The Broke Student's Guide

Broke and Beautiful: Tips and Tricks to Save Money on your Beauty Routine

2012-02-24T11:35:00.000-08:00

Being broke doesn't mean you have to LOOK broke. As college students, it's a requirement to look put-together for career and networking events such as career fairs or even class projects. This can be tricky when you're on a tight budget, but it's not impossible! Here are some tips and tricks to save money on your everyday beauty routine.

1. DIY Tinted Moisturizer: Tinted moisturizer - a lightweight, sometimes sheer foundation that moisturizes your skin - has become a hot product, especially for the summertime. It's my go-to product for those days when I'm super bored/lazy/tired/have class in 5 minutes/want to apply foundation and moisturizer at the same time (so basically always). But tinted moisturizers are pricey, often WAY more expensive than either moisturizer or foundation. Chances are, you already have a foundation in your color and a moisturizer that you like, so here's how to make your own tinted moisturizer: combine them. Yup, it's that easy. You can put them in their own little container or just mix a drop of each on the back of your hand before you apply it to your face. Voila! Tinted moisturizer.

Even Better: Make your tinted moisturizer multi-task even more by adding other products to it such as self-tanner or tea tea oil (for acne - but don't add regular acne cream because it tends to flake). Anything you put underneath your makeup can probably be added to your tinted moisturizer to save time and keep you from buying multi-tasking products that you can make yourself!

2. Apply your makeup right: Using the right applicators to apply your makeup can make the difference between smooth, blended makeup and a streaky mess. It can also make a difference in your wallet - using a sponge to apply makeup sucks up the majority of your product, leaving most of it in the sponge instead of on your face - aka wasting your money! Sponges also tend to grow bacteria and must be thrown out frequently, meaning you have to purchase more sponges, which adds up. Instead, use clean, dry fingers to apply foundation, moisturizer, and concealer. Your hands (which are free) won't absorb as much product as a sponge, and your body's natural warmth will help the product sink into your skin.

Even better: If you use makeup brushes to apply your makeup, make sure you wash them frequently with cold water and soap (or shampoo, or face wash, etc). Washing them more frequently helps the brushes work better, avoids dirt and oil buildup which leads to acne, and ensures no bacteria growth. Use cold water because hot water loosens the glue which holds the brush together, causing your brush to fall apart over time.

3. Get sparkly white teeth: Teeth whitening can cost an arm and a leg, but it doesn't have to! The primary ingredient in every whitener - be it at your dentist or the pharmacy - is hydrogen peroxide. The secondary ingredient is typically baking soda. You probably know what I'm about to say, but here it is anyway: you can make your own teeth whitening paste by combining hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. These two magical products are available for around $1 at your local grocery store, pharmacy or dollar store! Just combine them and use it in addition to or instead of your normal toothpaste for super white teeth. (Note: it tastes gross, so you might want to add some flavoring or mix it with your normal yummy toothpaste or mouthwash.)

Even Better: You can use hydrogen peroxide as a whitening mouthwash. It won't give you that tingly feeling or make your breath minty fresh, but it WILL whiten your teeth. You can also use it to help clean out your ears and sanitize cuts. You can use baking soda to wash your hair and your house! Who knew such cheap products were so amazing?

4. When it comes to your face, less is more: For those of us with "problem" skin (oily, acne prone, flaky, etc) our tendency is to buy tons of "miracle" products to try to fix our face. We buy special cleanser, moisturizer, treatment cream, toner, and more for our face and slather it all on there. If it doesn't work, we buy different products and try again. The result is an endless cycle of expensive products that aren't helping anything and are, more likely, creating the very problem we're trying to fix. Let me explain. If you happen to have acne-prone or oily skin (like me) you might be drawn to products that promise to soak up all the oil in your face, dry it out, treat all of the acne with strong acids or peroxides, and leave us with clean, clear skin. Your skin might feel tight after you wash it, but end up an oil slick within hours, resulting in zits and shininess. So maybe you go wash your face again to get rid of all that oil - only to find yourself repeating the cycle over and over. This is because your skin actually NEEDS that oil! It needs to be hydrated so that it can move and stretch and do all of the things skin does. Without oil, things would be painful and uncomfortable. Over-drying our skin causes it to overcompensate by producing MORE oil than we might actually need, creating that oily mess that can lead to acne. If you have oily skin that gets dry and flaky in the winter, this applies to you most of all. Stop drying out your face! Stop stressing out your skin with too many harsh products! Just let it do its thing!

Now, I don't want you to have dirty skin - but you can cleanse and treat your skin WITHOUT the harsh chemical cleansers. Try using baby wipes instead. Baby wipes are the cheap version of makeup-removing towelettes, and they also tend to be infused with aloe, vitamin E, and other nutritious stuff for your face. They are designed not to irritate sensitive skin so they don't stress and upset your skin (especially the "unscented" or "sensitive skin" types.) And they do just as good of a job at cleaning off the day's makeup and dirt as your harsh, chemically cleanser would, without stripping your skin of its natural oils and leading to too much oil production. If you're skeptical, try this experiment for a week: use baby wipes in place of your cleanser. Moisturize afterwards, and spot treat any acne with your usual spot treatment (DON'T slather it all over your face, though!) Check if there's a difference in your skin at the end of the week - most likely, it's a little bit less dry and flaky, a little bit less oily, and a little bit more clear. Keep using those baby wipes and you'll find that you never need to buy an expensive cleanser again. Just make sure you moisturize and use those baby wipes every day, and you've have clear, beautiful, unstressed skin at a fraction of the cost in no time. (PS: if you also use the DIY skincare treatments below, your skin and wallet will thank you!)

5. Get the most out of your nail polish: Have you ever opened up your nail polish collection only to find that your favorite colors are clumpy, flaky, or just plain dried out? Save yourself the cost of new nail polish by saving those polishes with this nifty trick: just add nail polish remover! I know it sounds strange, but adding a few drops of nail polish remover as needed will make out your polish and make it last much, much longer. If it's an older polish, you might have to do this before EVERY application - but at least you'll be able to finish out the bottle instead of throwing it away only half empty! Go on, try it - what do you have to lose? You'd just be throwing that polish out anyway!

6. Natural (and affordable) DIY beauty solutions: You can give yourself a spa day just using stuff you already have in your house! If you don't have these ingredients, they aren't very expensive and can be purchased at any grocery store.

For Your Hair

Egg + Olive Oil = hydrating, protein-rich conditioner! Instructions Here
Mayonnaise will make your hair soft and shiny. Make sure to use full-fat! Instructions Here
Beer gives your hair body and shine, plus removes residue. Yup. Instructions Here
Lemon Juice is like natural Sun-In. Remember Sun-In? Anyway, DIY highlights! Instructions Here
Baking Soda makes a great clarifying alternative to shampoo. More details here
Apple Cider Vinegar cleans hair, removes residue and adds shine! More details here
Olive Oil + Honey = Hydrating hair mask! Instructions here and here

For Your Skin

Apple Cider Vinegar makes a great bacteria-killing toner for acne-prone skin. More details here
Witch Hazel makes another excellent toner! Apply it to a cotton ball to cleanse the dirt from your pores. More details here
Green Tea makes yet another great toner, especially for oily skin. Read some reviews here
1/2 tsp. of sea salt + 2 egg yolks + 1/2 cup of yogurt = Toning Mask! Add all ingredients, apply to face and let dry. This is an exfoliating, tightening and soothing face mask.
Sea Salt + Olive Oil = Exfoliating Scrub! Add some vanilla or yummy smelling scent to overpower the smell of the olive oil. The Dollar Tree has some good smelling oils in their candle aisle. Use this scrub on hands, feet, and anywhere your skin needs exfoliating moisture.
Aspirin + Honey = Exfoliating, moisturizing face mask. Great for acne-prone skin. Instructions Here
Coffee Grounds make an antioxidant-rich, de-puffing exfoliant for face and body. Add olive oil, yogurt or honey to coffee grounds after your daily cup! More details here and here
Honey is a great humectant and bacteria-killer for your face. It's great for acne-prone skin! More details here
Yogurt is great for skin as well, especially when combined with honey. Instructions here

7. You are what you eat: Beauty comes from the inside out, so eating a healthy diet and staying hydrated are vital for the health of your nails, skin and hair. Eat as many fruits and veggies as you can, and remember that canned and frozen are just as healthy and much cheaper than fresh! Pick up a box of green tea bags from the dollar store to benefit from antioxidants and disease-fighting free radicals that will help clear your skin (read about more benefits here). Plus, you can use the tea bag on your face after you've brewed it! Make sure you're drinking enough water each day - staying hydrated helps keep your skin from flaking, especially during the winter! Make sure you're getting plenty of protein and calcium, which help your hair and nails grow stronger - dairy is a great source of both! And if your diet is lacking, try to take some vitamin supplements. You can find hair, skin + nails supplement mixes at the grocery store for less than $10!

8. Get every last drop out of your beauty products: You know that feeling when you're squeezing some empty plastic tube every which way, trying to get out the last drops of your expensive beauty products? You KNOW there's some left in there, but you can't get it out - so you probably just throw the product away. Well next time, don't! Just cut the container open so you can access the last bit of your product before throwing it away. There's usually more than you'd expect, so have a baggie on hand to hold the opened product so it doesn't dry out. This works best for plastic containers that are easy to cut open, especially tubes such as for moisturizer or spot treatment, but you can use it for basically any product that appears to be empty. As long as you can break open the packaging, you can make sure you get your money's worth!

More pictures at this blog entry!

9. Don't throw away broken eye shadows: Have a loose or crumbled eye shadow? Don't throw it away! Eye shadows are easy to press back into place using isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). The alcohol evaporates away from the eye shadow, leaving it perfectly in place! Just mix a few drops of alcohol with your eyeshadow powder to make it easy to pour into a pan and set. This trick will actually work with any powder makeup, such as blush! Instructions here and here

10. Buy beauty products for cheaper: I get a lot of beauty products from HauteLook, where brands such as LORAC, Stila and Urban Decay sell makeup for insanely discounted prices, and there's almost always a good hair-care line. HauteLook is where I discovered 100% Pure, which is my all-time favorite beauty brand - but too expensive to afford full price! Bonus: refer friends to HauteLook for free purchase credits! Read more here. I also get a ton of beauty goodies from Amazon thanks to my free gift cards from Swagbucks. Read more about Swagbucks in this entry - personally, I earn about $25 in Amazon Gift cards each and every month! Did you know that Sephora has an entire store on Amazon? That means that Amazon gift cards = Sephora gift cards - and they're FREE! It's like Christmas every day! You can also get high quality, cheap brushes from CVS - their Essence of Beauty line is great - and Target - their Sonia Kashuk line is pricier than CVS, but still high quality!

So there you have it! You can be broke and stay beautiful! Don't see your favorite cheap beauty tip posted? Let me know in the comments!

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

The Best (Free) Apps for College Students

2012-02-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

Many of us, self included, received smart phones/tablets/iPods what have you this year. After the initial joy of joining the 21st century wears off, one question remains: what apps should I download? Well, I'm here to answer that age-old question. And if you don't have yourself a fancy piece of touch screen machinery yet, no worries - I'm also going to recommend a few apps for Google Chrome! In fact, I'll start with that first. (Note: if you're not using Google Chrome as your browser, please go download it. Mozilla is fine too - just as long as you're not still using Internet Explorer. Please tell me you're not.)

The Best Chrome Apps for College Students

First thing: to get to the Chrome app store, click here in your Chrome browser.

1. StayFocusd This is the app that will change your life if you, like me, happen to sit around on the internet for hours and hours and suddenly realize it's 2am and you didn't get anything done. This app is for us. Using StayFocusd you can limit the amount of time you spend on time-wasting websites. You set the time per day (such as 40 minutes) and you set the websites you want to limit. (Example: Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter etc.) You can also set "allowed" sites and even set a window of time for unlimited browsing (mine is set to 2 hours at night and weekends). And possibly the most useful of all: you can "Go Nuclear," which means ALL websites except, if you want, those on your "Allowed" list (Blackboard, Oncourse, etc) are completely blocked for as long as you want them to be. It is a LIFE SAVER when you need help focusing, or when Wikipedia articles on celebrities are more exciting than the essay you need to finish writing. Download it here.

2. Evernote This is basically like an electronic notebook where you can paste and clip anything you want to remember later. Write notes, add lists, pictures, videos, whatever you want - and you can sync them to your phone or other devices, too! Download it here.

3. Remember the Milk This is a task-management app for those of us who DON'T regularly keep To-Do lists handy. Simply add a task to your list, prioritize it, and if you like, give it a time estimate or due dates. If it's really important, you can have the app send a reminder to you to complete the task by phone or email! A must-have organization and productivity app. Download it here.

4. Mint.com So this one is really less of an app and more of a bookmark, but if you haven't yet signed up for Mint.com - the BEST money management and budgeting tool ever - take this opportunity! To learn more about Mint, read this blog post. Download it here.

The Best Smart Phone and Tablet Apps for College Students
Most of these apps will be available for iPhone, Android, iPad, Kindle Fire, etc, but make sure you check first (and don't kill me if it's not available for you!) I have an iPhone 3G, so these apps are all for sure available in the App store at the very least. Anyway, here are my recommendations.

1. Any app from your school! If your school has an app, download it! School apps can help you catch a bus on time, check your meal points, give you instant updates on campus closings or dangers, help you find buildings on campus or numbers to call if you need help, and more. Search for your school to see if you have an app available.

2. CampuSpecial An app created by http://www.campusspecial.com/. Many of you may already get the little coupon booklets from CampuSpecial containing awesome local deals around your campus. Well, imagine if you could get all of those coupons, deals and more, right on your phone, using a handy locator to find which ones are closest to you? It's pretty freakin' awesome. The app is free, search for CampuSpecial in the App store or Android Marketplace.

3. Mint.com Unfortunately, this app is only available for newer iPhones, so 3Gs can't use it. It is available for Androids as well as Kindles from the Amazon App store. Anyway, if you haven't gotten the message yet, Mint.com is the most amazing, super easy, incredibly awesome way to track your spending and budget your money. Even if you don't do anything more than just set it up to look at where you're spending your money, it's insanely helpful. To learn more about Mint, read this blog post. (Note: even if you don't use Mint, at least download your bank's app to keep track of your spending so you never incur overdraft fees!)

