Protips for Thrifty and Busy College Students

PROTIP: Get free Amazon Prime shipping benefits just for being a student.

2011-12-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just really want your stuff right away. Maybe you want that Ultra Limited Edition Blu/Red/Green Ray Lord of the Rings Boxset complete with the annotated map of Middle-Earth and cardboard cut-out of Legolas within the week. Or you you just want your college textbooks within the week, whatever!

Free 2-day shipping is a really great deal, and all you need is your university email. It's that easy folks.

Of course it only lasts for 6 months, however when the trial period is up you can opt out of the Amazon Prime membership OR you can continue using Amazon Prime at a really great discounted price.

$39 a year as opposed to the full $79 a year for non-students. Feels good to be a college student, right?

CLICK TO SIGN UP!

How many calories are in 50 Big Macs? How many miles away is Saturn? Ask your obscure questions at this handy website:

2011-11-15T23:07:00.000-08:00

If you need a quick reference to obscure questions, then there is a powerful website that will most likely answer every question you may have.

Wolfram Alpha is a great resource to take advantage of.

You probably don't want to research every little thing like some kind of 18th century scholar, we live in the digital age and we want our answers right away!

Everything from Socioeconomic data, to words and linguistics, to chemistry, to physics, or even just finding out how many calories are in 500 Big Macs.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/

You can thank me later, just don't rely on it to do ALL your homework. You still need to prove your intelligence on exams and stuff, it's okay to be lazy though.

Google Docs will save you!

2011-11-12T22:53:00.000-08:00

First of all, it's free!

If your computer did not come with any kind of office suite like Microsoft Office, Google Docs is perfect for you! Also you don't have to carry around a flash drive back and forth from your home computer to school like some kind of hunter-gatherer. Everything is stored on Google Docs.

As long as you have an internet connection, you have access to:

Word processor
Powerpoint presentation editor
Spreadsheet
Drawing application
Form creator
Way to publish online for a greater audience

The best thing about Google Docs is the ability to collaborate with your peers and colleagues. All you need to do is share your Google Docs link with whoever you want to collaborate with! You can collaborate with up to 50 other people on a single document.

Pretty nifty right? You don't even have to leave the comfort of your dorm room, apartment, or wherever you live.

The great part is that you don't have to worry about constantly saving your work, Google auto-saves frequently just in case you accidentally drop your laptop down a well. PROTIP: Stay away from wells, welcome to 2011.

Freezer Protips

2011-11-09T23:29:00.000-08:00

Ice to see you! I thawed of some really cool freezer protips you might be interested in knowing about!

Irrelevant video, but it has to do with ice.

Ice crystals on your ice cream?

Take a piece of plastic wrap and snugly on the surface of the ice cream making sure there are no air pockets between the plastic and the ice cream. The next time you get ice cream you'll be able to easily scoop the ice cream without breaking your arm.

Don't have a frost free freezer?

Empty your freezer! Trust me it'll be worth the trouble of taking all your TV dinners out for this. Dry the walls of your freezer well, and then lightly spray them with some non-stick PAM or cooking spray. This will not completely stop the frost build up, BUT it will make it easier to defrost.

Buy a lot of ground beef/pork?

If you suddenly find yourself stocking up on a lot of ground meat product because of a big sale at the store, storing them can take up a lot of room. Take one pound portions of the meat and put them in freezer bags, and before sealing them use a rolling pin to flatten them out thin. Think "paper meat" and stack them up in your freezer. Not only will you be saving space, but these thin "meat sheets' thaw out a lot quicker. Pretty cool if you ask me.

Empty space in your freezer?

If you have empty space in your freezer, you're actually wasting precious freezing energy. A full and packed freezer full of stuff is actually cheaper to run than a freezer with a lot of gaps in it. Save your empty plastic milk containers or jugs and fill them with water. Store them in the freezer! Also if you live in an area that has constant power outages, the water jugs will provide you with cold water, or a way to keep perishables cold!

