Great Clothes on the Cheap

Designer clothing with TJMaxx prices, at your fingertips every morning at 11am. Online discount boutiques are all the rage right now.

Ruelala (Ruelala.com) is often considered the mother of all boutique shops. This company, based in Boston, offers a variety of great deals on designer goods. Each day at 11am (Eastern Standard Time) the site opens up a variety of boutiques. Each "shop" is open for a few days and often, some of the best stuff sells out right away. The page has a lot of great deals for clothing, travel goods, food and sometimes even good get-aways or certificates for use in Boston. Right now they're running a special for free shipping, but typically, shipping is $9.95. They do have a special they've been running- when you pay for shipping once, you get free shipping for 30 days. Proceed with caution though, this may make you more liable to make purchases that you don't need. Ruelala is "invite only," but you can apply for membership from the website. Ask around and see if a friend has an account though, if you make a purchase, they get a $10 credit!

Other sites with similar set-ups are Hautelook (hautelook.com), Gilt (gilt.com), Beyond the Rack (beyondtherack.com) and Ideeli (ideeli.com).

Another site that often has clothing but also some unique artistic gifts is Fab (Fab.com).

But, we at savvy student say buyer beware with all these great websites. Many of these items, while they are dramatically discounted, were very expensive to begin with and therefore, can still be pricey. While the deals are tempting, be sure to figure out if you really need the item and it fits within your budget!

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Some Upcoming Deadlines at SFS!

While it may seem that the Spring Semester just started, it's never too soon to begin thinking about your finances for next year! Here at SFS, we would like to notify you of a couple deadlines that are fast approaching.
The deadline for submitting financial aid documents for returning students is April 27th. More specific information is available on our website, but returning students should plan to submit the following:

FAFSA: available at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

CSS/Financial AidPROFILE: available at https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/

Parents and Student's 2011 Federal Tax Returns

Finally, we would like to notify all current sophomores about the Brandeis Acheivement Award. Available only to sophomores with a cumulative GPA above 3.5 and currently not receiving any of the merit scholarships listed here, the Brandeis Achievement Award is a merit-based scholarship worth $5000 per semester for the junior and senior years of the recipients. Applicants must submit a current résumé, two recommendations from Brandeis faculty, and a one-page personal statement detailing their academic experience at Brandeis. A maximum of five awards in the amount of $5,000 per semester will be conferred by the selection committee for the junior and senior years.

Further details on the Brandeis Achievement Award are available in PDF form here.

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Superbowl XLVI: Giants VS Pats VS your education?

It's that exciting time of year when football fans everywhere will gather around their televisions and enjoy the annual Superbowl Party feast. With tickets costing upwards of $2,500 and with 30 second ads going for as much as $4,000,000, this savvy student can't help but wonder just what that kind of money could be used for at Brandeis.

Did you know?
The cost of two tickets to Superbowl XLVI is greater than the cost of taking a four credit course at Brandeis University.

Did you know?
With the money that some big spenders are paying for a simple 30 second ad during the Superbowl ($4,000,000), you could pay Brandeis tuition and housing for 80 students.

And, it isn't just the fans and companies who are throwing all of their money into Superbowl XLVI. The city of Indianapolis, which is hosting this year's big game, signed a lease that ensured a large profit for the NFL. Not only are "all rental and use fees... waived," but in addition to that, "The NFL also gets 100 percent of all money from ticket sales, concessions, and premium-priced merchandise." Essentially, the NFL takes over the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for a solid month and takes 100 percent of all of their profits.

With all of these combined methods of profit, from ticket sales to ad space to the profit they are receiving through their agreement with Lucas Oil Stadium, these NFL tycoons could probably pay for the college tuition and housing of at least half of the students at Brandeis University and still have a hefty amount left over.

One thing is for sure, there's more to this game than a simple Brady/Manning rematch. Each player is given 15 Super Bowl tickets for friends and family- that's roughly $36,000 or almost a year's worth of tuition for one student (times all the Pats/Giants players), and we are not even talking about the cost to hire security detail or referees. So, when you are tuned in to the February 5 game think about the money invested in producing such an important sports event and how the top commercials impact you as a consumer.

Go Pats! Go Giants!
Savvy Student


Source:
http://www.wthr.com/story/16583105/contracts-outline-nfl-control-of-lucas-oil-stadium-convention-center

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The Cost of a Cup of Joe

Starbucks recently announced a price increase of 10 cents per cup which some may chalk up as just another increase or sign of the times, while others may think of it as a direct hit to the coffee consumer. Either way, Savvy Student wanted to look deeper into the increase to see how it really impacts the wallet, especially since students like their coffee and often times more than once per day.

Here in Boston, many are willing to spend as much as $6 a day on coffee. If this habit is kept up for one year it would be at a cost of over $2,000. For those purchasing one cup a day at an average cost of $2.50, the annual investment is near $1,000.

There are cheaper alternatives. For those not interested in drinking yesterday's left overs, K-cup is a good option. Coffee machines like Keurig are set up to conveniently brew one cup at a time. But while this cup of joe isn't as much of a budget buster as the one you may buy at Starbucks or Dunkin, it still costs money. K-Cups, for the keurig machine, can cost 84 cents a cup.

If your budget is tight your best option may still be the old school pot of coffee. According to a recent survey conducted by Consumer Reports, a bag of Starbucks coffee was compared to a bag of Walmart's Great Value. For both price and taste Great Value beat out the coffee chain at a rate of roughly $3.50/bag versus $8 per bag of ground coffee.