4. Evernote Evernote is the best way to make notes for yourself on your phone. Unlike the regular "notepad" that comes with your phone or tablet., Evernote allows you to create notebooks or organize your notes and include photos, audio clips and more to your notes. If you're the kind of person who frequently finds themselves writing cryptic notes in your phone or taking photos to "Remember for later," this is the app for you.

5. Amazon Price Check, Google Shopper or Shop Saavy Both of these apps are price comparison apps. Google Shopper searches for prices in your local area - so if you're in, say, Target looking at some nail polish, you can scan it with Google Shopper and find out that CVS next door has it for cheaper. Price Check searches for prices on Amazon, which is good for things you might not need immediately but want to save money on. Shop Saavy will search for a scanned bar code both online and in local stores, and also has reviews available for the product you scan. Making sure you're getting the best price possible means saving money!

6. Shopkick So you know how I love paid-to sites like Swagbucks where you get points to do super easy stuff and then can redeem those points for gift cards and other rewards? Well, Shopkick takes that idea to a whole new level. Shopkick gives you points you for going into stores and doing super easy stuff, and then you can redeem those for gift cards and other rewards. Let me repeat: GOING INTO STORES AND DOING SUPER EASY STUFF. For example, you'll get 50 "kicks" (points) by just walking into Best Buy, or Old Navy. Just WALKING IN! You can get more kicks for doing "scans", which just means finding a specific product and scanning its barcode. (Like a treasure hunt!) Yesterday, for example, there were 750 possible "kicks" for scanning items at Target. A $2 gift card is about 500 "kicks", so if you were going to Target to pick up some toothpaste or whatever anyway, you would've just gotten it for free and then some. In my experience, one trip to the mall can usually get me about 500 kicks, so this is a very easy to get rewarded for just walking around stores. If you want to save up your points for the rest of your life, you can get a cruise for a couple million "kicks" - I prefer to redeem my points for gift cards and do as little work as possible to earn them. I highly recommend this app- it's fun, easy, and gives you free money! What could be better?

Other Free Apps I Love: These might not be college-specific, but they are very useful:
- Pandora: better than listening to your playlists!
- AroundMe: For when you're wandering around and want to know where the nearest whatever is.
- HopStop: When you need to figure out how to get from A to B using public transportation!
- HauteLook: I'm just addicted to HauteLook, basically.
- Thrift Hunter and ThriftBuddy: I love thrift store shopping, especially in places I've never been. These apps help locate the thrift stores nearby.
- Shazam: For when you hear a really cool song and want to know what it is.
- Find My Car: Helpful in big parking lots, or for people who forget where they park their car every single time.
- Yelp: Need a review of a restaurant, salon, bar, etc at a moment's notice? Yelp has it covered.

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

The most profitable tip I can ever possibly give you

2012-01-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! My apologies for the severe lack of posting over the Holiday. In addition to some much-needed extreme relaxation, I spent most of my time scrambling around doing interviews and attending events for my major. I also actually managed to score the BEST freebie of my life to date over break: a FREE trip to New York City, 2 nights FREE in the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, and a FREE cocktail hour and dinner (valued at $750, apparently) with top industry leaders. Oh, and I'll be getting a FREE check for $5,000. Total worth of freebie? $6,600. It inspired me to write this post, which details The most profitable tip I can ever possibly give you. (How Profitable? It could potentially pay for your entire tuition.)

So how'd I do it? I entered and won a Merit-Based Scholarship. There are tons of them out there, and they're yours for the winning. If you can find 'em, enter 'em! Few people actually do, which means if you really take it seriously and put your heart into it, you've got a GREAT chance of winning. I only wish I'd known this before my last year in college! I've been discovering many amazing scholarships this year, and I want to share them with you, my readers, so that some of you can take advantage of these amazing opportunities. Not only do they frequently pay in cash, but they look SO, SO, SO good on your resume. Having won a merit-based scholarship says to hiring managers that you have initiative and drive, seek out opportunities for yourself, take on extra projects and have a competitive edge. In short, the perfect hire!

So how do you go about finding these opportunities? In my case, I get a lot of emails sent out major-wide from my advisor, so I'm going to share a couple of those with you. I also hear them mentioned in classes (write those down and ask the professor about them afterwards!) and, of course, if you search around online, you can find them easily. Also look at public bulletin boards on campus: not only are they great for finding new activities to go to, but they frequently advertise scholarships. Look for scholarships offered for anything you participate in on campus: your dorm may have one, your major probably has a few, and any clubs/activities you're involved in may offer some as well. Here are some major-based scholarships I've found to share with you all. Get working!

For All Universities

- Sign up for these sites: http://www.meritaid.com/, http://www.scholarships.com/, http://www.fastweb.com/ and use them to search for scholarships to apply for
- Google "Merit Based Scholarships [Your School's Name]" and you should get some good results

For Indiana University Students
Your department's page will have a section titled "Scholarships." Go there to view all available scholarships for your major.

THE 2012 HENRY A. BERN MEMORIAL ESSAY COMPETITION
PRIZE: $1,500
Deadline: Tuesday, May 15, 2012
ELIGIBILITY: Any current Indiana University Bloomington undergraduate student.
Details: Read More Here

Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design Scholarships
PRIZE: Varies by specific scholarship, deducted from your bursar bill next fall semester
Deadline: January 18th, 2012
ELIGIBILITY: Scholarships are open to Indiana University Bloomington students who are either majoring in Apparel Merchandising, Fashion Design, Interior Design, or are earning the Fashion Design Certificate. (Not seniors, though, apparently).
Details: Common Application and Details Here

IUAA Alumni Scholarships
PRIZE: Varies by specific scholarship
ELIGIBILITY: Depends per scholarship - some are based on location, some campus, some group affiliation, and more.
Details: Read More and View All Available Scholarships Here

Oh - and the scholarship I won? It was the Y.M.A Fashion Scholarship Fund. If your school is a participating member, and you know a thing or two about fashion (either design or the business/merchandising aspect), you can apply next fall!

So what are you waiting for? Go win some scholarships!

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

How-To: Get Free eBooks for the Kindle, Nook and more

2012-01-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

So if you're one of the lucky folks who got a Kindle or Nook this holiday season, you were probably very excited (THEY'RE SO COOL) but may have been slightly less excited when you realized that putting actual books on the thing was going to be nearly as expensive as buying them at a book store. Boo. Well, have no fear! The Broke Student Guide is here to find you the best resources for getting free e-books and other content to put on your new shiny Kindle, Kindle Fire or Nook. (Or whatever other e-readers are out there.)

First off, until January 9th, Amazon is offering a $10 Kindle Textbook Credit! Just click here to claim your credit. It will automatically credit to your Amazon account once you claim it and you can use it towards renting or buying e-textbooks for your Kindle. Which is cheaper, not to mention way less heavy and annoying, than lugging around regular textbooks!

Next: free eBook websites! It's like MegaDownload for your Kindle. (If you don't know about MegaDownload yet, well, now you do!) Here we go:

Free Book Spot: If you have a specific book in mind, you'll be able to use this site to search for it and see if it's available for free.

The Book Depository: This site has over 11,000 free eBook options to choose from.

Baen: This site offers free sci-fi and fantasy eBooks.

Pixel of Ink: This blog posts daily free and bargain eBooks, along with reviews about the books listed. Each book has a link for Kindle and Nook downloads.

Free Nook Book Summary: Like Pixel of Ink, this blog posts daily summaries of free books available for the Nook.

E-Pub Books: This site offers books in a format that can be read on ANY electronic book reader. The selection offered is copyright free/public domain works.

ManyBooks : This site mostly has classic books - remember that all copyright free books will always be free - and a huge variety of genres. Search by Author, Title, Genre, and more.

Project Gutenberg offers over 36,000 free ebooks to download to your PC, Kindle, Android, iOS or other portable device. Choose between ePub, Kindle, HTML and simple text formats.

SmashWords: This site offers eBooks from Independent publishers and authors. Find something new that no one else has read! They have a huge free selection to choose from.

Munseys: Offers tons and tons of fiction. Appears to have a particularly high amount of cheesy 1950s-1960s era fiction novels, a la pulp fiction.

Girl eBooks: Offers a large selection of out of copyright classics, focusing on female authors.

And last but not least: The Library! Yes, you can borrow eBooks for free from your local library! Hit up your local branch to take advantage. (While you're there, pick up some free movies and read a couple free magazines too. Aren't libraries great?)

PS: Did you know that you get a FREE month of Amazon Prime along with your Kindle Fire? That means tons of free movies and TV shows, free 2-day shipping, and more! But even without a new Kindle Fire you can get free Prime - if you haven't taken advantage of the free Student Prime membership deal, go get it now! You'll get 6 months of free Amazon Prime benefits.

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Last Minute Gift Idea: Cake Mix Cookies! And, Free Downloadable Gift Labels

2011-12-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

So I made a gift guide a few weeks ago, but I know most of us spent the past week or so running around like crazy trying not to succumb to the horrors of Finals Week. Now that it's over with, let's all breathe a big sigh of relief (PHEW!) and then try to scramble around and figure out what to give everyone for the holidays!

Picture of Retorte's Cake Mix Cookies

The easiest, most wonderfully delicious and inexpensive idea I've come across this year are Cake Mix Cookies. What are cake mix cookies? Well, exactly what they sound like - cookies made from cake mix! Except they don't bake like cake, they bake like delicious cookies, and then when they're done you don't have to decorate them. The reason I love these cookies and am making them in spades this year is because they are easy and cheap. A box of cake mix is typically around $1.00 - don't pay any more than that for it. Hit up your local dollar store or Wal Mart to snag a couple boxes. I highly recommend getting a Butter Yellow or Golden Butter mix, from any brand - it's MUCH better than regular old yellow cake, and it's the most adaptable mix out there. Duncan Hines, Pillsbury and Betty Crocker all have their own version of Butter cake mix. If you're a chocolate person, get some sort of chocolate mix, and if you're adventurous, try a Spice Cake mix or a Cherry Cake mix or Funfetti or whatever catches your fancy!

Here's what you need:
- 1 Box of cake mix (any kind)
- Eggs
- Oil or butter
- Water
- Chocolate chips, M&Ms, nuts, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, dried fruit, candy, ANYTHING you want to put in your cookies

Here's How to Do It:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Dump your cake mix in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup oil or butter (if you're using butter, that's half of a stick.) Add 1 egg if you want cookies that rise but don't spread much (they will be puffier and fluffy inside), 2 eggs if you want your cookies to spread and flatten out more (they will be slightly more crispy). Mix furiously. The dough will be sticky and tough, that's perfectly normal. Work those arm muscles, and pretend you're burning off some of the calories of the 92862768276 delicious cookies you're going to be eating later. Once your dough is all mixed together, add whatever mix-ins you want to add and mix again. Now that you're all mixed and ready to go, grease a cookie sheet and form little dough balls/clumps on the baking sheet, spaced about an inch or two apart to allow for spreading. Try to make them as roundish as possible, because especially if you only used 1 egg, they probably won't spread enough to become magically round on their own. Once your cookie sheet is all filled, pop those suckers in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the tops of the cookies have hardened and the bottoms are slightly browned. Wait for them to cool before eating one!

Here Are Some Interesting Cookie Ideas:

Chocolate Cake Mix Sandwich Cookies from Annie's Eats

- Peppermint Holiday Cookies! Stick an Andes mint inside each cookie, or crumble up some candy canes to use along with chocolate chips.
- Cookie Sandwiches! Ice your cookies and stack them on top of one another. Roll the edges in holiday colored sprinkles.
- Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches! Sandwich ice cream between your flattened, cooled cookies. Roll the edges in holiday colored sprinkles and freeze before wrapping.
- Pinwheel Cookies! Make 1 batch of "white" dough and one of chocolate or red velvet dough. Using this technique, roll out your dough onto a big rectangle of wax paper and place in fridge until firm. Stack your doughs one on top of the other - place any fillings you want rolled inside on top - and roll carefully into a log. Wrap log in wax paper and roll on surface to achieve optimal round log shaping, and firm in fridge again if necessary. When log is well shaped and firm, slice cookies. A knife might flatten your log so you may want to use unflavored dental floss instead. Voila!
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies! Add dried cherries and chocolate chips to your cookies, and possibly walnuts too.
- Chocolate Caramel Cookies! Get some chocolate caremel candy such as Rolos or Milk Duds and roll one inside of each cookie to create a melty chocolate caramel center when cookies are baked.

Package your cookies by putting them in a cookie tin from the Dollar Tree, or sticking them in plastic sandwich baggies and tying those up with ribbon. Gifts for everyone!!

Also, for those of you who ventured down the homemade alcohol route I discussed in m y gift giving guide, I've made some labels for my gifts that I want to share with you all to download and use on yours! I created these in Adobe Illustrator, but they are all converted to plain .JPGs that you can color in yourself. The Skittles basic logo is easily customization just by using the "Paint" fill bucket tool in any photo editing program (heck, even MS paint will work). I added the flavor names for my labels and I've included a .zip file of all of those labels, which are for the "Blenders" Skittles. The Apple Pie Moonshine label is pretty much ready to go, you can fill in the background with a color if you want and then just slap it on your mason jars! Note: the images are very large, so make sure to measure your containers and then scale the labels down to the correct size.

To Download: Click to open full-sized in a new window, right-click and "Save As."

To Download these labels as a .zip compressed set of files: Click Here

To Download: Click to open full-sized in a new window, right-click and "Save As."

Enjoy and have a wonderful holiday break!
- The Broke Student Guide

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The Broke Student Finals Survival Strategy: Make-Your-Own Starbucks Part 1

2011-12-11T11:44:00.001-08:00

Ah, coffee. A must-have for most college students, especially during the hellish weeks that we all know as "finals" (or "f*** I never learned sh**" if you're into that). You'd be hard-pressed to find a student in the library this week without a cup of coffee clutched in their trembling little hand. But at what cost?? No, I'm not talking about the expense of your sanity, health, or sleep-deprived car wrecks; I'm talking about how expensive Starbucks coffee is. Oh my god, IT IS SO EXPENSIVE. How expensive, exactly? Well say you're a casual Starbucks drinker. You only buy a coffee 4 days out of the week when you have class, and you just get a tall of whatever holiday drinks happen to be out, so it's only about $3.60. Sadly, that $14.40/week habit adds up to $57.60 per month, $230.40 a semester and $460.80 in a school year! And that's not counting the times when you got a Grande or some extra syrup or went to Starbucks on the weekends. It adds up, guys! But don't worry - I'm about to save you that $460, and it will only cost you maybe $30 MAX if you really go all out.