PROTIP: Chew cinnamon flavored gum to stay awake in class.

2011-11-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

There are times when you're sitting in class and your eyelids start to feel heavy. You're most likely sleepy because you spent all night studying and/or working late.

You can always have a cup of coffee to wake you up in the morning, however the effect is only temporary and coffee isn't always readily available when you most need it.

Here are a few simple ways you can stay awake!

One easy way to stay awake is to chew cinnamon or peppermint flavored gum. The smell and the simple action of chewing the gum itself keeps your face active! Just try it!
Splashing cold water either on the pulse area of your wrists and/or your face can help to wake you up. Drinking a lot of water can also make you want to visit the restroom often, it that helps?
One tip that works for a lot of people is pulling down on your earlobes, I haven't read any research or studies about this but all I know is that it kind of works. Tug at your earlobes for a while and you won't be as tired!
Studying late at home? Turn on a fan with a bowl of ice behind it to create a cool breeze. Or turn up your AC. The cold atmosphere will wake you up!

If you absolutely need coffee, try having some caffeinated tea instead! It doesn't have the same amount of chemicals in coffee that people know and love, but it is tasty and will wake you up just the same depending on the caffeine content!

But most of all, the one way to not be tired in class and while studying is to simply get enough sleep.

Fresh Bread Pro Tip

2011-11-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

When you buy bread from the store you'll notice that the twisty tie or plastic clip has a distinct color.

That specific color is not picked at random in order to seal your scrumptious bread in from the elements.
The color of the twisty tie or plastic clip on your loaf of bread can mean having a fresh loaf of bread or a week old loaf of bread.

Here's an easy way to get the fresh choice!

Bread is usually delivered to stores 5 days a week. And there are 5 different colors of twisty ties and plastic clips bread is sealed with.

They are:

Monday - Blue

Tuesday - Green

Thursday - Red

Friday - White

Saturday - Yellow

Now it can be difficult to remember these colors, but a great trick is to at least remember that the colors go in alphabetical order.

Blue Green Red White Yellow

For example, it is Tuesday and you pick up a loaf of bread that has a White twisty tie on it. If you want a fresh loaf of bread, you should go find a loaf of bread that has a Blue or Green twisty tie or plastic clip on it. The one with a White tie is almost a week old!

LEARN YOUR ALPHABET AND COLORS SO YOU CAN HAVE FRESH BREAD.

PROTIP: Use Secret Codes to Save Money on Online Purchases

2011-10-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

Relevant shopping related rage comic.

Have you ever filled your online cart on a website and wondered if you really were getting the best deal?
Well, most online merchants provide a place during the checkout process to enter a "promotional code."

In this box, you can type in a code that will significantly save you money! A code that can give you a certain percentage off or even free shipping!

These codes work just like tangible coupons and gift certificates you would use in actual stores.

The thing is, you have to do some searching the web for these codes, fortunately for you I've listed some great places to find these awesome codes.

www.dealcatcher.com

www.currentcodes.com

www.dealhunting.com

http://www.edealfinder.com/

Of course you can always do a more defined search, for example I use to shop at Hottopic.com a lot. On the site I noticed that as a member I would get a big discount for my birthday month. I kind of "gamed" the system for a while by creating multiple accounts with a fake birthday for every month of the year, that way I would be able to use the birthday discount code whenever I wanted! I saved a lot of money by doing this, however I don't think you should completely exploit it the way I did! But hey, who is stopping you?

The birthday discounts I received ranged from percentages off, to $5-$10 off a purchase, and free shipping!

The next time you purchase something online and notice there is an option to enter a code, search around the web for a while for a code. It could save you shipping, tax, or even shave off a few dollars from your grand total!

Bigger bacon, quicker bacon, and bakin' bacon.

2011-10-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

Here are 3 things you should know so you can get the most out of your bacon eating experience.

Get bigger bacon:

When a strip of bacon is cooked in a frying pan, it shrinks and shrivels up into a tiny bacon.
To reduce shrinkage, rinse your bacon under cold water before frying.

