money

We have all been in that situation when, after three or four years of schooling, we find resources that could have made those years much simpler. It took me two years of high school to find noodletools.com. Before that I was manually writing out bibliographies and works cited pages. It pains me to see a fellow college student suffering through the tedious tasks that college requires when there are resources to make them go by smoothly and cheaply.

1. CampusBooks.com

Coming in at number one is a new site that I found called CampusBooks. Often times I would procrastinate and ultimately buy my books in the third week of the semester, and by that point I’ve already accumulated a bunch of catching up that I might never get around to. CampusBooks saves the time, effort and money that walking to the book store steals from you. Their user-friendly site shows you price comparisons across the web. They show the rental cost on Chegg.com, the going price on Amazon and the price anywhere else that book is sold or rented. CampusBooks makes it easy to get all your books shipped to you, because everything is easily assessable through their page. One of the best features in my opinion is on their “sell books” tab. CampusBooks shows you exactly how much you can get for last semester's books anywhere online. No more juggling between your school's buyback program and all the other private companies trying to profit on the turn around. Just go to campus books and you’ll be guaranteed the get back the most money.

2. DesignYourDorm.com

Although this resource may be the niftiest for incoming freshman I have found applications for all years. DesignYourDorm.com allows you to see a virtual representation of your soon to be dorm room. You can stack beds, move, remove, rotate and add all types of furniture from a large selection. The most unique feature is that once you are done designing your space you can have DesignYourDorm.com order all the added furniture from various sources and deliver it straight to your dorm. It will be waiting for you there. Imagine that! Being able to see/plan what your dorm will look like, and not having to scurry around looking for furniture that may not fit is just one of the reasons why DYD is number two for me.

[ Continue reading Saving Money, Saving Time: Top 5 Back to School Resources → ]

Design Your Dorm presents a series of back to school blogs. Check out our 3-D dorm room designer, to see and design your dorm before move in day.

Managing your money in college is tough. There are so many books to buy, so many concerts to see, and so many drinks... to drink. But you don't want to graduate buried in debt, right? We didn't think so. Here's ten tips on how to manage your money so Louie the Fish doesn't have to break your kneecaps.

1. Keep an eye on it

Try checking your money for at least four weeks and find out where you are spending it. Sometimes we spend way too much on little things that we don't notice and go overboard. When you know where your money is going, it's easier to figure out where you can cut back and save some of it.

2. Start Planning

The best way to manage your money is to make a simple budget. List all your expenses from dorm payments and loans to a single bus fare. See how much you spend, and decide if you could be spending less in any category. Then plan your expenditures for the future and stick to the plan!

3. Allocate money for fun

Saving money doesn't mean you have to deprive yourself of fun. Buy music, Starbucks, video games, but just make sure you budget it out and don't go overboard.

4. Pace yourself

Some students tends to spend cash right when they get it. Just because you just got paid doesn't mean you should run out and buy a plasma screen. Make sure you have some money at the end of the semester so you don't have to give your parents construction paper dolls for Christmas... again.

[ Continue reading How To Manage Your Money In College → ]