My in-home coffee shop, complete with rainbow-organized tea bags!

I resisted coffee for a long, long time. I was a green tea girl, and I drank those big canned energy drinks when I needed a boost. But then one summer I lived in an apartment that had a 100% free unlimited fresh-brew, fresh-roasted coffee machine filled with fresh Starbucks coffee beans. You just pressed a button, and the beans were ground and brewed before your eyes. It was amazing (and made paying rent totally worth it). I became a daily coffee drinker that summer, and when I moved back onto campus, I use one of my Swagbucks Amazon gift cards to buy myself a cute little one-cup coffee machine that came with a travel mug! Since then I've built up quite a little coffee empire on my kitchen counter, which you can see in that picture there. The orange coffee machine, which is actually not currently used for anything aside from making my kitchen look adorable, was found at Goodwill. And that brings me to the point of Part 1: How-To: How To Make Your Own At-Home Coffee Shop. (PS: this would make a neat gift idea for your favorite Starbucks-addicted broke student friend!)

How To Make Your Own At-Home Coffee Shop.: What You Will Need and Where to Get It

1. Coffee Machine I mean, duh. But have no fear! Not only are coffee makers cheap and easy to find and use, but you can have one in your dorm room! Yay! The best places to get a good, inexpensive coffee machine:

Thrift Stores like Goodwill and the Salvation Army sell small appliances and frequently have coffee machines. Expect to pay anywhere from $2-$7 for one.
Post and ad on your local Craigslist or your school's Online Classifieds asking if anyone has a cheap one to sell for around $5.
Ask for one for free on your local Freecycle board. To find your local Freecycle chapter, visit Freecycle.org.
Amazon.com has some nice little ones for around $10-$15. I really like the one-cup machines that come with travel mugs so you can brew it and then take it right to class with you. There are some good cheap ones listed below. (Remember: you can use your Swagbucks points to redeem for Amazon gift cards!)

2. A Mug After you've got yourself a coffee maker, the next thing you need is something to put that coffee in once you brew it. If you bought a machine that comes with a travel mug, skip this step. If not, head to your nearest thrift store - they usually have some good mugs, and most of them end up being unintentionally hilarious (#1 Grandma? Hot Tasty Butts? ...that second one is a restaurant in MO, I didn't just make it up.) Or ask on Freecycle, most people have lots of mugs lying around. If you want a convenient little travel mug to take with you to class, hit up Amazon. DON'T go to a store, they usually tend to run about $15-$20 at a Target or Starbucks. Here are some fairly cheap travel mugs:

3. Coffee Again, kind of a no-brainer, but this one is a bit trickier. When I first started out brewing my own coffee, I went straight to the Dollar Tree and bought some coffee from them. As you can imagine, it was sub-par quality. So don't feel bad if you opt for the $8.99/lb coffee beans from Kroger or your local health food store - it's probably worth it, and it's way cheaper than Starbucks anyway. Grocery and health food stores typically have fresh beans and a grinder right there in the aisle. Dunkin' Donuts also has decent ground coffee, and of course there's always instant coffee like Folger's if you're not picky.

4. Creamer and Syrup Now that you've got the basics, it's time to have some fun! The flavored creamers and syrups you get are what will transform your at-home coffee into a Starbucks-esque dream come true. (You can also always stick with plain milk, though!) First you need some tasty creamer. Here's where to pick that up:

You can get creamers like this one at
the grocery store!

The Dollar Tree occasionally has International Delight creamer bottles, in flavors like Hazelnut and French Vanilla. Those are the same creamers in the little cups at gas stations and whatnot, and they are delicious!
Grocery Stores usually have tons of different creamers in both powder and liquid form. They'll also have fun flavors like Peppermint Mocha and Creme Brulee. Kroger in particular has a great selection of creamers. Pick out some fun flavors!
Gas Stations You know those little creamer cups I mentioned earlier at the gas station? Well as long as there isn't a limit to the amount you're allowed to take, why don't you go in there and buy a coffee and then, ahem, grab a couple of extra creamers to take along for the ride? I wouldn't condone this if I hadn't tried it myself many times in full view of the gas station attendants and confirmed that it is definitely NOT stealing - they've never said anything to me about it, and if there's a limit on the creamer you can take there is usually a sign. That said, don't steal.

Syrups are the other add-in that take your coffee from basic to baller. They can be expensive and difficult to find, though - I found mine (pictured above) at The Dollar Tree for $1 each! They will also have them at Grocery Stores, though they tend to be a bit on the pricey side. But if you always get a splash of Sugar-Free Hazlenut in your Starbucks, it might be worth the cost.

5. Sweeteners, Extra Goodies The last part of your DIY at-home coffee shop is the sweeteners and other extra goodies! You know what kind of sweetener you like best, so I suggest stocking up on it. Again, as long as it's free and unlimited, go ahead and grab some sweetener packets at a fast food place or gas station - just make sure it's REALLY free and unlimited, and buy something while you're there so you're not being a total dick. As for Extra Goodies, here's where you can have a bit of fun and get creative (or don't, because this stuff is totally optional.) How about Whipped Cream or Cocoa Powder to top off your drinks? Or Sprinkles? Or Cinnamon, Vanilla Extract, or Chocolate Syrup? In some of the recipes I'll be mentioning in my next post, we'll be using goodies like Hot Chocolate, Peppermint Extract (or candy canes, or peppermint candies) Eggnogg and Canned Pumpkin. So get creative in your grocery aisle! Like I said at the start of this article, even if you spend $30 on your at-home coffee shop today, you're still saving yourself from a $460/school year habit. Or to put it more simply, if you make your own drinks at home instead of going to Starbucks for 2 weeks, your at-home coffee shop will have paid for itself.

Of course, some of you are probably making a face right now and rolling your eyes and thinking "oh my god, this is way more work than just actually going to Starbucks, $460 be damned!" And, yea, you're right. So for those of you who just prefer the convenience of having someone else make your own coffee, I've got you covered too! Here are your alternatives:

Circle K has tons of yummy coffee options for only $.99!

Buy Your Coffee Somewhere Cheaper Just hear me out on this one: there ARE cheaper places to buy coffee than Starbucks, and they DO taste just as good. Some of the best and cheapest coffee drinks I've had come from gas stations, especially Circle K and QuickTrip. Both of these gas stations serve 16oz flavored cappuccinos for $.99! You can make your own coffee drink by mixing and matching yummy stuff like French Vanilla Cappuchino or Pumpkin Spice Latte or plain old flavored coffee. Not only is it cheaper, but you get MORE coffee, and it tastes DELICIOUS. (Plus: free unlimited flavored creamer!) If you buy one of these coffees 4x a week for a school year, you'll spend only $128 - practically 1/4 of what you'd spend going to Starbucks!
Use Gift Cards Sometimes it's just gotta be Starbucks. I get it. So for those times, why not use a free Gift Card? Where would you get those gift cards for free, you ask? Why, that site I keep talking about getting Amazon gift cards - you can ALSO redeem your points for Starbucks gift cards! I'm talking about Swagbucks, of course. They offer $5-$100 gift cards to Starbucks. They are slightly more expensive than the Amazon gift cards, but the average daily Swagbucker can usually make about 2250 points in a month - enough for about $15 in Starbucks gift cards. Not bad, eh? At least that's one week's worth of Starbucks paid for each month! That adds up to a savings of $120/school year. To learn more about earning Swagbucks, read this entry.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Make-Your-Own Starbucks Drink Recipes!!

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The Broke Student Gift-Giving Guide

2011-11-19T06:50:00.001-08:00

Holiday Gift Wrap Ideas make your cheap gifts WAY more classy.

The Holiday season is pretty much officially here (I mean, I don't think there really is an "official" arrival time, but it seems to me that it's pretty much happening, you know? I mean, Starbucks is serving Holiday drinks now - buy one get one free, even!)! One of my favorite things about the Holiday season - aside from two weeks or so off from school -is giving my loved ones the perfect Christmas/Hanukkah/Whatever present, and with no income to speak of, that gets difficult. The following will be your How-To Guide for being able to afford this year's presents, so you can avoid that disappointed look when you give your best friend yet another knitted scarf (or is that just my friends?). I present to you (GET IT? LOL) the Broke Student Gift-Giving Guide!

More cheap, creative Gift Wrap Ideas!

1. Before we begin, go and enter the Broke Student Giveaway, because you can buy lots of gifts with a $25 Gift Certificate to BuyGreen.com! Now, let's begin. The best way to give people quality gifts is, of course, to actually spend money on them. Which is where things get tricky, since of course, we don't have any money. If we did we wouldn't be reading this blog/entry. Have no fear! The Holiday season is the best time to cash in on all the hard work you've been putting into those Paid-To sites you signed up with months ago when I first wrote about them. (Right?!?!?! No? Ok, go sign up now, and hurry.) This month, I've cashed in a $45 check from InboxDollars.com, $75 in gift cards from Swagbucks.com, and a $50 Amazon gift card from MyPoints.com. For those of us who can't do math in our heads, that's a total of $170 that I'll have to spend on gifts this year! (Of course, after I buy my boyfriend all the video games he wants, that leaves about -$10 for everyone else. Which is why this isn't the only number in this list. Moving on.)

Wrapping your gifts in newsprint gives a vintage vibe.

2. Remember that entry I wrote about Mystery Shopping? If not, go read it. This month alone I've earned $114 from Mystery Shopping, which doesn't include payments that haven't been issued yet this month. Although some of that money is reimbursement (for things like meals I had to purchase) most of it is just income! So that brings my total Gift Budget up to $284! I do realize that #1 and #2 take quite a bit of planning, though, and it's kind of too late to catch up if you haven't already started with Paid-To Sites and Mystery Shopping (though do sign up now and start earning for next year!) So here's some stuff you can start doing TODAY.

Even more Gift Wrap Ideas!

3. Do you have a computer and some extra time? (Obviously you do if you're reading this, that was rhetorical.) Why not write your favorite companies to get some free stuff? Sure, some of them just send coupons - but some of them send coupons for FREE products, or gift cards! Example: I had a gross muffin at Panera, so I wrote them describing in great detail the grossness of that muffin. One week later, I had a sweet hand-written card with a $10 Panera Gift Card folded inside! That gift card will be someone's Christmas present! (Friends who are reading this: GO AWAY.) You can write with either genuine compliments or complaints - you'll typically get a response for either, as companies are very invested in keeping their loyal customers by rewarding them for their loyalty. Some of the best companies I've had responses from are White Castle (coupons for 6 free burgers!) and Starbucks (free drink coupons!). I'd also recommend trying Panera, Kohl's, Qdoba, or wherever you shop or eat the most. Just be genuine and talk about your relationship with that retailer or company! They usually respond quickly, so you should be getting some good stuff to use as gifts before Christmas. Let me know which companies respond with the best stuff!

4. Ok, let's talk about stuff you can do RIGHT NOW. Well, maybe after a trip to the store. These are tried and true gifts that stand the test of friendship: delicious edible gifts. Get ready to become your circle of friends' Paula Deen. (Yes, Paula Deen. PS, my boyfriend tried deep-frying balls of cheesecake, and apparently it was delicious and everyone loved it. So I'm not including that on the list, because gross, but technically that could be a pretty good gift. I will refer you to him if you have questions regarding anything deep-fried.) While baking cupcakes or cookies is always nice, these edible gift ideas are simple, unexpected and cheap - plus, no baking skills required.

Super simple chocolate dipped pretzels!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks These are super easy to

Bourbon balls or truffles are delicious simple gifts.

Chocolate-dipped Marshmallows rolled in graham crackers.

make, with minimal ingredients which means not very expensive. You'll need a bag (or two) of pretzel rods, some chocolate to melt (look in the baking aisle - chocolate for candy-making is best, but you can use chocolate chips too) and whatever toppings or decorations you want: white chocolate, sprinkles, mini m&ms, crushed up oreos, etc. Get creative! Here are some detailed instructions, but it's super easy: all you do is melt some chocolate, dip a pretezel rod in that chocolate, roll it around in some toppings, and then lay it out to dry. SO FREAKING EASY. A quick Google search for "Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks" turns up a million results with some great ideas about what to dip them in and how to package them nicely (I just stuck a bunch in saran wrap and tied it at the bottom with a pretty ribbon.) These are a hit with just about everyone and 1-2 bags will yield more than enough pretzels.

Chocolate Dipped Everything Anything is better dipped in chocolate. And it's SO FREAKING EASY to dip stuff in chocolate, so why not get creative? Snag some coffee stirrers from Starbucks (free Popsicle sticks!) and stick them into Bananas, Twinkies or Oreos (and then dip them in chocolate, obv.) Dip some Marshmallows in chocolate and roll them in crushed graham cracker crumbs for S'mores on a Stick. How about apples or dried fruit of any kind? Plain sugar cookies? If you can eat it, you can dip it in chocolate. Let your inner Paula Deen go wild!

Give the Gift of Balls There are so many kinds of balls that you can make this Holiday Season. First, watch the SNL Shweddy Balls skit to get you in the mood. Now that you're ready to make some balls, how about Cake Pops? Just bake a cake, crumble it up, mix it with icing and roll into balls that you can then dip in chocolate. (Tip: use LOTS of icing to hold the cake crumbs together.) Or how about Brownie Balls? Same idea: make brownies, crumble brownies, mix with icing, dip in chocolate! What about Chocolate Truffles? Truffles are easier than they look (only 3 ingredients, really!), DELICIOUS, and can be customized to just about anyone's taste. If you don't believe me, here's a giant list of truffle recipes. Here are some Oreo truffles, or perhaps you could customize your truffles with a liquor. Are you a peanut butter person? Make some Buckeyes! If you're from Kentucky, you've probably had Bourbon Balls before - did you know they're super easy to make? Here's another recipe to try. Make sure you have some powdered sugar or sprinkles on hand to dip all of these delicious balls into.