Want quicker bacon to satisfy those moments when you need it immediately?

Cook a large batch of bacon using the aforementioned method if you want.
Freeze the delicious pieces inside plastic sandwich bags individually or in pairs, trios, or whatever your heart desires.
When your bacon craving arises, grab a bag or two of bacon from your bacon hoard and microwave for a few seconds

Bakin' bacon if you want to cook a lot of tasty bacon:

If you're making a dish that needs a lot of bacon, or is made up of a strong bacon base, use your oven.

Preheat your oven to 400 F.
Use a large rimmed pan, make sure the sides are high enough so the grease doesn't leak out.
Line the pan with foil and evenly space the bacon so they have room to cook.
Place on the middle rack of your oven for 6-7 minutes for thin-sliced bacon and or up to 9-11 minutes for thick-sliced.
You don't have to flip them, or turn them like some kind of primitive aborigine cooking a wild boar in the middle of the woods.
Drain them, serve and enjoy!

Some cheap "punny" costume ideas for that clever personality of yours.

2011-10-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

"I need a costume for a Halloween party but I don't have enough money for one!!"

The "Darth Knight."

Sometimes in your college career, you don't always have time to think about the perfect Halloween costume for any parties you might get invited to. Halloween costumes bought from the store can get really expensive, and you're only going to wear it a few times out of the year.

You can turn heads at the next party you go to with these "punny" costume ideas that will literally cost you under $10 or less!

And you can even find the items you need for these costumes right in your dorm/apartment/house!

"Cat burglar"

Dress in all black with a beanie/ski mask on your face.
Carry a loot bag full of stuffed animal cats.
Act suspicious at parties and if people ask you what you are, look them in the eyes and say "I'm a cat burglar."

"Quarterback"

Scan a quarter, or blow up an image of a quarter and print it out on paper or a board.
Attach it to your back, you may dress normally if you'd like.
Carry a football with you and pretend to throw it at people.

"Snake pit"

Attach 3-5 rubber snakes under one of your armpits.
You may dress normally if you'd like, or you can wear green or whatever snakes are colored...
Add a "weird factor" to your costume by hissing at passerby party-goers.

"Babysitter"

Attach a baby doll to your butt. Sit.

Jim Halpert from "The Office" inspired costumes:

"Three-hole punched version of yourself"

"Facebook or 'Bookface'"

"Reverse Psychology"

Wear a sign that reads "YGOLOHCYSP"
Use it against people.

"One Night Stand"

Wear a lampshade on your head.
Cut a cardboard box to look like a table that you can rest on your shoulders around your head.
Attach "desk items" on top of the "table" such as papers, pens, a cup, box of tissue.
Stand in corners of the party.

"Web Surfer"

Cover your entire body in fake spider webs, (you can use real spider webs if you're a badass.)
Carry a surf board.
More power to you if you wear a body surf suit before covering yourself in webs.

"A Wizard badly dressed as a Muggle" for all you Harry Potter fans out there.

Dress terribly, call everyone at the party a Muggle in your perfect English accent.
Brandish your wand whenever you'd like.

"When Life Gives You Lemons Guy"

Dress as best as you can and wear a name tag that says "My name is 'Life'"
Carry a basket of lemons with you (if you happen to have an abundance of lemons)
When people ask you what you are, hand them a lemon and smile.

"Cereal Killer"

Dress as menacing as you can, and put on your best "mean look."
Carry a cereal box around with a fake knife stuck through it.
If people stare at you, stare at them back as you thrust the knife through the cereal box with gusto.

"Sim" From the popular game "The Sims"

You'll need two green square paper sheets, headband that closely matches your hair color, and about 25 pipe-cleaners (those bendy wire things that are covered in felt.
How to fold it into the Sims diamond "plumbob"
More power to you if you learn how to speak "Simlish" and learn "Sim mannerisms!"

