Saving $$$ for the Holidays (1 of 10)

irishmum78 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:33:00 GMT

BUDGETING

Create your budget first. Many people make the mistake of compiling the list of people to buy for and then creating the budget for each person. This often leads to spending more than they'd like. The best way to budget for the holiday season is to come up with a total you can afford spending first and then divide that amount up amongst the names on your list. Also don't forget non-gift items like cards, stamps, decorations, etc.

Draw names. One easy way to pare down the number of people on your gift-giving list is to draw names or participate in a Secret Santa exchange. This will keep your holiday spending down and save you time shopping.

Just buy for the children. Face it; kids are always more fun to buy for than adults. If your sister's family is growing in number, now may be the time to quit buying for the adults and just purchase gifts for the nieces and nephews. Plus adults have a tendency to buy what they need throughout the year and usually have a hard time coming up with holiday gift ideas. Gift giving is always more fun when you focus on the children.

Give family gifts. Forgo purchasing for each family member individually and instead give a family gift. Giving a gift card towards a vacation destination, a gift basket full of goodies, or a fun new game for the whole family to use is a great way to buy for everyone on your list, yet keep your budget in check.

Go in with others. One sure way to get the biggest bang for your buck is to combine your funds with others and get a joint gift. This is especially true for the people on your list that you won't be spending much money on. For example if you and your co-workers all chip in $10 for a gift for your boss you can get one really nice gift versus many smaller ones. No one will come out looking like a cheapskate this way.

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Frugal Deals on Textbooks

irishmum78 — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:00:00 GMT

Aside from tuition and the other assorted fees that come from attending college via distance learning, one of the biggest budget busters is textbooks. Depending upon the program, some college textbooks can cost $100-$200. But, it's required reading, right? You might think you have no choice but to shell out the big bucks for a single book, but there are other alternatives.

Great college textbook deals can be had online, if you know where to look. My personal favorite is Half.com. Don't let the name of the web site fool you...you can save much more than 50 percent on college textbooks here. For example, the 2006 edition of "Contemporary Business" sells normally retails for $106.95, but on Half.com you can find a brand new edition for about $50, and you can pay as little as $23 if you're willing to make do with a heavily-used textbook.

But, the savings don't end there. One fact you might not be aware of is that textbooks don't really change much from one year's edition to the next. They essentially have the same information, with a few differences. If a student were to purchase the 2003 edition of "Contemporary Business" on Half.com's sister site, eBay, they could find it for $1.99 ...a savings of about $104 over the retail price of the new edition!

Amazon.com is another great place to find deals on textbooks. Used editions of the 2006 version of Contemporary Business can be had on Amazon for about $24. Bookbyte.com specializes in selling used college textbooks. Prices for Contemporary Business can be found there for prices ranging from $1.95 to about $59.

There is another way around the extra expense of textbooks. Some college programs include textbooks in the price of tuition. Penn Foster College and Ashworth University send textbooks directly to the student along with the rest of their course materials. American Military University offers a book grant to undergraduate students, which basically provides textbooks at no cost. Other colleges, such as California Coast University, offer textbook rental services. The textbooks must be returned when the student is finished using them, but such services offer dramatic cost savings over actually purchasing the book.

If you have a well-stocked public library system, you could always check out the textbooks you need for free. Of course you might need the textbooks longer than the usual 2-4 week check-out period, but some will let you extend your checkout period. If worse comes to worse, you may pay a few dollars in late charges, but it's still cheaper than actually purchasing the book. Before racking up late charges at your library, you may want to check and see what kind of penalties and fees you would be subject to if you return a book late.

If that still isn't cheap enough for you, how about textbooks that you can access from your own home and they won't cost you a dime? There are a few web sites that now make textbooks available online for free. Textbookrevolution.org, The Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org), Bartleby.com and Google Scholar all offer resources for free textbooks on the Internet. Some colleges also make select textbooks available online.

While the cost of tuition may be rising at colleges and universities, that doesn't mean you have to dig deep to pay for your textbooks. Explore a little online, and you may be able to find even more resources to help you save plenty of money even before it's time to hit the books!

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Affordable Online Education Blog : Save on Supplies

Saving $$$ for the Holidays (1 of 10)

BUDGETING

Frugal Deals on Textbooks