5. Are you over 21? If so, these gift options are for you. Alcohol makes a lovely gift. And no, we don't mean bringing over a 30-pack of Natty Light to the Christmas party. Have some class, really. These ideas will not only result in the best Christmas gifts ever, but they'll get your friends/family so drunk they won't even remember that you didn't get them anything else!

Skittles Vodka! Easy, pretty and delicious.

Infused Vodkas

Skittles Vodka As easy as it sounds, this is basically vodka + skittles = delicious skittles flavored vodka! Here's a how-to recipe. All you do is add some color-separated skittles to some vodka and let it sit for a while. You'll need to strain the skittles chunks before you serve it to your friends, but that's pretty much the hardest thing about this super-simple gift idea. Try jazzing it up with tropical skittles for a beautiful rainbow array of flavors and colors! I'm packaging my Skittles vodka in miniature $1 wine bottles I got from Kroger, but any capped bottle or container you have will do just fine. Just remember, you'll need one container for each color/flavor. Once you've completed your Skittles vodka, mix it with some Sprite for a super easy, super delicious mixed drink!
Infused Vodkas if Skittles don't float your boat, you can infuse vodka with a million other things, and it's really, really easy. Here are some guidelines. You can keep it simple (fruit + vodka, ginger root + vodka, cucumber + vodka, Rolos + vodka...) or make it more complex (habanero bacon vodka, perhaps?) Search Google or TasteSpotting.com to find some awesome recipe ideas. Just allow about a month for the infusion to penetrate the vodka.
Apple Cider Moonshine No, it's not really "moonshine," but it's a simplified version of this classic recipe made with straight grain alcohol such as Everclear. Before you instinctively vomit everywhere remembering the last time you had Everclear, hear me out. Here's the recipe. Essentially, you'll add Apple Juice to Apple Cider, boil it in a pot with a lot of sugar and a lot of cinnamon, cool it off and then add an entire bottle of straight grain alcohol. I made this last week and I can verify that it is, indeed, delicious.Your apartment will smell like apple pie and your friends will be drunkenly amazed at your skills. I bottled all of mine in leftover recycled pasta and jam jars that I intend to decorate!
Homemade Cordials and Mixers On this page you'll find recipes for everything from homemade Irish Cream to Sweet-N-Sour Mix. Here are recipes for Homemade Liqeuors. There are so many options, you'll be giving alcohol gifts for YEARS to come!!

6. By now there are probably some angry freshman who want to kill me for not including any gifts that don't require a kitchen. (You can microwave the chocolate, guys.) Anyway, just to be fair, here are some gifts that DON'T require any sort of kitchen equipment!

This is my boyfriend modelling his DIY shirt.

Customized T-Shirts Everyone loves those shirts on Threadless or similar. But the problem is, they cost money. Not to worry - making your own graphic t-shirts is easy and not that expensive! Think of the possibilities: a picture of your and your friend; an inside joke; a reference to your friend's favorite movie or TV series; lyrics to your friend's favorite song; something really silly, insulting and/or dumb - there are SO many directions you could go with this. Customizing a t-shirt can be done in a few different ways: iron-on transfer paper, stick-on letters, or plain ol' paint and markers. Head to your closest craft store such as Hobby Lobby or Michael's (be sure to search for and print out the weekly 40% off coupon first, though!) and locate the t-shirt decorating aisle. You can buy plain t-shirts here, or you can go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Anyway, look for iron-on transfer paper if you want to print out an image for your shirt. You'll need access to a printer and an iron for those. If you just want words, get some iron-on or stick-on letters - you'll want stick-on if you don't have an iron. There should also be fabric paint and fabric markers - you can decorate the shirt freehand! The picture you see to the right there is actually my boyfriend modelling his creation for Minecon 2011.
Get Crafty There are lots of gift ideas that only require some basic crafty skills and materials. How about making a Reasons Why I Love You booklet? Here are some examples using a deck of cards: Example 1, Example 2. Here are some other examples: Example 1, Example 2.These make great gifts for your boyfriend/girlfriend, and are a step above a mix CD or playlist. (Not that those aren't cool too.) They'll also work for your friends! Here's another idea: make a collage using pictures of you and your friends! Just print out your favorite pictures from Facebook and paste them onto a big sheet of poster board with some cute cut-outs from magazines and quotes. Or if you're no good at collages, make a Memory Board: Cover some foam board in pretty fabric and pin ribbons criss-crossing on top of the board to make a cute way to display pictures! You can decorate it however you like, or leave it blank for your friend to customize themselves. How about making some Custom Magnets by gluing pictures or jewels onto magnet backings purchased at a craft store? There are tons of ideas out there! Here are some tutorials, some more tutorials, and a forum filled with gift ideas. Happy searching!

Salt and Sugar Scrubs are easy and make great gifts.

Bath & Beauty Gifts Bath and beauty stuff is so easy to make. Whether you purchase a melt and pour soap-making
kit at Michael's or opt for making a simple salt or sugar scrub, there are tons of ideas out there. Here are some good tutorials. Some of my personal favorites are Bath Bombs, Lip Balm or Gloss, and Salt or Sugar Scrubs. The last one is really the easiest - just mix olive oil with sea salt or sugar, and add a scent! Here are a bunch of Sugar Scrub recipes. Surprisingly, you can find good ingredients for DIY beauty projects at the Dollar Tree, including Sea Salt (food aisle), Epsom Salts (bath aisle) and scented oils (in the candle aisle)

Cute comic wrapped gifts! Great for kids.

Ok. Hopefully at least ONE of those suggestions inspired you. And remember, gift wrapping is cool and all, but recycling a brown paper bag and tying it with a pretty ribbon is cheaper, more environmentally-friendly, AND looks more unique and super classy. Or try using recycled Sunday comics papers or magazine tears! There are so many ways to give awesome gifts to your friends, but if you still can't afford any of the ideas above, don't sweat it. Your friends/family will understand and forgive you for being broke as a joke. I have a friend who is a music major, and every year she writes and performs personalized songs for her loved ones. I've received hand-made cards with heartfelt notes in lieu of gifts, and it was sweeter than any store-bought trinket. Just because you can't afford to buy *stuff* doesn't mean you can't show your loved ones that you care about them. So relax! The Holiday season is meant to be fun and enjoyable, and there are many more things to enjoy and be thankful for than giving and receiving gifts. As always, let me know if you have any questions about anything in this post, and please comment with gift ideas not listed here!

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Freebies and deals of the week 11/11

2011-11-10T07:35:00.000-08:00

Save $25 off your purchase of $50 or more at Haute Look! Just use code 25OFF50HL at checkout. I freaking love HauteLook so I am psyched about this.

Get $25 gift certificates for only $2 from Restaurant.com! Just enter code "HAM" at checkout. These make great inexpensive gifts. PS: if you go through ShopAtHome.com, you'll get 35% cash back; or use Ebates and get 15% Cash Back! Just go onto each site and search for Restaurant.com and go through their link to get cash back, super easy.

FREE Keebler Fudge Jumbo Stick sample! The site is in Spanish. So good luck with that. Use a translator, or consider it homework for Spanish class. Click Here

FREE Hot Drink at Pilot Travel Centers. Print this coupon to redeem this offer. Valid at participating Pilot Travel Center or Flying J locations. Coupon valid October 31 – December 31, 2011. Print the Coupon

FREE Wendy’s "Wheres The Beef" T-Shirt (or alternatively, "Here's the Beef" or "Hot 'N Juicy" - your choice!) Just play some fun little games until you get to the end where you can sign up to receive your shirt. Click Here

FREE Vega Sport Sample Pack when you sign up for the Vega Newsletter, Includes: 1 Pre-Workout Energizer, 1 Electrolyte Hydrator, and 1 Recovery Accelerator. Click Here

FREE Sample of Purt Plus when you upload any photo and share it with your friends on their facebook page. Click Here

FREE trial-size sample of TRESemme! You get to choose from their most popular TRESemmé shampoo and conditioner formulas. Click Here

FREE 10-day supply of Estee Lauder Liquid Foundation! Visit your local Dillards and stop by the Estee Lauder counter! Offer good while supplies last. One to a customer, no purchase necessary.

FREE Sample of AmLactin Body Lotion courtesy of AllYou! You’ll have to qualify for this one by taking a short survey. If you don’t qualify you’ll be offered a coupon instead. Available to the first 100,000 only. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. Click Here

FREE samples of Airborne Chewable tablets. Copy and paste this link: https://secure.startsampling.com/sm/102094

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The 2nd Broke Student Giveaway: $25 Gift Certificate to BuyGreen.com!

2011-11-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

Hey, remember that one time I gave away a bunch of free stuff? Well, that time has come again! Except this time I'll be giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to BuyGreen.com! *Cue applause* All right, settle down. First let me share with you how on earth I can afford to be giving away $25 worth of anything (because trust me, I don't have $25 to spare, as much as I love you guys). This gift certificate was actually a prize from Recyclebank, as part of their "Green Your Vacation" contest. I write about Recyclebank a lot, mostly due to the free magazine subscriptions, McDonald's food vouchers, gift cards and coupons that you can get on the site just for learning about sustainability. And now I'm going to give them yet another shout out, because they are awesome. It is because of them that I am able to pay it forward and host this giveaway!

Super cute recycled notebooks!

BuyGreen.com, as you may have already guessed, is an e-commerce site dedicated to sustainability, selling eco-friendly, green and organic products. You'll find everything here from yummy organic lip balm to candles to bathrobes to picnic tables. I don't know why any of my readers would want a picnic table, but just in case you do, this is the place to get it! You'll be able to find something for everyone on your holiday shopping list - and if you're skeptical, just try searching the site using the "Gifts" tab. And hey, don't feel bad if you plan to use the gift certificate for yourself. You deserve $25 worth of organic beauty products or bamboo sporks. You've been working really hard this semester.

These water bottles are on sale!

So how can you win this fabulous prize? It's easy! Each of the following actions will earn you (1) entry. Once you complete an action, post a comment on this blog post including your email address, briefly explaining which action you took. Each action you complete, along with your comment, equals one entry. Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry! At the end of the giveaway, I will use a random-number generator to pick a comment at random. If yours is chosen, you will win the giveaway! (Note: if your entry is invalid - say, you did not complete what you claimed - you will not be eligible for the prize, and a new winner will be chosen.) You will receive entries for EACH of the following:

1. Leave a comment about your favorite entry from The Broke Student's Guide, and how it helped you save money or get something for free! Be sure to include your email address in the comment. Limit: (1)

2. Follow The Blog using either Google Reader or Blogger. There's a "Follow" button on the right-hand side of the blog! Once you've followed, comment with your Google ID and email address. Limit: (1)

3. Follow The Facebook for (1) entry. Comment with a link to your facebook and your email address. Limit: (1)

4. Follow The Tumblr for (1) entry. Comment with a link to your tumblr and your email address. If you have multiple tumblrs, you will recieve (1) entry for EACH tumblr you use to follow the blog, up to 3. Limit: (3)

5. Follow The Twitter for (1) entry. Comment with a link to your twitter and your email address. Limit: (1)

6. Promote the giveaway on a social networking site or blog - receive (1) entry for EACH time you link to this post, OR link to any page on the blog. Comment in this post with a link to where you promoted the blog and an email address for (1) entry per EACH link. Limit: (2) per day.

You can copy and past the following:

Win a $25 Gift Certificate to BuyGreen.com from The Broke Student's Guide! Enter the giveaway: http://bit.ly/susaU5

Total Entries Possible: 9 today, + 2 per day until November 30!

What are you waiting for? Start now! The giveaway is closed.

The winner of the giveaway is Shannon! Congratulations! Check your inbox, Shannon.

Freebies of the Week 10/22

2011-10-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

FREE NESCAFÉ Peppermint Mocha sample! Click Here

FREE Subscription to Maxim. Click Here

FREE Sample of Lactaid Fast Act Dietary Supplement. Click Here

FREE Victoria's Secret Lacie Panty with any purchase! (up to $12.50 value). From Friday, October 21- Sunday, October 23, 2011. I realize it says you have to buy a bra, but if you read the fine print… you just need to make a purchase. How about a $1 hand sanitizer or some mints? Click Here

FREE Box of John Frieda US Hair Dye for those who qualify! $12.99 value! Click Here and choose "Get Special Offer"
FREE Can of Jamba All Natural Energy Drink! Like Jamba Juice on Facebook then click on the “Jamba Free Coupon” tab to request your coupon via mail.

FREE Sample of Aeroshot Pure Energy. Click on Send me a invite to get your code for the sample. Click Here

FREE full size bottle of Frederico Fekkai luxury conditioner when you bring in any bottle of conditioner to the Saks Fifth Avenue “Calling All Conditioners Event”, 10/27 only.

FREE Burberry Body fragrance sample (INTERNATIONAL) Click Here

FREE sample of Armani Sport Code! Just “Like” Giorgio Armani Beauty on Facebook then click on the “Dive into the Night” tab and scroll down to fill out the request form to score a free sample of the new fragrance for men, Armani Sport Code! Click Here

FREE Spider identification chart. AKA free super creepy poster that will freak out everyone who visits you. Click Here

FREE Astroglide Natural Personal Lubricant Sample! Click Here

FREE Splenda samples, limit 2 per person. Click Here

FREE Sample of Truvia natural sweetener. Click Here

FREE lip color from Bare Escentuals! Bring in this coupon to a JCPenney store with a Sephora inside. Through November 1st, 2011. Click Here

FREE movies on YouTube (INTERNATIONAL) Click Here

10 FREE songs from iTunes courtesy of Spin Magazine. Click Here

FREE Make Marijuana Legal sticker. I mean .... stickers are legal. Click Here

FREE Nescafe samples. "Like" the Facebook page and fill out the form. Click Here

FREE Try Veg sticker (US AND CANADA) Click Here

FREE O.B. tampon sample. Click Here

FREE download of Korn's new song, Narcissistic Cannibal (INTERNATIONAL) Click Here

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Freebies Scores from September and October

2011-10-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

I've recieved lots of freebies since school started back up, but I haven't had a chance to post them yet! Of course that means several of them are already gone (RIP, full-sized candy bars from the Hershey's booth at the career fair that I ate almost immediately) but I gathered together my remaining goodies to post them! Here we go.