"Mozilla Firefox"

Dress in all orange, wear fox ears, fox tail, and a blue rubber ball.
You can get fox ears and a fox tail for cheap, or make them yourself if you can!
When people ask who you are, curl your body around the blue rubber ball and say you're "Firefox"

"Snobby Butler"

Dress in a nice black suit if you have one.
Draw with a black marker a thin curly mustache on your face, and carry around an empty tray topped with empty cups/glasses as if you're a server.
Walk around weaving in between crowds with a smug look on your face.

"Waist of Time"

Attach a bunch of watches and clocks to a belt, and wear the belt.

"Annoying Tourist"

Find a tacky Hawaiian Shirt from the thrift store, and wear some khaki cargo shorts and sandals.
Keep a state map in one hand and a camera in the other hand.
Take pictures of everything, and ask people to take your picture as you pose with a peace sign.

"Running Fridge"

Find a white cardboard box that is able to fit over your upper body.
Decorate it to make it look like a refrigerator, with magnets and A+ papers and what not...
Do some running in place when people ask you what exactly you are.

"Boxer"

Fit a small box that is big enough to fit over each of your fists.
Ask people at the party if they want to "box" with you.

"Newsflash"

Wear a bathrobe and slippers.
Under the bathrobe, wear regular clothes but attach a bunch of newspaper articles to them.
"Flash" people with news!

"Wear your own face" If you really just want to go as yourself, but still maintain a creepy and scary vibe about you.

Print out a picture of your face, and wear it as a mask.
Act how you normally would at a party as if nothing is different.

"Gas costs too much at gas stations, what can I do to get the best deal on gas prices?"

2011-10-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

Instead of constantly going to gas stations, riding bikes everywhere seems like a great idea, however there are those of us that HAVE to commute to get to work, school, and other places.

Unfortunately we are forever at the mercy of gas prices, and they don't seem like they're getting any lower.

However, there are ways to get better deals on a gallon of gas and here are a few fuel saving tips to consider the next time you need to fill up at gas stations.

Here's what you need:

How the days of the week work
Knowledge of when holidays happen (might need a calendar for this, unless you know everything)
Your way around town

Here's what you need to do:

The way weeks work in a work week is that throughout the week there are work days (I didn't need to tell you that, but yeah.)

When the work week is over, people sometimes like to leave town, therefore gas stations tend to raise the gas prices up for the weekend to capitalize on this fact.
(Sometimes Thursday)...Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are usually days that gas prices are at their highest.
Tuesday and especially Wednesday are great days to fill up on gas. Wednesday is the middle of the week, and gas prices are almost always cheaper versus buying gas on the weekend.

When holidays happen, especially 3 and 4 day weekends, gas prices rise up.

Keep an eye on your gas gauge, and your calendar. If you notice Labor day is coming up, you might want to gas up the Wednesday before it. Holidays like Labor day and Thanksgiving are the busiest road travel dates of the year so everyone is going to be gassing up.

Take note of the locations of gas stations, they really do affect the price of gas. Location, location, location!

Gas stations located next to the freeway/highway have gas prices that are significantly higher than gas stations anywhere else in town.
But by all means, if the gas station that is the best deal is about 4 miles on the other side of town, just fill up at a gas station close by. Saving 3 cents just to drive 4 miles across town defeats the purpose of saving those 3 cents per gallon. It doesn't make cents/sense.

Unleaded regular, unleaded plus, and Premium

Many people think they're treating their car by using a "plus" or "premium" grade of gasoline
They're wasting their money. Just stick with using unleaded regular, virtually all vehicles these day run perfectly fine on regular.
Despite what the car, car manual, and/or car dealer says about using a higher octane rating grade of gasoline, unleaded is just fine.
Using Plus and Premium is recommended for engines of new cars, but seriously unleaded regular won't blow your engine up. Your wallet will thank you if you keep these fuel saving tips in mind.

"Cheapuccino" Make your own blended ice coffee drink.

