As a young adult, I am VERY interested in technology and the coolest, newest gadgets are always in my eyes but not necessarily my hands.

Black Friday is one of the most hysterical shopping days of the year. With items knocked down to ridiculously cheap prices, everyone is on the hunt for something new to play with. I, myself, was interested in the 19-inch LCD monitors for $99.99, Bluetooth headsets for $9.99, and laser printers for $24.99.

All are pretty toys at bargain prices but... I didn't join the hype!!

Firstly, I applied one of the rules before going out to shop. The simple task is asking myself, "Do I really need this?".

• My CRT monitor is working perfectly fine.
• I have hands.
• I don't pay for the tuition fees if I can't print something out at the library.

Plus, I'm on a tight budget. Haha!

Oh yeah, and look at the people of I have to compete with others starting the Thursday afternoon (or even early) in NYC at chilly temperatures for 5-8 hours!!



No thanks. From now on, Black Friday shall be the day when I do not spend a single penny. But, I also congratulate those who bought something because it definitely took much time and effort.

After taking personal finances seriously at the end of the summer, I've been trying to attain as much literature possible to better inform myself. Since classes have begun, there is little time for finishing a 200-page book when there is a 1000-page textbook to complete first. And that is why I've turned to the great convenience of magazines and newspapers.

No matter the price of a the annual subscription fees, I just do not want to have to pay for something that I would read and throw away. I am sure that MANY other people feel the same way. So let's check the local public library for the mags and voila! There are amazing a large variety of magazines, including all the popular personal finance magazines (Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Money, SmartMoney, Entrepreneur).

And when I moved back to campus, I looked around the university library and there they were. Also, all throughout campus buildings, there are copies of the daily New York Times and USA Today that are free for the taking. There better be, considering the tuition that we pay!

So that's another luxury that anyone can get without the subscriptions fees. Just look around and check the public library.

Higher education brings forth higher costs. Among the many expenses that college entails, food expenses is a category that is easiest to develop frugal habits. During freshmen and sophomore years, I paid $1500 per semester for a campus meal plan. Now, I've opted out of that meal plan and chose to cook. And so, every weekend, I'd take the campus bus to the local Waldbaum's.

Since I just cleared my fridge, let's take a look of my grocery receipt that has covered my eating necessities for the past 2 weeks:



From the list above (didn't add tax and such), I can last at least 2 weeks which rounds off to about $25 per week.Eating on campus averages $6.00 per meal at 3 times a day and 7 days a week = $126 per week.

WOW?!?!?!?

Keep in mind that I can actually spend less if I chose eliminate the junk food, which would also benefit my health. It is possible even to survive on just $10,or less, per week if I just ate pasta!! My diet is considered luxurious compared to the possibilities out there.

Even after stressing the amount of money that can be saved for food, there are still reasons that college students refuse to cook:

• Lazyness: "Why cook when I can just go to the dining hall?"
• Busy class schedule: "I have no time to go back to my dorm to cook."
• Waking up late: "Class starts in 10 minutes. Guess I'll skip breakfast."
• Avoidance: "I don't know how to cook."

Time is money. Spending a little more time to prepare food has changed my budget, drastically.

Then again, there are dorm housing fees...

Last month’s net worth: $1535

This month’s net worth: $1492

Difference: $-43

It's about time the net worth line levels off. I am finally being paid by the university for working at my campus job. By next month, I'll definitely be seeing positive results ( hoping that BRLC performs accordingly). The negative result is due to the drop in price of BRLC at the time of this post. Stock news on the company coming soon.

Here is another method of making money online that does not require the hassle of signing up for certain online programs or surveys and there is no need to create you own blog or website (maybe it is too much of a hassle). Here I introduce, Associated Content, a place on the internet where you can get paid for submitting published content such as written articles, audio clips, and video clips.

There is a chance that your work can be published by companies that wish to use it for their own purposes and YOU GET PAID FOR IT. While not everything may be useful, you still get paid for the number of views that your work receives. They currently pay $1.50 USD for every 1000 views.

It may seem that doing such work does not seem to be worth the effort. But think about it, once you provide more and more content, page views would come more frequent and the content that is submitted stays on their website.

Those who enjoy writing have found that it is a great place to share your knowledge, thoughts and opinions while receiving compensation (thought they find it not to be the most important incentive) for doing so. The content will also benefit those who choose to view it.

Every topic imaginable can be submitted and found in Associated Content.

Are you highly informed or opinionated and love to express yourself through writing?

If so, then sign up by clicking below. Be sure to link me to your content!