Career Fair Goodies: Goody hair elastics (see what I did there with the "goodies" thing? eh?), Bath & Body Works Snow Kissed Berry shower gel, Target and Marathon water bottles, Cintas hand sanitizer, Chase piggy keychain, pedometer, Discover sunglasses, free song from Gap Careers, thumb drive, bottle opener keychain, Bon-Ton stores flip flop keychain. Not pictured: like 6 full-sized Hershey products, 6 adorable greeting cards from American Greetings, reusable bags from Sears, Target and Bon-Ton Stores, another thumb-drive, and a bunch of pens and highlighters. And some business cards from some seriously kickass recruiters ;) Seriously you guys, career fairs are awesome for ALL the right reasons.

Mailed Freebies: Target beauty bag containing Pond's facial wipes, Garnier Fructis shampoo/conditioner sample, John Frieda shampoo/conditioner sampler, Burt's Bees moisturizer sample, Loreal Youth Code sample, and Tresemme Naturals sample; Origins night cream; Ojon serum; Infusium 23 hair treatment; Nivea body wash; Zantac pills; Obestrim pills; Youtonics collagen drink; Splenda with antioxidants samples; Tripliderm moisturizer; Wake Up Joe coffee; John Frieda shampoo/conditioner samples; Frederic Fekkai shampoo/conditioner and treatment samples; Glamour, Runway, Woman's Day, Family Circle and Good Housekeeping magazines

On-Campus Freebies: Kleenex, First-Aid kit, Aetna hand sanitizer (thanks, IU Health Center! They also have condoms and sunscreen on the 3rd floor. And a bunch of other stuff, listed here.)

Redeemed Freebies: Eureka! Cordless Vacuum cleaner from Amazon.com using my Swagbucks gift cards (read more about Swagbucks in this entry); HauteLook LORAC exclusive eyeshadow palette (learn more about Hautelook in this entry); check from BestMark.com for mystery shopping. (Note: if you sign up for BestMark, please enter my shopper ID, MO5014, on the 2nd page as your referrer!) Not Pictured: $100 or so and a ton of free meals from other Mystery Shopping companies (learn more about Mystery Shopping in this entry), and more stuff from Amazon via Swagbucks - milk frother, coffee machine, and some super cute boots.

So there you have it! What goodies have you received this month? Post 'em up here or on my Facebook page!

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Freebies & Deals of the Week: Super Mega Huge Edition!

2011-10-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

FREE Proctor & Gamble Brand Sampler! Click Here

FREE Quaker Smashbar Samples at Build-A-Bear Workshops nationwide from October 28-October 31! Come by in costume and receive more free virtual gifts during the Kooky Spooky Bear Bash! (Sidenote: is that the cutest party name ever or WHAT?)

FREE Thermosculpt Weightloss Capsules! Click Here

FREE Matador Fat-Burning Energy Shot! Click Here

FREE Obestrim Weight Loss Pill Samples! Click Here

FREE Nescafe Taster's Choice samples! Click Here

FREE Atkins Starter Kit including Atkins Bars! Click Here

FREE sample of Origins Plantscription Anti-Aging eye treatment! Click Here

FREE Flu Shots for anyone without health insurance from CVS! Pick up a voucher and redeem at any CVS. List of voucher locations: Click Here

‎$10 FREE coupon for Office Depot copy and print department! Use it for business cards, passport photos, photo prints, resume copies, laminating, binding, and more!! Expires 11/7/11. Click Here

$10 FREE when you sign up for CouponMob! CouponMob is essentially like Groupon, with mostly online deals. Click Here to Sign Up

FREE samples from Hero Nutritionals! Sign up and enter the promo code "KK Free Sample" for your free product sample and coupon. Click Here

FREE Eggroll at Panda Express when you text "Panda" to 49675. Also, IU students (and possibly other schools?) get a FREE orange chicken when you wear your Hoosier clothing to Panda Express on a game day.

FREE Feminine Hygiene Sampler! Hey girl hey. Get a super awesome sparkly free sample kit from BeingGirl. "Like" the facebook page, then click "More" on the lefthand column to find "Free Samples." Click Here

FREE Bare Escentuals bareMinerals® Pretty Amazing Lip Color in Confidence from Sephora inside jcpenney®. Print the coupon.

FREE 2oz Sample of Benjamin Moore Paint! Print the Coupon

FREE Coffee at Waffle House! Expires 10/15. Click Here

FREE Evamor Bottled Water. "Like" the Facebook Page

FREE Sample of Spark Energy Drink! Click Here

FREE Sample Natural Persimmon Tea! Click Here

FREE Sample of TeaChef Tea! Click Here

FREE Sample Yogi Tea! Send an E-Card/sample to yourself, and whoever else you want. Click Here

FREE Art of Ironing DVD! Come on guys .... this is an AWESOME free sample. Ironing!!! It's an art! .... No? You don't want to watch a DVD about the Art of Ironing? No worries, I gotcha covered. (Just in case though - Click Here for the world's most interesting DVD.)

FREE DVD rentals from Blockbuster! No ironing. These codes expire 10/13:

7650BW8
65DWTM7
73MAYB6
74ABDP3
97KRFT5
63SLRH5
49WHZS3
24NCCC7

FREE Kleenex Sample Pack for you and a friend! Click Here.

FREE L'Occitane hand cream, redeemable at your local L’OCCITANE Boutique. "Like" the Facebook Page

FREE sample of Flix Flossing Stix! (International) Click Here

FREE Subscription to Maxim Magazine! Click Here

FREE 1yr Subscription to SPIN Magazine! Click Here

FREE Issues (4) of OK! Magazine! Click Here

FREE Issue of Bridal Guide Magazine! Click Here

FREE Pristine Skincare Solution Sample! Click Here

FREE sample of Ojon Hair Serum! "Like" the Facebook Page

FREE sample of Burberry Body Fragrance! (International) Click Here

FREE Carol's Daughter Hold & Control Hair Smoother! Click Here

FREE Escada Perfume Sample! Click Here

FREE 16x20 Poster from WalMart! Order online, pickup in-store. Expires 10/31. Print the Coupon

FREE Portrait Collage from PictureMe inside WalMart! Click Here

FREE Aromatherapy Samples! Click Here

35% off at Gap.com! Use code GAPLINE to save 35% on your entire Gap.com purchase now through 10/13/2011. After that the same code will save you 30% through 10/14/2011. The savings drops to 25% on 10/15/2011.

Whew!! Did you get 'em all? Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

P.S. If you feel like over-achieving and getting even MORE free stuff .... My favorite paid-to site is Swagbucks. I earn at least $25 in Amazon Gift cards each and every month! Read more about Swagbucks in this entry.

Looking for Writers: Be a Broke Student Guide for your campus!

2011-10-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

I've received a lot of requests asking me to update more frequently, and while I'd like to (I'd really, REALLY like to!!) I simply don't have the time. I'm sure you can relate. I spent the past 48 hours pulling 2 all-nighters in a row. (Like, guys, I was delirious. I'm not even exaggerating.) Anyway, I've decided to take on some additional Broke Student Guides to help keep the blog updated, as well as offer tips and tricks from campuses besides Indiana University. (I am also looking for a new BSG for IU, since I'll be graduating in May!) As a Broke Student Guide, you'll be representing your university and informing your peers about the best free stuff on your campus. You'll walk around campus and scout out freebies, post about free events, opportunities and more at your campus, and promote the blog at your school. You'll be gaining experience in blogging, social networking, writing, and marketing. You'll get an awesome, stand-out opportunity on your resume (and you'll get a kickass reference from me if you ever need one, just sayin'!) and a chance to help the blog grow and be a part of its success.

If any of the following describes you: literate, great at writing helpful and also humorous things, obsessed with saving money and getting free stuff, in college, and someone who would enjoy writing a few entries a month from the comfort of your own home (in your pajamas, at 3am, you know - whatever), please apply! Just send the following to corosaun (at) indiana (dot) edu:

- A writing sample: an example of a blog entry that fits with the content of the Broke Student's Guide, using any category of your choice (see the tags for ideas). Be creative: you can write about anything under the sun as long as it would fit with the theme of the blog (which is helping busy college students save money, essentially.) Feel free to browse through the blog to get a feel for the content and voice of the BSG.

- A brief statement about why you want to be a BSG, why you'd be the best BSG ever and what you bring to the table, including what kinds of posts you think you'd be the best at writing.

- An attached copy of your resume. If you don't have one, just write about what related experience you have, even if you don't have much!

I'm also looking for anyone who would like to take charge of marketing, promotion and social networking for the blog, so if that sounds like your thing, email corosaun (at) indiana (dot) edu with a copy of your resume and a brief explanation of why you'd be the best marketer for the BSG ever, and any samples of social networking and promotion you've got.

Hope to hear from you soon! Please send me an email if you've got any questions.

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Freebies and Samples of the Week! 10/3

2011-10-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today's free samples seemed to be primarily about health and fragrances. So you'll smell good while you feel good, for free! Here's this week's round-up:

FREE Poise feminine hygiene sample pack! Click Here

FREE PedPod energy drink mix. Click Here

FREE sample of Spiru-Tein Energy Drink Mix! Use promo code 5646. Click Here

FREE Eat-Smart Bar at Vitamin Shoppe or GNC. Print the Coupon

FREE Sample of AlternaVites Vitamin Powder Today! Click Here

FREE Sample of Disney Gummy Vitamins! Click Here

FREE Sample of Emergen-C Vitamin C drink mix! Click Here and also Here

FREE sample Krystal Strawberry Shortcake! "Like" the Facebook Page

FREE $2.00 Amazon MP3s Credit: Enter code FALLMP3s

FREE 32oz bottle of Evamor water! "Like" the Facebook Page

FREE Sample of Victoria's Secret "Gorgeous" fragrance when you try on a "Gorgeous" bra in-stores. More
information here.

FREE Sample of Wonderstruck Fragrance by Taylor Swift. "Like" the facebook page.

FREE Sample of "Bottled Night" Fragrance by Hugo Boss! Click Here

FREE Lacoste Fragrance Samples! Click Here

FREE Sample of Dove Nourishing Oil Care Cream! Click Here

FREE Botanical Therapy Hair Treatment during your next cut or color at an Aveda Salon. Print the Coupon

FREE Dove Deoderant sample for Costco Members! Costco Members Click Here

FREE Sample of Wet Platinum Personal Lubricant! Click Here

It’s Swagbucks Code Extravaganza Monday! This means that today, 10/3 Swagbucks will be releasing 60sb worth of codes! Some of the codes will be easy to get, and some will require some work. HINT: Make sure to check the Swagbucks Facebook Page frequently to see where and when others have found codes!

If you have not signed up for Swagbucks yet, now is the time! Today is the LAST DAY to get 100 swagbucks JUST FOR SIGNING UP! Head over to Swagbucks and use the promo code: BIGTIMEBUCKS in the "Gimme" box to grab the 100 Swagbucks. Learn more about Swagbucks in this entry.

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Mystery Shopping: Get Paid to Shop! Seriously. Not even kidding.

2011-09-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of articles about ways to make money while at school, when you're too busy for a real job but need some extra cash. In addition to paid-to sites, paid research studies, donating plasma and the other suggestions I've made, I'd like to add one powerful new weapon to your money-making arsenal: Mystery Shopping!

What is mystery shopping? Mystery Shopping is a tool that companies use to evaluate their performance from a customer's perspective. A mystery shopper goes into an establishment with a situation provided by the company, in order to evaluate what ACTUALLY happens to a real customer on an ordinary day. They will evaluate everything from customer service, to cleanliness, to whether the correct signage is being used. Then they report their findings back to the company so that the company can see where they need improvements. If you've ever worked anywhere, you know that the day the district managers come to visit calls for a week of deep-cleaning and everyone using their best behavior to make it seem like that's how things always are. Management caught onto this awhile ago, and got sneaky: hence, mystery shopping.. The process of mystery shopping goes like this: Search for job. Sign up for job. Complete job at specified time. Fill out shop report and submit proof of receipts/documentation (to prove you actually did the shop). Receive payment 30-60 days later. (Some payment is sooner, but most is on a delay.)

As a mystery shopper, you are truly getting paid to shop. Or eat. Or get your brakes looked at. Or get a spray tan, or go to the movies, or talk to someone. If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it kind of has a bad reputation as a huge scam. You know, you see those ads like "Mystery Shopper Wanted: make a bazillion dollars by doing absolutely nothing!!! No catch!" which reeks of scam (not even convincing scam, either). While those companies ARE scams, mystery shopping in general is 100% legit. I was skeptical myself when I signed up for a few mystery shopping companies this summer, and I decided not to report back on the blog until I'd gotten paid from these companies to prove that they were actually legit. Several months later, and I'm here to tell you that THEY ARE SO LEGIT YOU GUYS OMG. This is hands-down the best way to make extra cash in college. I've actually resorted to mystery shopping as my primary source of income this semester. I'm in a small town, which means less companies to shop, so I'm making about $30/month on average, but when I was in a big city this summer, I was making MUCH more than that. If you live in a large city with a mystery shopping company located in that city (Louisville, KY is a great example of this - there are TONNSSSSS of mystery shops in Louisville!) it is perfectly doable to turn this into a part-time job, making several hundred a month. If you're willing to travel for a shop, you can potentially turn this into a full-time job. This IS possible, but you also will need to have a lot of mystery shopping equipment, like hidden video recorders, and pay extra to get certified for some higher-pay shops - but it CAN be done!

Still feeling skeptical? To the right is a pay
statement from one of my first months of mystery shopping. It adds up QUICK, guys. Some shops pay you just to go and talk to someone, some shops require you to make a purchase and then reimburse you later. So far, I've mystery shopped at banks, car dealerships, fast food restaurants, electronics stores, cell phone stores, and even an adult store (Indiana University Students: it was College Books. I totally got paid to shop at College Books.). It's fun, it's easy, and I end up making more per hour than most of the jobs I've had so far.