2011-10-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

Frappuccino? Why are you so expensive?!

Do you love drinking those blended iced coffee drinks from Starbucks and other trendy coffee shops? Do you hate that they cost a little more than a gallon of gas?

Well why not make your own using your own coffee, and you can also make as much as you want!

Here's what you need:

Coffee grounds
Coffee maker
Blender
Ice Cube trays
Plastic freezer bags
Freezer
Coffee condiments (sugar, milk, sweetener, etc.)
If you have it peppermint extract, vanilla extract, cinnamon sticks, or other flavorings that you can get
Whipped Cream (if you want to be fancy)

Here's what you need to do:

Make a very strong pot of coffee by using twice the grinds that you would for a regular brew.
Pour the brewed coffee into ice cube trays and freeze (DO NOT pour scalding hot coffee into ice cube trays, you wait until it cools down so you're not melting stuff.)
Put the frozen ice cubes into a bag for storage.

EXTRA PROTIP: Break up a cinnamon stick into the coffee grounds before brewing for a cinnamon flavored coffee. This beats paying $10 on a bag of premium handpicked roasted 1st class priority imported genuine gourmet cinnamon coffee grounds.

How to make your own blended iced coffee drink:

Time to get your blender ready.

Place about 7-8 cubes, 1 cup of milk, teaspoon or two of flavoring, and sugar/sweetener to taste in a blender.
Blend it, puree until smooth.
Throw some whipped cream on it, garnish it with a cinnamon stick or something.
Feel good that you can make this when you want, how you want, and as much as you want.

How to make your own gourmet coffee:

Just add peppermint extract or vanilla extract (or you can buy your favorite flavors) stirred into your regular cup of coffee.
Doing this isn't any different than what they do at coffee shops.

EXTRA PROTIP: If you do crave coffee but not a lot of it, there is a "secret size" called a "short" at Starbucks coffee shops. It is smaller than the Tall, but a lot cheaper! Just ask for a "short" size of whatever coffee you want!

Got some leftover chicken? Make some delicious chicken salad with it, NOW.

2011-10-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Do you want to turn ordinary leftover chicken into a scrumptious feast fit for royalty?

Tired of eating chicken by itself like some kind of boring, ordinary chicken-eater? Make chicken exciting again by using the most basic of cooking techniques.

MIXING STUFF TOGETHER TO MAKE OTHER STUFF.

Make a chicken salad, you'll be egg-cited to know that most of the ingredients can be found in your kitchen already. No fowl play here, just follow the recipe carefully to keep yourself a-breast of how truly easy it is.

Here's what you need:

Chicken, either bought from the deli, store, canned, restaurant, leftover, safely found, or killed by your merciless hands and cooked to your personal preference. Debone it and put it in a bowl.

Celery, 1 or 2 stalks chopped into smaller pieces of celery. Yes, use a knife or ask a friend to help you with the knife. Put them in the bowl with the chicken.

Mayonnaise, use as much as you desire depending on how much chicken you have. But obviously don't drown the chicken in mayonnaise. Would you like more chicken with your mayo?

Add dried cranberries, or if you don't fancy cranberries you can also use grapes.

Garlic powder, paprika (if you want some extra Zazz), also some salt and pepper (you know what those look like). Use as desired, but not too much.

"I'm good on a lot of things."

This is optional for an extra kick, Sriracha sauce.

Here's what you do:

MIX EVERYTHING IN THE BOWL. CHILL IT FOR LATER OR EAT IT RIGHT AWAY.

Enjoy it in a sandwich, on toast, by itself, or...in pita pockets?

"I keep running out of printer ink! It's so expensive too!"

2011-10-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

"I need to print some things but I'm running out of ink!"

Have you ever found yourself printing out an essay and all of a sudden your computer tells you that you're running low on ink?

Yeah, we've all been there and we all know how much printer ink costs. Sometimes it's even cheaper to just buy a brand new printer with the stock ink they come with, rather than buying new ink.

