your wallet. The same advice above about identity theft applies to birth certificates.

3) Spare keys

It seems self-evident not to keep spare keys in the same place you'd keep your usual set of keys, but this advice is so important that it bears repeating. In the event you're robbed, the criminal with your keys may also have your ID with your home address on it. It's bad enough to have your purse or wallet stolen; don't risk having your residence robbed. Consider keeping spare keys with another trusted individual somewhere safe (but hidden) at their residence or even in a safety deposit box at your bank. A safety deposit box is also a great option for storing your social security card and birth certificate.

4) Multiple credit cards

Here's a tip that won't just prevent you from losing more of your assets in the unfortunate event of a robbery but will also help you control your spending. We've written before about the virtues of credit cards when used responsibly and also about the danger of credit cards in less savvy hands. Consider only keeping one credit card on you at a time if you have multiple cards. Anything you're not actively using should be kept safe at home to avoid replacement charges in the event of loss or robbery. The less credit you have at your fingertips, the less likely you are to spend money you don't have.

5) Account numbers, passwords and PINs

With frequent use of social media accounts comes so many usernames and passwords that it is difficult to remember them all. It may be tempting to keep things like passwords, PINs and account numbers written down but imagine the fear and devastation that would result from discovering you've lost not only access to your accounts but also the sense of security that comes with being the only one with access. Don't make your purse or wallet into a gold mine for thieves and less virtuous finders! Instead of keeping a physical copy of all of this information, consider using one of the many secure applications available using technology like cloud computing to store easy-to-refer-to but secure information at your fingertips. You can also install programs that will randomly generate super secure passwords for all of your sites, save them, and operate from one master password. Cnet.com is a great resource for programs like these.

Take a look at what you keep in your wallet or purse. How much of that stuff do you actually use? While you organize your possessions, take special care to ensure that you only carry with you replaceable items and as few items containing sensitive information as possible. It will always be a bummer to lose your wallet, but it can less of one if you apply some minimalist philosophy to what you carry every day.

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Welcome Back to Campus!

The Office of Student Financial Services would like to welcome you back to another terrific school year!

While you were away, a few things in our office have changed...


Student Employment

• You can only complete an I-9 Form if you receive Federal Work Study, or if you have already been hired for an on-campus position.
• As a result of this, our office no longer issues the blue employment eligibility card and all supervisors have been notified of this change.

Student Accounts

• Our office is currently working on a new method for processing refunds. Eventually, we will be transitioning to an online Credit Release Form that should allow refunds to be issued in the form of a check OR to be directly deposited into your bank account. We will let you know when this change occurs! We are close, but not there yet!!!

Financial Services

• Thanks to the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, signed into law by President Obama on August 9th, the federal loan interest rates have changed. If you are interested in learning more about these changes, check out our recent blog highlighting the details of this new, exciting development.

If you have any questions about these changes, always feel free to visit our office in Usdan, give us a call at (781) 736-3700, or send us an email at sfs@brandeis.edu.

Here's to another fun-filled, financially responsible, and enjoyable school year!

Stay pumped!

~Savvy Student

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