So, ready to give it a try? First, you need to find some mystery shopping companies to sign up with, or see if there are opportunities in your area. (Bigger cities are the best locations to be a mystery shopper.) The availability of the shops depends on the companies located near you and how many companies are employing their services. There are hundreds of mystery shopping companies located all over! To find out what's available near you, search using this handy little website. The sites I linked to are both on the MSPA site - the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. They're essentially a regulating certification board. To be on their site, you have to be a LEGIT mystery shopping company - no scammers allowed. Signing up with a company from their site ensures that you won't get scammed - they do a thorough check of each of their listed companies before certifying them.
So, found a few shops in your area? Interested in giving it a try? The next thing to do is to sign up with the companies that are providing shops in your location. Once you click on a description of a shop you're interested in, it will list which company is providing the shop, usually with a link. Click on that provided link to go to the website of the mystery shop company. Now, you need to sign up for that Mystery Shopping company. It will ask you a lot of information about yourself. Don't be scared - the more personal information they have about you, the better they can match you up for certain shops that are targeted at specific customers. Some companies may also ask you for writing samples, for example, writing about an experience at a store. Just try to give complete unbiased details, and use proper grammar and spelling.

Now, some things that will make you nervous. Every mystery shopping company will ask you for your Social Security Number. This is because mystery shopping is a legitimate form of income - read: job - and as such, they are required to report to the government if you make over a certain amount per year using their company (I think it's $600/yr) for tax purposes. It's no different than giving your SSN to a job in-person. If you look at the browser, it should read https:// instead of http://, which means your information is secure and encripted. I have yet to have a problem giving out my SSN to any of these sites, and I've signed up for about 10 of them. Second nervous-making thing: some mystery shop companies will ask you for your bank account information, to direct deposit your income into your account. Again, this is just like handing over a voided check at a job - just because they have your account number DOESN'T mean they can steal your money. It'd be like giving a check in your name along with a filled out deposit slip to a friend to deposit in your bank for you - all they'll be able to do is deposit that money. If that company is direct deposit only, that's how you will get paid. Many companies pay via paypal or mailed check, but I've also received direct deposit income with no problems at all.

Ok, now you've signed up with a mystery shopping company! You're all ready to find that shop you signed up for and get going! Before you request or self-assign that shop, you'll need to have a good understanding of how to complete a mystery shop properly. It's not rocket science, but if you mess everything up your first time, the site may not let you sign up for anything else, so you want to make sure you get it right (or at least, mostly right). First, read this detailed overview of what you need to know about being a good mystery shopper. It's long, but very informative and worth reading. Here are the most important points to remember:

1. Mystery Shopping requires acting - aka lying. If you're not good at acting or lying, Mystery Shopping may not be the right job for you. You'll be given a situation to memorize and you must stick to that situation and make it seem convincing - this may require making up additional details on the spot.

2. Mystery Shopping requires attention to details. Details may include things like, "How many seconds before you were greeted? How many TVs were turned off in the electronics department? Was there a coffee machine in the waiting room? What was the featured item on the drive-through menu? Did the sales associate mention the Supreme Extra Special Deal? What did the sales associate look like?" You will need to be able to remember what details you are looking for, AND remember exactly what you saw. I always take notes as soon as I leave a mystery shop so I don't forget them. These details are extremely important, and you must be hyper observant - in some cases, you have to sneak in observations while also talking to a sales associate and trying to remember your made-up situation, which can get tricky.

3. Mystery Shopping requires timeliness. Some shops must be completed at a certain time and on a certain day, and all shops require a report to be filled out and submitted within 24 hours of completing a shop. This is a REAL JOB, so treat it as such. If you turn in a mystery shop report late, you WILL be penalized.

Ok. Ready to get started? Sign up with as many mystery shopping companies as you like (I'm signed up with about 10). Make sure you keep a list of these somewhere and keep track of which shops are assigned for which companies. Select a job, and either request or self-assign it (every company is different). Complete the job, submit your report, and sit back and wait for payment. It sucks that there's a time delay, but after the first couple of months, you'll have income on the regular coming in monthly. It's fun, it's easy, and anyone can do it! What are you waiting for?? Go get paid to shop!!
As a quick reminder, here's where to start finding shops in your area:

Get Started

1. MSPA lists all of their verified (aka not a scam) mystery shopping companies, and you can search for available shops near you to find which companies to sign up with.

2. Jobslinger is a database for multiple companies using the Sassie user interface system. You'll be able to search multiple companies in your area using your zip code, and sign up for the ones offering shops near you. You'll need to sign up for each individual company offering the shops - Jobslinger is NOT a mystery shopping company, just a search engine!

3. Mystery Shopping Job Board is another site like Jobslinger - it's a search engine for a variety of different mystery shopping companies. Use it to find shops near you and sign up for those companies.

As always, contact me with any questions!

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

How to get everything free: a useful guide (pt. 2)

2011-09-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

1. HauteLook referral credits. I know, it takes a while to build up enough credits for anything really good (though, thinking in $10 increments, you really only need about 5 referrals to get something good.) However, this is the best way to get high-quality, brand-name or even designer goods for free. If you don't like HauteLook, Gilt Group offers $25 credits for referrals - but their stuff is much higher-end, and thus, more expensive. If you know some rich people, try referring them to Gilt! The downside of Gilt is that the $25 credits expire after about a year, while HauteLook credits do not. So if you get one, make sure to USE IT! (I'm still kicking myself over not using the ONE $25 credit I managed to get on Gilt before it expired. Clearly, I need to befriend more rich people. Hopefully you have better luck).

2. Use those Amazon gift cards you get from Swagbucks! You can also get Amazon gift cards from MyPoints (post a comment to be referred to MyPoints, it's email-only invitations). Amazon has EVERYTHING EVER, and most brands have stores set up on Amazon. For example, the American Apparel Store. Click here and scroll down to see the brands you can get at Amazon. Kinda makes you wanna go earn some Swagbucks, huh? (Here's an entry on how to earn Swagbucks! Hint: start using their search engine!!) Sidenote: Mypoints also offers gift cards to a TON of clothes retailers, like Kohl's, Target, Gap, TJ Maxx, and even Sak's 5th Avenue! Read more about MyPoints here.

3. Let's say that you don't have time to build up referrals or Swagbucks, or you just don't care enough to try (I don't blame you. At all.) Don't worry, you can STILL get free clothes! Depending on where you live, your local Freecycle might have some awesome gems for you. Make a post on your Freecycle board asking for clothing (ex: WANTED: Women's Jackets/Blazers size 8 petite) and I guarantee you will get responses. We all have clothing hanging in our closets that we just don't want anymore, or don't have the heart to give to a thrift store. Sure, you might end up with some really ugly stuff, but then you can just go donate it to Goodwill and get a couple of extra dollars on your tax return, so everyone's a winner.

4. If asking people individually for their old clothes isn't your thing, why not try to find a local Swap Meet or Free Market? Check if the Really Really Free Market is coming to your area. If it's not, why not organize one? Even on a small scale - creating a Facebook event, inviting all of your friends to come over with their unwanted clothing and "shop" - you'll probably end up with some great "new" stuff, and it's tons of fun, too! Who knows what your best friend's neighbor has hanging in her closet that fits you perfectly but is too big/small/not the right color for her? Don't be scared! Show them the link to this post so it's not weird or anything, though. (Kidding, but do tell all of your friends about my blog for realz.)

How To Get Free Makeup and Beauty Products
Unlike clothing, "gently used" makeup is REALLY not as A-OK as "gently worn" clothing. It tends to be super unhygienic, and besides, makeup EXPIRES. So making a post on Freecycle or having a Free Market really won't cut it when it comes to makeup and beauty products. That said, there are ~ways.~ Read on.

1. HauteLook referral credits. Ok, maybe I'm getting redundant

here, but this site is seriously the best. Every couple of months they have Urban Decay, LORAC, NYX and Stila sales, plus tons of other brands - 100% Pure, Oscar Blandi, Mirabella, GOSMiLE, Smashbox and Vincent Longo, to name a few. And unlike clothing, it takes a LOT less credits to get these goodies for free. The LORAC and Urban Decay makeup is usually under $10, meaning you only need ONE REFERRAL to get those goodies for free! A good 75% of my current makeup/beauty/hair care collection came from HauteLook. There's a picture of it to the right if you're curious. HauteLook is my faves.

2. Again with the redundancy, but Amazon Gift cards from Swagbucks are KILLER in this category!! You can get just about ANY beauty product on Amazon. (Remember, you can get Amazon gift cards from MyPoints, too -as well as gift cards to a variety of other beauty-selling retailers, like Macy's, CVS, Target or Kohl's). Did you know that Sephora has an entire store on Amazon? And don't forget - if you buy something from Sephora and don't like it, they'll let you return it even without a receipt, so even if you purchase it on Amazon and have a store near you, you can return it in-store for a merchandise credit.

3. Speaking of Sephora, they are great for free makeup/beauty goodies. Over on the left is an example of one trip to Sephora with a couple of their email printable coupons. This past year, they sent out coupons for several Bare Minerals kits (including primer, cleaner, foundation, mineral veil and a brush!); free kits for your birthday including mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow; Ojon hair-care samples; and Clinique acne-cleaning cream. If you aren't a Beauty Insider, you need to be! It's AMAZING.They are also VERY generous with free samples. Once I went in-store and mentioned that I was looking for some new hair products, and they sent me home with a stack of sample packets! They often have sample bins near the registers if you're making a purchase, but as long as you have a coupon like the ones they email you, you don't need to make a purchase to get free goodies or samples of products. The downside, of course, is that this is all useless if you don't have a Sephora near you, which I currently don't. :(.

How To Get Free Furniture

Everyone knows that Craiglist is the place to go for CHEAP furniture, but did you know that most people are so desperate to get rid of their unwanted furniture that they are happy to give it away for FREE? It's true! Read on to find out how to furnish your apartment like a boss. (And make sure you have access to a pick-up truck of some sort so you can haul your goodies home!)

1. Craigslist > For Sale > Free. There is so much stuff to be discovered here. I won't even say much about it, just go discover it for yourself! The downside of Craigslist, of course, is that you are at the mercy of what's being OFFERED. So, moving on:

2. Freecycle! Freecycle is the bomb dot com for free furniture. Everyone wants to clear out their garage or whatever. (I wouldn't know, I just upgraded from a dorm room, but ~Grown Ups~ always seem to have accumulated lots of unwanted furniture.) Say you're looking for an end table, or a recliner, or a TV stand, etc. Make a post about it on your local Freecycle. Bam - tons of people who want you to come haul away their junk, aka your new furniture, for free! Everyone wins in this situation. (Note: you may want to look up some tutorials on re-upholstering or painting or sanding, if you care very much how your furniture looks/feels.)

3. Picking up stuff on the side of the road. This sounds gross, but it's really not. Sure, on an average day the mattress and couch you see on the curb look like they might be flea infested and date back to the 50s, but the key to a successful curb pick-up is the TIMING. At the end of the school year and at the end of the summer is the KEY to picking up furniture on the curb - that's when the most leases are ending, and people are moving out. And this stuff isn't junk. Imagine for a moment that you go to school out of state, and you have to fly every time you want to go home. Then imagine that you had to buy a brand-new couch or a mini-fridge or a table or something because, you know, you lived here for 8 months, but now you're flying home or wherever and you have this couch/fridge/table that you don't want. And it was probably finals week, and selling it somewhere probably sounded like too much work, but you have a plane ticket for tomorrow you don't know what to do about this damn couch/fridge/table! What do you do? You put it on the curb, hoping someone will pick it up and give it a new home. (This may or may not be the story of my mini-fridge from freshman year.) Anyway, if you can manage to stick around for a week or so after the semester ends, or get there a week or so before the semester begins, you can find the BEST stuff. And if you don't, guess where it ends up? Probably the landfill (what a freaking waste!) or, best-case scenario, your school might do something like IU's Hoosier to Hoosier sale, where they collect all that left over stuff and then sell it for charity or whatever. Which is great, but it doesn't end up as a free couch in your living room, which is the goal. So get your timing right, and you can furnish your apartment/house/dorm for nothing! (Dorm room furnishing? What? Maybe someone left behind a microwave or something, idk. Good luck with that.)

And there you have it: now you, my fellow broke student, can look gorgeous while laying on your brand new couch surfing the interwebz while wearing all your sweet new clothes. Tune in next week (ish, I have homework and stuff) for Part 3, where we'll learn how to get FREE School Supplies and Entrance to Disney World .... and something else, because I need a 3rd thing. Any suggestions? Hit me up on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Freebie Roundup for the week!

2011-09-06T05:33:00.000-07:00

Here's this weeks extra large roundup of freebies! Note: Please assume that these are US-only freebies, unless otherwise marked. Did I miss anything good? Comment and let me know!

FREE Waffle at Waffle House! Expires Sept. 30. Print the Coupon

FREE coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate or hot tea. Expires October 31/11 "Like" the Facebook Page

The CVS Magic Coupon Machine is apparently giving out coupons for a FREE Milky Way or Dove chocolate bar! Stop by any CVS and scan your rewards club card at the bright red machine to get your coupon.

FREE box of John Frieda Precision Foam Hair Colour! Just fill out the survey here to see if you qualify for a FREE Box of Precision Foam Hair Colour! Not everyone will qualify for a free box, but if you color your hair at all, you probably will. Click Here

FREE Lacoste perfume samples! For males & females: Click Here (International)

FREE Dove Self Tanning lotion sample! The form is all in Spanish, but you can use a translator: Click Here

FREE sample of Trilipiderm, an all body moisture retention creme. International. Click Here ‘Like’ Pilot Travel Centers on Facebook and click on their coupon tab on the left for a

FREE Wet Platinum personal lubrication sample (US & Canada): Click Here

FREE cosmetics bag at Nordstrom Rack! Bring the coupon to any NR location and recieve a free cosmetics bag. Click Here

FREE Poise Hourglass Shape Pads or Liners! Includes two Poise pads (or liners, your choice) and a coupon. Click Here

2 FREE Quest All-Natural Low-Carb Protein Bars! Click Here

FREE Chewable Fiber Choice supplements sample. Click Here

FREE Sample of Shout Color Catcher! Click Here

FREE Sample of Minty Strips breath freshener! Us & Canada. Click Here

FREE Kashi bar of your choice! (Canada only) Click Here

FREE Gimi Gourmet Swiss Chocolate! You can choose between four different kinds of chocolate. (US & Canada) (Note: of all the "free chocolate" samples I've filled out, I've never received a single one, so this may or may not be legit.) Click Here

FREE Gluten Relief Digestive Enzymes Sample! "Like" the Facebook Page

FREE Sample of Maven Multi-Mineral Relaxer and Styling System. Click Here

Potential FREE stuff from American Apparel! When you sign up for the newsletter, it says "Include your mailing address below and we may send you a sample of a new item before it's available in stores. We'll also add you to our catalog mailing list." I've gotten free stuff from AA before (on April Fools Day!) so I'm crossing my fingers for this. International. Click Here

Gmail is making it completely FREE for or all uniformed military personnel to call the United States through 2011! Must have valid United States Military (.mil) email address. More Information

Get 4% cash back when you shop at Forever21 using StudentRate.com. All you have to do is to click on "go to deal" and shop and complete your transaction. Your cash back will appear on your StudentRate.com cash back account within 24-48 hours. Also, 10% off codes! Click Here
AT&T Users: Text YES to 11113020 and receive 1,000 FREE bonus rollover minutes. A confirmation text will come through shortly after. Allow up to 4 weeks for bonus minutes to reflect on your bill. (Confirmed legit!)