But in the meantime, you're low on cash and time. Here's some ways to stretch the ink you currently have.

Here's what you need:

Ability to navigate through the options of your printer and word processing software (Microsoft Word)
At least one arm, it doesn't have to be yours either.

Here's what you can do:

STRETCH THAT INK

Before quickly printing out those documents, stop and look at the printing options that usually show up in a dialog box before you actually hit "Print."
In these options, you can be able to use less ink and still have a finished and legible finished document.

Additional tips for Inkjet printers

If you're in the middle of a printing job and your printer announces, "LOW INK!" Don't fret. It's just a warning, and your ink cartridge isn't completely empty.

To buy yourself a couple more days of printing, remove the ink cartridge from the printer.
Firmly hold the cartridge in hand and shake it until you are satisfied that the contents are thoroughly shaken.
Put the cartridge back

Additional tips for Laser printers

Just because your computer and/or printer tells you that the toner is low, the printer can still function fine for two to three weeks.

Just keep in mind that you'll eventually have to replace the toner or purchase a new printer, but print your documents as usual
Pay attention to the quality of the pages you print out, if they start to look choppy and degraded then it's time to finally replace the toner.
So what if one print job is ruined, one page of ruined text is pennies compared to the dozens of dollars in cartridges thrown away that still have life in them

AND DON'T PRINT THINGS YOU DON'T REALLY NEED TO PRINT.

"I love bananas but they don't last very long!"

2011-10-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

"I bought bananas the other day, but when I wanted to eat one I saw that they were all over-ripened and black. I'm sad."

Does this sound like you? Is this the face you that make when you realize that your fruit investment has been ruined by Father Time?

Well here are a few ways to make these curvy, yellow boomerang fruits last longer!

Here's what you need:

Refrigerator and freezer
The practiced ability to distinguish between colors

Here's what to do:

Where ever you buy bananas, you'll notice that many of their colors will range from yellow to green.

If you're planning on having an intense banana binge right then and there or within the next hour, then go with the tasty ripe green ones.
However if you like to enjoy bananas every now and then, go with the really green bananas.

Once you get home, your bananas are usually in a happy bunch.

A happy bunch of bananas.

If you want them to last as long as they can, separate them.

They grew up together, but at least they won't suffer the inevitable together. Unless you're making a smoothie or something.

Once separated, put each banana in a different spot in your kitchen. In a bunch together, they will all ripen too fast but alone and on their own they happen to last a great deal longer.

If you want your bananas to last even longer, you can put them in the fridge with the peel on.

Sure they will turn black and ugly on the outside but on the inside, they are still the same banana.

If you want to your bananas to last for a few more days, you can peel them and put 1-2 cut in half bananas in plastic Ziploc baggies and freeze them.

They'll still taste the same, and you can even dip the frozen bananas in chocolate and roll them in nuts so your blood sugar levels will rise.

Why does separating bananas work? It sounds so sad...

Random chemistry-ish lesson: All fruits and vegetables give off an odorless, tasteless gas called ethylene after they're picked. This gas speeds ripening up, especially if a bunch of ethylene gas producing bananas are all together. Separating bunches of fruits and vegetables and forcing them to live the rest of their lives solo will make them last longer. However if you want something to ripen faster such as an apple, you can surround the apple with a bunch of bananas to speed up the process.

3 Things you can take advantage of when grocery shopping.

2011-09-29T23:46:00.000-07:00

Do you like bakery goods but don't want to spend too much? (this includes cookies)

Do you want to buy cheap meat, fish, and poultry to fill in that void that ramen and coffee can't fill?

Do those roasted rotisserie style chickens you see in the stores tantalize your taste buds every time you breathe in their seasoned and spiced goodness wafting in the air?

Well here are a few ways to get them, and eat them.