As prices rise on many consumer goods, its important to cut costs wherever we can!

Stay savvy!

Sources:
Tuttle, Brad. "No Joke: Walmart Coffee Tastes As Good As Starbucks | Moneyland | TIME.com." Moneyland | Financial Insights from Your Wallet to Wall Street | TIME.com. Time, 4 Aug. 2011. Web. 04 Jan. 2012. .

Tuttle, Brad. "Starbucks Raising Coffee Prices in Northeast, Sunbelt States | Moneyland | TIME.com." Moneyland | Financial Insights from Your Wallet to Wall Street | TIME.com. Time, 04 Jan. 2012. Web. 04 Jan. 2012. .

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To tip, or not to tip, that is the question

What do the following professions have in common: a waiter, a hair dresser, a taxi driver and a pet groomer?



Answer: Tips



Tips are considered a part of their wages, and as the patron you are supposed to offer a little compensation for their services! But, ask anyone and I am sure they will admit to being unclear as to what is considered fair. Sure, tipping the wait staff at restaurants has become routine, but visits to a hair salon or spa, taking a taxi or using a concierge service are more likely to be done on occasion. Therefore, most people are not as confident with tipping etiquette for such services.

Boston.com has prepared a brief guide to tipping that will help you in those oh so uncomfortable situations, and this is far better, less cliche than the plastic, wallet size tip charts we had decades ago. For example, if you buy take-out food tipping is not expected from you, but if you are getting a manicure 15% tip is the way to go.

Interestingly enough, according to a survey by PayScale.com , 52% of hotel maid service income consists of tips, and such compensation covers up to 41% of a rabbi's income!

Some other important tipping highlights to keep in mind: tip the bar tender $1 per drink or 15% of the total bill, tip your delivery food person 10% and $2-5 for your cab driver.

Happy Holidays from Savvy Student!!!!

References:

http://www.pfadvice.com/2006/12/18/how-much-should-you-tip/

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/10/12/basic-tips-on-tipping-how-much-and-to-whom/

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The cost of your skipped classes

Have you ever wondered how much it costs you every time you choose to skip a class?

Savvy Student decided to calculate the approximate amount and here are the results.
If you take Brandeis per semester tuition of $20,257 and divide it by # of classes you are enrolled in, and then by 15 weeks of instruction, you will end up with about $337.61 per class per week.

If you take four courses per semester, each class is worth about $112.53!

On one hand, tuition is a set cost, so if you choose to take five classes the cost per class will go down. It also obviously does not matter whether you go to all or none of your classes since the tuition will remain the same.

Economists sometimes refer to this fallacy as the "sunk cost fallacy". Once you have paid your tuition, these funds have already been "sunk," and thus don't play a role in your decision making. Interestingly enough, animals and small children don't think this way!

On the other hand, there is an opportunity cost to every class you skip, which consists of the information you miss out on. So, really, unless you have a flu, you should always attend your lectures.

However, in case you ever doubt whether or not you should be going to class, you can always use the Skip Class Calculator , which, after asking you several questions about the course, will tell you whether the skipped class is likely to play a big difference in the long-run!

However, if you are studying for your finals now and wondering how you could have helped yourself be more prepared, the answer of course is, by going to class. And now you know that you would have also saved $$$!

Good luck with finals ;)

Savvy Student

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Money Matters - at Home and Abroad

The questions that our office gets concerning Study Abroad Financing are infinite...
It is time for the SavvyStudent to try to clarify those, so read ahead!


BEFORE YOU GO ABROAD:

The main things to keep in mind:

- Pay Brandeis tuition by January 6th, 2012 (this will also include a study abroad fee of $400).
- Make sure you are aware what the costs are for your program's room and board, and you have received that bill as well.
- If needed, book an appointment with a financial aid advisor to discuss any additional options you have to assist you with the fees. Please, do so by contacting us at (781) 736 3700.
- If you are planning to use a Brandeis financial award when abroad, be aware that Credit Refunds will not be processed earlier than 10 days before the start of classes in the Spring semester. This means no earlier than January 7th. Please, account for mailing time if requestuing the check to an address abroad or in the US.
Please, refer to our comprehensive post from this spring for further details.


ONCE YOU ARE ABROAD:

Savvy Student won't be able to provide you with a spreadsheet for all the costs you will encounter when abroad, however, these are some questions you should strat thinking about:

- To prepare, first, do research on your country destination: what is the currency conversion rate? What is the average cost of a meal? How much does public transportation cost? Can you save by buying a pass?
- Most programs will send you a brochure containing most of the answers to the above questions, however, some research won't hurt. You can always contact students who have already done the same program and inquire of their monthly budget. The Study Abroad Office has an alumni base for all Brandeis approved programs, don't hesitate to utilize that! Keep in mind - everyone has their own spending limits!
- This being said - what is your budget going to be? Does your program provide daily/weekly meals? Are you planning to go out? Will you cook? Will you have to buy pots/pans? Buy souvenirs for 25 relatives? Shop for clothes? Travel around the country or abroad? PLAN ACCORDINGLY!
- Depending on the area of the world you are travelling to the cost of living may be higher or lower than in the U.S. However, regardless of where you are, be ready to face the fact that you will have more expenses than you would normally have at Brandeis. If you have a student job on campus, your student visa won't necessarily allow you to work in the country you are - so make sure you have pocket money on you!

If you have more suggestions or comments on how to budget abroad, please, feel free to share them with Brandeis Savvy Student! Your feedback is always welcome!

~Savvy Student

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