ReycleBank has a new point-earning opportunity out for 110 POINTS! That's enough for a FREE McDonald's ice cream cone or smoothie, or a FREE 1-year magazine subscription! Sign up here and visit the Green Your School Year page to start earning your 110 points.

My favorite paid-to site is Swagbucks. I earn at least $25 in Amazon Gift cards each and every month! Read mo about Swagbucks in this entry.

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

How to get everything free: a useful guide (pt. 1)

2011-08-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know that I post up a list of freebies each week. These are usually mail-in samples of random things - everything from shampoo to peanut butter - and, while they absolutely come in handy and can save you money, they're still small samples, take a while to come in the mail, and you don't get much of a choice about what's available. Luckily, there are a myriad of ways to get free stuff outside of mail-in samples. The following is a useful guide about ways to get a large amount of things for free (legally). Enjoy!

In part 1, you'll learn how to get the following things for free (legally):

Movies and TV
Food
Magazines

First, there are a few sites it would be helpful for you to join before I begin, because I'll be referencing those sites frequently as sources of free stuff. First, you'll need to find your local Freecycle chapter. Freecycling, also known as Free Recycling, is the act of giving away usable unwanted items to others instead of disposing of them in landfills. The Freecycle network connects people locally so that they may give away unwanted items to each other, for free. To find your local Freecycle chapter, you can search the Freecycle site itself, or just google "Freecycle [my location]." You can use Freecycle to ask for absolutely ANYTHING that you want, and there's usually a pretty good chance someone will have some they are willing to give away. Think of it like the last resort for all of the categories below.

The other sites to be familiar with that I will frequently reference are:
1. Craiglist's Free section (find it in For Sale)
2. Recyclebank, where you can earn points for learning about being environmentally friendly and then redeem them for free prizes
3. Swagbucks where you can earn points and redeem them for Amazon gift cards - I get at LEAST $25 in gift cards per MONTH from this site.
4. HauteLook because if you can refer a few people who make a purchase, it's a great place to get high-quality stuff for free using referral credits.

All signed up? Now, let's begin.

How To Get Free Movies and TV
Who needs to pay for satellite TV when you have the internet? There are tons of free resources for watching movies and TV online. Here are the top ways to watch what you want without having to pay for it.
1. Amazon's Instant Streaming Videos. In case you missed the post, Amazon Prime is FREE for students for one year! So just sign up with your .edu email address, and you'll have access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more - all completely FREE during your Prime trial membership.

2. Netflix - although it's a paid site, your first month is FREE. Now, don't just go to the site to sign up. Have you joined Swagbucks yet? Once you have, go to earn and select "Special Offers." Most likely, there will be a big advertisement banner telling you to sign up for Netflix and receive 1000 points. If not, search around until you find an offer for Netflix - most offer categories will have one. 1000 points is enough for 2 $5 Amazon gift cards, with some left over! Not bad, eh? Now, you'll need to enter your credit card information when you sign up for Netflix, but it won't be charged unless you don't cancel after that first month is up. So set an alarm on your phone for the day you need to cancel so you don't forget. Or, think of it this way - $7 a month for free streaming TV shows and videos? If you have a roommate you can split that account with, that's only $3.50 a month. If you have a couple of roommates, it gets pretty darn cheap. So consider buying a Netflix account for your house or apartment, and splitting the cost. No matter what, it's still cheaper than satellite or even cable TV!

3. Still can't find anything good to watch? Try searching on Hulu, SurfTheChannel and OVGuide. And if none of those found what you were looking for, try BlinkX. And remember, downloading is illegal - but streaming from a site in another country? That's completely legal! (Also, if your school is anything like mine, they WILL punish you if they find you illegally downloading anything, so DO NOT DO IT.)

How To Get Free Food
There are numerous ways to get free food, ranging from a lot of free food to a little. Here are my favorites:
1. Take advantage of free coupons, deals and offers. Most of these offers will be for signing up for an "e-club", during which time you'll enter your birthday and then receive birthday coupons. I try to only eat out when I've got a free coupon for something - like the from Recyclebank. For a list of places that give you freebies on your birthday, read this entry.

2. If don't mind waiting, sending emails to companies in the hopes that they will send you coupons for free is a great way to get a lot of free groceries. You can read more about that here. From personal experience, I can tell you that you will catch more flies with honey - more literally, you'll get better coupons if you compliment the company rather than complain. A good place to start is White Castle, who typically sends free burger coupons.

3. If you're really in desperate need for food, there should be a free food pantry in your area. Often, the food pantries are no-questions-asked places to get food and groceries completely for free - though some may ask for proof of need. Food pantries are often run by charities or churches, and get their food from local stores. The food might be past it's sell-by date, which DOESN'T mean it's expired, but DOES mean the stores can't legally sell it. Rather than dump it into the trash, they give it to food pantries for free. NOTE: Food pantries are a resource for the entire community, including the homeless, the disabled and families with small children - so please only take advantage of a food pantry if you truly NEED free food, not because you WANT some free food. To find your local food pantry, just google "food pantry [my city]" or "food bank [my city]." Indiana University Students: the local food pantry in Bloomington is Mother Hubbard's Cupboard.

4. Another option for getting free food without a food pantry is going straight to the source - grocery stores, health food stores, bakeries etc. Small, local companies are best. You'll need a bit of moxie for this one, but you'll basically just go inside or call and ask what they do with their goods that are past the sell-by date. For example, bakeries and bagel companies must throw away all remaining goods at the end of each work day - and in my experience, they are typically happy to give these goods to those in need rather than dumping them in the trash. The same applies for smaller, local health food and grocery stores. Larger chains typically have a corporate policy, but there is always a chance they wouldn't mind giving you some of their discarded food - it doesn't hurt to ask! You can always call anonymously. IU Students: Bloomington Bagel Company throws out its bagels at the end of the day, but the non-downtown locations are happy to give them away to students. Just try to show up as they are closing. Also try Bloomingfoods.

5. As a final option, relying on the kindness of individuals can be very helpful. Make a post at your local Freecycle or on the Craigslist Free board (or your campus classifieds) asking for any and all food donations. You might need to go and pick them up, but most people do have food that they just don't want or need sitting in their pantry and they are often happy to give this to someone in need. Again, don't take more than you truly need- this is a pay-it-forward sort of honor system that should not be abused. When you are able, do try to give something back! Always pay it forward.

How To Get Free Magazines
Everyone loves magazines. But who wants to pay $4.00 a pop for something that's only fun to read once? Not me. Here's how to get them for free:
1. Recyclebank offers several free 1-year magazine subscriptions, starting at 115 points. You can earn 115 points in less than an hour on the site, so it's a great way to get free magazines for the next year! Go to "Get Rewards" and choose "Music, Books & Magazines" to see what's available.

2. Magazines will often run Free Subscription promotions themselves, because in order to sell ads they need a minimum number of guaranteed readers - and if they're not meeting their numbers, it makes more sense to give away subscriptions, since ads generate more revenue. I do post every time there's a free subscription available, but you can find some yourself by googling "free magazine subscriptions" and seeing what's available. One site I found is All Free Magazines. Now, most of the free magazine subscriptions available are trade magazines, but I HAVE managed to get free subscriptions to Elle, Glamour and Martha Stewart Living this year. You just have to make sure you sign up whenever they are offered! So keep checking back here to find those.

3. When most people are done with their magazines, they either donate them to the gym (which CAN be a good source of free magazines!) or recycle them. At least, I hope they do, because magazines are completely reycleable. Anyway, If you live in an area where you have access to the recycling center - like a self-sorting dropoff location, or even a local paper recycling bin - it might be worth it to look inside the bin for any good magazines. No, it's not gross. It's just a bin full of paper waiting to be recycled. But you can find a lot of good stuff! When I lived near a sort-your-own recycling center, I collected quite a number of free magazines from the paper bin - which I gave away on Freecycle when I was done with them! So if you're still needing free magazines, try asking on Freecycle or Craigslist. Lots of people have too many magazines that they want to get rid of.

Whew! That's a lot of free stuff. Coming up in parts 2 and 3, you'll learn how to get the following for free:
Clothing
Makeup and Beauty Products
Furniture
School Supplies (bags, pens, etc)
Entrance to Disney World
Do you have a request? Post it in the comments! If it's POSSIBLE to get it for free, I'll write about it!

Want to know about new freebies, samples, deals and money-saving as soon as they happen? Follow The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

A Mini-Entry

2011-08-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, apology time. I haven't updated in a while. Sorry sorry sorry! I've been busy moving across the country and moving back into my dorm apartment at IU. Hopefully some of you are in the same boat and can understand! To make it up to you, I'm going to be making a massive, crazy awesome post in the next week about how to get EVERYTHING for free - from magazines to furniture to electronics to clothing, EVERYTHING. For those of you who are moving back onto campus right now, don't go to Target for your dorm supplies just yet - I'll have that post out really soon, and it's going to save you TONS of money.

For now, here's some good advice to hold you over: If you're in need of supplies for your dorm room/apartment, check out your school's classifieds and craigslist - not just to scour the offers, but to post a WANTED ad as well. Also, find your local Freecycle chapter and join it - you'll be amazed at people's generosity. The same is true if you're looking to get rid of stuff! Now is the BEST time to sell it, because everyone is looking to buy new stuff. Post everything you want to sell on your school's classifieds ads (IU's can be found on OneStart, for my fellow Hoosiers), Craigslist, and even Freecycle. (More about Freecycle in an upcoming post - for now, just try to google it and find a local one.)

And for those of you who remember my previous post about selling your textbooks, now is the BEST time to sell them! Read this post for more detailed information. I really recommend listing all of the textbooks you still have at the current price on Amazon. They should sell in the next few weeks.

Hope you're having a blast moving back onto campus! I know I am. If there are any Hoosiers who'd like to stop by and chat, feel free to hit me up! You can find The Broke Student's Guide on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Freebies and Deals of the Week! Plus, GIVEAWAY WINNER!

2011-08-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

Congralations to the Broke Student Giveaway Winner, Heavensent1! Her winning comment was a tweet about the giveaway and was comment #123, which is what the Random Number Generator picked as the winner. (If I don't hear from her, I will pick another winner and notify them!) I'm looking forward to hosting another giveaway soon!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blogging: Freebies and deals of the weeks! Yayyyy free stuff! Here's what's available:

Free Cottonelle Toilet Paper Cover! Use the UPC code "3600013396 " Click Here

Get a Free Sample of Post-It Super Sticky Notes Click Here

Free Kashi cereal or granola bar sample! Click Here

Free Sample of L'Oreal EverSleek Shampoo, Conditioner and Creme! Click "Sample Offers" in the upper righthand side, and choose the very last option on that page. Click Here

Be sure to scan your CVS ExtraCare card at the "magic coupon machine" this week. Many readers are reporting receiving a coupon good for a FREE 18-ct. U by Kotex package!

Free Oreo Brownie from QuickChek! Click Here

Print out the coupon and snag a Free Taco Bueno Cheesecake Chimi. This totally delicious offer is available until August 6. Click Here

(P.S: in honor of Paula Deen coming up with the idea of deep frying a cheesecake first, I have made a Paula Deen version of the coupon, available here. If you do attempt to use this coupon, please post a comment with the results, because I am really curious.)

Get 100 black and white instant business cards FREE or get $19.99 off your higher-priced order. Limit 1 per customer. Not valid with any other offers. Valid through 8/6/11. In-store pickup. Click Here

Get a Free Exclusive Trio at Sephora. You can shop online or in-stores Sephora stores to get this great set. Not valid at Sephora inside JCPenney. This offer is only available while supplies last. Trio includes a mini Bare Escentuals Foundation, Purifying Facial Cleanser and a mini Kabuki Brush. Click Here

20 Free Games for Current Nintendo 3DS Owners! Nintendo is lowering the price of the 3DS to $169.99 on Aug 12th and giving anyone who owns a 3DS before then 20 Free Games as part of their Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. If you own a 3DS or know someone who does make sure they log onto the Nintendo eShop at least once using a wireless broadband Internet signal before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 11 for your 20 FREE games!

Free sample pack of 4 Mary Kay fragrances: Simply cotton, Sparkling Honeysuckle, Warm Amber & Exotic Passionfruit! Click Here

FREE 5-ct sample pack of Tampax Pearl tampons! You do NOT need to be a Costco member to get this sample! EXPIRED

YouTonics is a liquid collagen protein product. “Like” them and they’ll send you a Free 2 oz sample of Melonsplash Boost or Appellclous Boost. Click Here

Free U by Kotex Feminine Hygiene Products sample. Click Here

My Free Scores from July

2011-07-27T11:32:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates this past couple of weeks - I was visiting family. Next time I will write some blog entries in advance so it's not quite so obvious when I dissappear :( Oops! Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled blog entry. As it is almost the last day of July (which, BY THE WAY, is also the day that the Broke Student Giveaway ends - have you entered yet?) I attempted to compile all of my freebies to take pictures of them. The following is the best representation I could manage of the freebies I got in July!

I got a ton of samples from my local Sephora - they are so, so generous with their samples! I just asked for "hair samples" and they gave me a zillion. I also was lucky enough to snag that full-sized Tide detergent sample, that's going to be super useful this semester! And I took a survey about Tom's Toothpaste that ended up sending me an entire free tube!