Here's what you need:

Internet access, or a phone book if you're feeling old fashioned.
The ability to tell time
A freezer, it doesn't have to be those fancy freezers ice cream men keep ice cream in.
Access to a Wal-Mart SuperCenter (yes, Wal-Mart)

Here's what to do:

Cheap Bakery Items

Use your Google skills to find a bakery outlet near you, there is bound to be one.
When you go there, there is usually a rack stocked with the bakery's overproduction and "old" inventory.
YES, these loaves of bread, bagels, cookies, muffins, and other baked yummies are probably a bit old. BUT they are still significantly cheaper than their freshly made counterparts. Stock up on those $2 bags of bagels that'll last you a while.

Chopped Prices

If you want to save money when buying meat, fish, and poultry, look at the expiration date.
The "meat managers" in stores "chop" the prices of these products by as much as 50% if they are near the expiration date. Especially if it is about to expire the next day.
Do not fret, the product is still good! If it is not consumed within 24 hours then freeze them to extend the expiration date.

The Deli, an Indelible Source of Cheap Food

Use your superior time telling skills and head to a Wal-Mart SuperCenter at night, around 9 p.m., because that's when the deli crew sells the roasted chickens for very cheap and almost half-price.
The labels on the hot deli products usually detail what time they were cooked. Find an "old" time on a product and ask the deli people if you can get it for half-price since it is over 3 hours old.
Delis usually have a posted roasting schedule, if they don't ask about it and inquire about the "old" items and if you can get them for cheaper. They will most likely give it to you as long as you're polite, nobody likes to throw away food.

"Why is grocery shopping so expensive? How can I save money?!"

2011-09-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Grocery shopping doesn't have to be stressful and it doesn't have to be as expensive as it may seem sometimes.

The number one thing to keep in mind when going out for things is to:

Buy the things you need, before going after the things you want.The second thing you need to do is to PLAN.

Here's what you need to do:

Before you even leave your dorm/apartment/house for groceries, STOP.

Take inventory of what is needed before considering what is wanted. Overstocking may result in wasted food and ultimately wasted money.
In order to avoid impulse buying, eat before heading to the store therefore the brain can have more influence in judgment than a hungry stomach.

Once you've made it to a store, LOOK around you for a moment.

Many popular brand named items are advertised in the media as being the best tasting or best working, however the price isn’t always the best sounding. A name for a product is what it is, a name.
Another cheaper product can be just as good as a brand name product, just compare and contrast its ingredients and active ingredients if it's a household product.
An example can be of the brand name aspirin you need because you get headaches from staying up all night studying. A cheaper generic brand contains the same active ingredient as the brand name aspirin.

As you look closer at items and what they're made of, you will soon find that in order to save more money you can just simply COOK things for yourself rather than buying pre-made products.

Regarding processed foods, buying raw foods and ingredients is not only significantly cheaper but healthier as well. Cook meals instead of relying on prepackaged processed meals.
Do you really want to buy a $4 pack of 3 frozen pizzas? Or do you want to make them yourself by getting more for your money, quantity, and most of all quality?
Processed foods offer the convenience of a quick and easy meal, however the price of relying on them eventually affects finances

If you want to save money AND eat healthy, farmers' markets are your best friend.

Use local farmers’ markets as a venue for fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. These markets are much cheaper and are tastier than the produce being sold in stores.

"My room smells, my car smells, my roommate's shoes smells, EVERYTHING SMELLS!!"

2011-09-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Is everything around you starting to smell? Has your busy school and/or work schedule made it difficult to maintain a clean living environment? Maybe it's your roommate(s) that need to clean things up.

To effectively reduce the amount of bad odors around your dorm/apartment, the number 1 way is to clean up.

However once everything is put back in their rightful place, the smelly odor may still linger.

Here's what you need:

Fabric Softener Sheets (dryer sheets, which you'll probably have a bunch of if you do laundry)

Here's how you can use them:

Has your "new-car" smell turned into an "old-musty-car" smell? Tuck dryer sheets under car seats to counteract odors and even cigarette smells.
Smelly drawers? There are scented drawer liners, but those are expensive. Simply tuck dryer sheets under existing drawer liners or tape them to the back of your drawers.
You can use recently used dryer sheets in piles of laundry that have yet to be done, and also use them in trash baskets to counteract odors
Smelly shoes and gym bag? Drop a dryer sheet into each of your shoes and leave them overnight to help get rid of odors. Shove some dryer sheets into your gym bag to control odor.
Throw some sheets in your closet to keep your clothes smelling fresh.

Why does this work?
Fabric softener sheets just smell nice.

"I woke up late and ALL of my clothes are wrinkled because I didn't have time to iron them!"

2011-09-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever found yourself waking up late realizing that you have absolutely no time to iron your clothes?

You may find yourself in this position, especially if you didn't have time to iron them right after you did your laundry.

Have no fear!

There is a way to prepare for such situations in the future AND cut your total ironing time in half!

Here's what you need:

An iron (obviously)
Ironing board
Aluminum foil

Optional additional materials:

An ice cube
1 small cloth

1. Take a sheet of aluminum paper and slide it under the fitted ironing board cover, shiny side up. The shinier side will reflect heat better. The foil will reflect heat back through the clothing as you iron, smoothing out wrinkles more efficiently.

2. Wrap an ice cube in a small cloth and dab it onto really tough wrinkles before passing your iron over them.

Why does this work?

Ironing boards suck up an iron's heat, causing you to make several passes over your clothes to get rid of wrinkles. Slipping a sheet of foil under the fitted ironing board cover will help redirect the heat back through the clothing like a two-sided iron "sandwiching" your wrinkled garments. The ice cube wrapped in cloth will moisten those tougher wrinkles giving you the power of steam!!

FAQ: How to use Protips

2011-09-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

College life can be difficult, money is tight and you don't always have all the time in the world.

And you're probably nervous about a lot of things, especially about living on your own.

Do you have butterflies in your stomach? Digest them.

Sometimes you're going to have to bite off more than you can chew. So chew it and eat it. I'm here to help you grab life by the horns, now enough of these idioms.

1. What do I need to follow your Protips?

Well the majority of the things that you'll need can already be found in your kitchen and/or room. You'll need common household items, and if you don't have them they are easily obtained for very cheap.

2. How do I follow your Protips?

I'll be posting a common scenario that you may encounter in your life, a list of things that you'll need, and how to use them.

3. How can I find a specific Protip for a specific situation?

I know how busy you are so I'll be organizing them. Link will be in the side bar!

4. What if I can't find what I'm looking for?

You can leave a comment and I will read your comment and then I may consider it for a future blog post.

Easy Recipes.

2011-09-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Stop starving and crying. Learn how to become a master chef with your microwave. Using ingredients that are both cheap, and can be found in your current kitchen you can magically create (hopefully) tasty meals!

Roommate(s)

2011-09-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

You can't always choose your roommates, but you can learn to deal with them. Here are some tips to help you cope and live a bit easier with your roommate(s).

Coming soon!

Quick Fixes

2011-09-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

Need a quick fix? No, not THAT kind of fix.

I'm talking about that dent that you found in your car in the parking lot, I'm going to teach you how to fix it (at least attempt to fix it). Also, I'll teach you how to quickly do things that usually take a while to do.

Coming soon!

Saving Time.

2011-09-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

Don't have time to do things? Make time. And in hindsight, start planning things out.

In the meantime, here are some blog posts that should save what's left of your sanity (and time).

Iron your wrinkled clothes twice as fast, or maybe even 4 times as fast!

Cleaning up.

2011-09-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of blog posts about helping you clean your humble abode up quick. Maybe you can finally have people over other than your roommate(s) and immediate family.

Smelly car? Smelly room? Smelly shoes? Smelly everything?

Saving Money.

2011-09-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

I like saving money, you probably do too. I wish we could all have enough money. I'd like to buy an island and populate it with cats.

In the meantime, here are some blog posts to help you save money.