Some of the samples are representative of free gift cards- like that Fashion & Textiles Careers Guide and the 100% Pure Moisturizer, which I bought with about $40 worth of Amazon Gift Cards from Swagbucks. Not pictured at all are the $20 worth of Paypal gift cards from Swagbucks as well. I also received a $40 paypal check from TreasureTrooper ! Ahh, I love paid-to sites.

There are also some samples pictured which aren't redeemed yet - like the JIF Peanut Butter To Go cups, which I need to get from Target, or the McDonald's Free Ice Cream Cone reward which I purchased from Recyclebank (for only 100 credits, which takes NO time at all to earn!) And of course, there are also other samples that I couldn't take a picture of at all - like the free Noodles & Company salad plus a shirt worth 10 additional free salads! But hopefully you get the idea.

All of these samples were written about on the blog, so if you have yet to catch a Freebies and Deals of the Week post, keep your eyes peeled! I post every sample as I find it on my Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Freebies and Deals of the Week! Back to School Edition!

2011-07-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

HauteLook is selling lip balm, jewelry, watches and more with college logos on it today for CHEAP! They would make great gifts … you know, for yourself, or whatever. See if they have your school: Click Here

Free Trial Pack of O.B. Tampons: Click Here

Free Sample of Astroglide Personal Lubricant: Click Here

Free Travel Pillow from Sleep Number when you go into a store and find your Sleep Number! Print Coupon

Get a free sample of Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Oil-Free Gel-Cream. Hurry, Wal-Mart samples go really fast. Click Here

If your Target has Catalina Machines (spit out coupons after purchase at register), then you may be able to pick up some FREE Chocolate! Here’s the scoop, when you purchase 1 Wonka Exceptionals 3.5 oz Single Bar, a catalina will print out a coupon for a FREE Wonka Exceptionals 3.5 oz Single Bar, then when you redeem the coupon, you will get yet another FREE Wonka Exceptionals Bar coupon and so on. For the price of 1 Wonka Bar, you can potentially get unlimited FREE Bars!

Free Burger from Ruby Tuesday when you "Like" their facebook page! They are giving away 100,000 -as of this writing, 30,000 are left! Hurry! Click Here

Between July 12th-18th Taco Bell is offering Crunchwrap Supremes for only $0.99.

Coupon for $50 off any tablet, laptop or desktop computer from Staples. Print Coupon

$50 off a $100 purchase from New York & Company! Very similar to Express - but more affordable - Ny&Co is great for business casual wear that you'll need for career fairs and interviews. They also have really awesome jeans! Print Coupon or, Print $25 off $60 Coupon

Starbucks Treat Receipts are back! When you make a purchase before 2 p.m., you'll receive a special stamp on your receipt that will allow you to purchase a grande cold drink for just $2 after 2 p.m. the same day.

Tax-free Shopping
Do you need to do some back to school shopping? Before you head out to the stores, make sure to check and see if your state has a tax free day coming up!

Alabama – August 5-7
Arkansas – August 6-7
Connecticut – August 21-27
Florida – August 12-14
Illinois – August 6 – 15
Iowa – August 5-6
Maryland – August 14-20
Mississippi – July 29-30
Missouri-August 5-7
New Mexico – August 5-7
North Carolina – August 5-7
Oklahoma – August 5-7
South Carolina – August 5-7
Tennessee – August 5-7
Texas – August 19-21
Virginia – August 5-7

Paid-To Spotlight: InboxDollars

2011-07-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

It's time for another Paid-To Spotlight! A quick refresher: a paid-to site is a website that pays money for doing things online such as reading paid emails, taking surveys, shopping on certain websites, watching advertisements, and the like. While you could potentially earn yourself a living off paid-to sites if you tried extremely hard, they are really best for what I like to call "free money" - being paid a small amount to do almost nothing at all. You won't make a million bucks, but you can easily make a nice chunk of pocket change with VERY little effort. I've already talked about four of my favorites, MyPoints , TreasureTrooper, Swagbucks, and SendEarnings. Today's feature, InboxDollars, rounds out my top 5.

For those of you already on SendEarnings, you'll notice some remarkable similiarities between the two sites: frankly, they look almost entirely the same. This has been the case for the several years that I've been on both sites, and I'm willing to bet they're owned by the same company. Thus, the reasons I like InboxDollars are very similar to the reasons I like SendEarnings. The main reason being Paid Emails. Essentially, the site sends you emails, you click on the link in the email, you earn cash. It's that easy. Each email nets a whopping $.03 or so, but don't worry, they send you several each day. What I like to do is let them all pile up, then click through them all at once while I'm on the phone or watching TV. I do make the majority of my earnings through the paid emails - if I wasn't so lazy, I would probably do more offers and surveys, but you know. I'm lazy.

The other favorite feature of the site is something that is thus far unique to InboxDollars: paid-to-watch video advertisements! They select some ads for you based on your answers to a few questions, you watch them, you type in some numbers that they displayed during the ad, they pay you. Again, you'll only get $.03 or so per ad, but you can do several each day so it really does add up. And sometimes, it's fun! Like today, I was paid to watch the trailer for the new Harry Potter video game - three times. It was glorious.

They also have surveys and offers, as well as paid shopping (cash back on your online purchases at certain websites), games, coupons that you're paid to use, and tasks (essentially skill-free online labor that can't be done by a computer). They are all fairly self-explanatory, and the site itself isn't difficult to use at all. And of course, you can refer your friends to get some extra income as well.

I got my first paycheck from the site a month ago, and went and cashed it! I'm now a Gold Member - something you automatically become after you receive your first paycheck. Full disclosure, it did take me a while to reach that first payout. But that's because I relied ENTIRELY on paid emails (videos weren't added until a few months ago). Earning $.03 at a time takes a while, guys. I highly suggest trying a few of the offers, downloading the toolbar, and doing a few surveys. Plus, they give you a $5 bonus when you start out - and another $6 after you get your first check, too! I'm already halfway to my second check, and it's only been a month and a half!

All in all, this is a good site to have on the side as a lazy, slower-earning paid-to site. Click the emails (if you're signed up on MyPoints and SendEarnings, you'll be getting a lot of paid emails! Just make sure you click them all in a timely manner, as they expire after about 2 weeks. I do them in batches) and watch the videos, and even do a few offers- but don't expect this site to earn you money as quickly as, say, SwagBucks - which incidentally has no payout level, making it faster to earn rewards. That said, I certainly don't mind receiving a $30 check (minimum payout is $30) once every 6 months or so!

Sign up for InboxDollars here: Join Now!

Broke Student Toolkit: Easy Budgeting with Mint.com

2011-07-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

We've heard about it before - the idea of "budgeting" your money, and keeping track of your spending. For most of us, it probably goes in one ear and out the other because it just sounds like a lot of work. Well, back in the day, it was. You had to do a lot of math and keep track of a lot of receipts. Gross. Lucky for us, we live in the age of technology - and this means that budgeting your money today is SUPER EASY. The site I'm going to tell you about today literally does the entire thing for you: it keeps track of all of your spending, categorizes it for you, analyzes it and alerts you if anything is amiss, such as spending more than you're earning. If you use the full functionality of the site, it can keep track of everything from where most of your money is going to your credit card and student loan debt. And it's FREE.

The site I'm talking about is https://www.mint.com/. It's an easy-to-use personal accounting website, essentially, and it's been making my life a whole lot easier. I can now log into the site and quickly see exactly how much money is in my account, where and what I spent that money on, and set budgets for myself. I'm going to give you an exclusive sneak peek into my Mint.com account and show you EXACTLY what it looks like (DON'T JUDGE ME on my spending habits, promise?) Go ahead and click on the picture to make it bigger and check it out. I didn't have to do ANY of that myself. Every time I use the debit card attached to the checking account that I hooked up to my Mint.com account, Mint automatically labels and categorizes the type of purchase I made. I can go and edit it if it's not accurate, but 99% of the time, it is! (Note that the only "Uncategorized" category is SmartyPig LLC- that's a sneak peek of next week's post!)

Now say I've used the site for a month or two, and I'm curious as to what I spent all of my money on - why am I so broke? Well, click on the picture to the right - that's a graph of everything that I spent my money on, added up and categorized for me -

AUTOMATICALLY. I didn't do this in Excel, guys. I just clicked the "Trends" tab. That's it! Using this handy little tool, I can see that in June, I spent almost as much on food and alcohol as I did on rent. Oops. I could also look at my net income - how much I made, minus how much I spent - and look at overall spending for whichever months I want. I can choose several different graphs to look at, to finally solve the problem of Why I'm So Broke (Food and "dining" - that means going to bars. No surprise there, let's be honest. Though I did cut my grocery budget from $100/month in June, to $40/month in July, so this month's should be much better. See, guys?? The site is already working for me!)

The other functionalities of the site are things I haven't had a chance to explore, as I'm thankfully free of credit card debts, student loans, mortgages, etc. But the site is very helpful in regards to those things as well. Overall, it's an EXTREMELY easy way to budget, and I think that the best way to save money is to know exactly WHERE your money is going! So I highly recommend this site to everyone and anyone. What are you waiting for? Go sign up at https://www.mint.com/! BONUS: A lot of paid-to sites offer rewards for signing up on Mint, so you can actually earn some money just by signing up and using the site! How's THAT for a good budgeting incentive? InboxDollars pays $1.00 to sign up for the site, and Swagbucks pays 90 sb. Some others might as well, it's definitely worth checking out!ly

3 Cheap, Easy, Healthy Recipes!

2011-07-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

Super Easy Pizza from Scratch

Pizza is one of those foods that, as college students, we seem to rely on constantly. Which is fine, except that it costs about $10 to order a pizza, and about $3 to MAKE a pizza. All you need to make a pizza is the crust, and then the rest is up to you. The fun of pizza is that you can put WHATEVER you want on it! I usually start with pasta sauce and cheese, and then just throw on whatever. I've used bacon, spinach, tomatoes, sliced deli meat and cheese, potatoes, Alfredo sauce, and yes, pepperoni. To make your pizza, you'll need to start with the crust. Contrary to popular belief, pizza crust is not difficult to make - you don't even need yeast. To make an easy, delicious thin-crust pizza to hold whatever crazy toppings you can think up, follow this recipe:

CRUST:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Mix flour, salt, baking powder and water. Knead on floured counter just until workable and spreadable, about 2 minutes. Put on pizza pan. With fingers, spread vegetable oil on crust (helps so tomato sauce won't soak into crust).

Now it's time to add whatever ingredients you want, in whatever order you want. Typically, the sauce comes first. Throw it all on there. Now, bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. That wasn't so hard, was it? Mmmm, pizza.

Brazilian Beer Marinated Chicken

This is a Broke Student approved recipe because the main ingredient is beer, and it doesn't take much work. Also, it's cheap. You could probably use any beer for this marinade, but it WILL affect the taste. For example, cooking chicken in Natty Light or Keystone is not going to magically make those beers taste like anything other than piss-water (sorry, I'm a hater). But, in the spirit of being a Broke Student, just use whatever you happen to have in your fridge, it'll probably turn out ok! To make this recipe as cheap as possible, buy some boneless, skinless chicken breasts when they are on sale, and check out your local Dollar Store to see if they have Dijon Mustard (that's where I got mine). This is the ~original~ recipe, so I've added my Broke Student notes off to the side. As a Broke Student, don't be afraid to tackle a recipe any way you can by omitting whatever you don't have and substituting whatever you do! Do remember to start this recipe a day ahead of time - it doesn't take much time at all to actually make the marinade and cook the chicken, but the chicken does need to marinade for several hours to allow the marinade to penetrate! Now, onto the recipe.

1 cup light beer (I used Corona, a pilsner works best)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I used garlic powder)
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf, crushed (I didn't have any, it was fine)
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (Or however many you have - I used like, three, and just had a lot of marinade for them to soak in)

Whisk together the beer, oil, mustard, paprika and pepper in a medium bowl. Add chiles, onion, garlic and bay and combine. In a marinating container (such as a ziploc baggie) combine thawed chicken and marinade. I sliced up my chicken first, but if you want whole chicken breasts, that's fine too. Marinate in the refrigerator for anywhere from 6 to 48 hours. To cook, grill in a skillet or on a George Foreman counter top grill. You can use the marinade to baste (essentially, pour over) the chicken while grilling for the first portion of cooking. Don't use the marinade as a sauce though, it's not very food safe. You CAN use it to base some veggies, though! I used the onions from the marinade along with some sliced zucchini and basted it before discarding the marinade. I ate it with rice, and it was delicious!

Vegetarian Moroccan Stew

Also known as Tagine, this is a very basic Moroccan stew recipe that is delicious, healthy and cheap. Don't be intimidated by the ingredient list, this recipe is super easy and absolutely DELICIOUS. Basically you just throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and keep adding spices as it's cooking until it tastes the way you want it to. I used carrots and zuchinni because they were in season and cheap, plus a can of tomatoes (mine were Italian Seasoned, and that worked excellently) and some rehydrated garbanzo beans (feel free to use canned, but if you can find dried garbanzo beans, they are MUCH cheaper! To rehydrate dried beans, follow these instructions). Now, there is a pretty lengthy list of spices here, and I didn't have several of them, so I improvised. Just keep tasting and seeing how you like it. I happened to have some Garam Masala, an Indian combination spice, and that worked really well - Allspice would probably work too. Don't pay attention to the measurements, just do whatever smells and tastes good to you. Moroccan Stews are a little bit sweet and tangy, unlike a savory stew might be. So get creative and use whatever spices you have on hand. Also, don't be scared to use peanut butter - it creates such a delicious depth of flavor, and plus, cheap protein! You can play around with the recipe some since it is a stew - for example, you could add potatoes, or use more or less of any of the vegetables. Frankly, I tend to ignore measuring altogether for recipes like these. Now, the recipe:

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 can of diced tomatoes (Mine were Italian Seasoned)
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic (I got some from the Dollar Store - feel free to use Garlic Powder, or to omit entirely)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup couscous

Heat oil in a large nonstick pot over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add the entire can of tomatoes and broth, and the rest of the ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Make sure as you add spices you taste periodically!

While the chickpea mixture simmers, prepare couscous. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Serve the stew over couscous.