Holiday Party on the Cheap

So if you have been reading my blogs from week to week, you may have noticed a theme going on: saving money during the holidays. This is the most expensive times of the year, so you must know that I couldn’t forget to give you guys the scoop on how to save money on hosting holiday parties.

Who doesn’t love a good holiday party? The treats, the games, the decorations, it all raises our spirits in a time where we have just made it through hell and high water (A.K.A. finals week).  A little end of the semester celebration is definitely in order for you and your friends or a family affair.

First, decide where you want to have the party. Think of the most cheap and most logical place to have it so that you don’t have to pay to rent out a hall or facility. If you are planning a party for friends on campus, find out what places on your campus can be used free to do so. Also, if you have an apartment or a friend with an apartment, ask if you can use their place to host it. Do not waste money on renting out a facility to use when there are clearly other options. In fact, if you are throwing a family get-together holiday party, use your own house.

Every good holiday party needs decorations. They don’t have to be expensive either! The Dollar General and the Dollar Store both have plenty of Holiday decorations around this time of year, typically for $1. You can’t beat that. Holiday parties are also a good chance to put your craftiness to use as well. Do It Yourself holiday decorations are always fun and cheap. I like Layla Palmer’s post on how to make glittered pumpkins. Pumpkins are an essential fall decoration, and the glitter makes them perfect to use for a Christmas or New Year’s party. This way you can gracefully make the transition from Halloween pumpkins to holiday pumpkins in style. Perhaps you even still have a pumpkin form Halloween, which means you can get the most out of your money by making one of these cute glitter pumpkins.

Of course no holiday party is complete without food and drinks. But, they can be costly right? No, not exactly. I would suggest that you find out which one of your friends or family members are in the military. Why? People in the military always get things at discounted prices. You can go with them to the commissary (military grocery store) and get everything you need for a really good price. It’s a one-stop shop for food and drinks. If you don’t know anyone in the military, find a friend who has parents in the military or even buy your food from the food section in the Dollar General store. But, when in doubt, have a potluck! A potluck is the cheapest and most logical way to get food for a party at little to no cost for you as the host. Make a menu and get everyone to bring at least one dish off the menu or let them surprise you! Just hope 5 people don’t all bring potato salad (typical).

As far as the music goes, that should be the easiest part. The iPhone has somehow become the college-student phone. Just hook someone’s iPhone up to an iHome (music speakers) that you or a friend may happen to have, and turn iTunes radio on a Holiday station.

Some holiday parties even include gift-giving. I love the U.S. News article about alternative gift-giving at holiday parties because swaps and exchanges of items you may already have will not cost a penny out of your pockets.

Voila! You’ve got the perfect party in a few quick steps!

DIY Holiday Gifting

Did you miss out on Black Friday because you either did not want to risk it all going into a crowd of savages to fight over a 100 dollar 32 inch flat screen, you had to work, you did not want to go out at the crack of dawn to reserve your spot in line or you are flat out broke. You could have very well answered yes to any of these responses, but the most typical for college students would definitely have to be the last response. We have expenses year-round when it comes to cars, gas, rent, bills etc. Also, with the winter mini-mester at Towson coming up, some of us even have to cough up 1K for that extra class we need. Therefore, it is very likely that a lot of us are broke because I did not even mention the nights out at the bars having a drink or two after the countless number of stressful weeks throughout the semester. In other words, it is very likely that you were not able to buy expensive gifts for family and friends this year.

But no worries, there are still plenty of other cheap alternatives that will cost you less than 10 dollars or nothing at all even. You can do it yourself (DIY) your gifts this year! There are things around the house that could come in handy so that you will pay virtually nothing for your gifts.

Take for instance the DIY feather earrings I made for a friend’s birthday last year. I only used a feather, hot glue gun and a hook. Super simple, super easy, super cheap and a practical gift that she thought I had purchased at the mall. All of the supplies were purchased from my local Michael’s arts and crafts store. (I already had the hot glue gun).

Feather earrings I made for a friend last Christmas.
Photo by: Nia Gresham/TU Student

Check out these tips on how to save money this Christmas.

There are also other cute ideas like Katherine Gerstner’s pin on how to make DIY mint sugar scrubs. Sugar scrubs are a universal gift for male and females.

But don’t get carried away making all your gifts that you forget to spend time with your family. Gifts are great and all, but the quality-time with one another counts the most.

The College Student’s Guide to: Traveling on the Holidays

Are you a student? Do you plan on traveling this holiday season? Do you want the best prices and deals to travel? If you responded yes to any of these, continue reading.

Traveling can be quite costly, especially during the holidays when most of us are going home or out of town. Spending time with family is important, but can students afford it? Of course we can. There are too many options to choose from to let that be a hindrance. There are four main ways that students can travel for a good bargain: car, bus, train and airplane.

The most popular student choice of travel is definitely a car, especially at Towson University where mostly everyone (except me) has a car.  Traveling in a car is definitely affordable and you can make it fun! Carpool with some friends if you have a group of people from your town. You can make it a road trip, therefore everyone saves money and everyone also makes it from point A to point B. It saves you time and money and also a boring drive that you otherwise would have taken by yourself. The cost of gas is split and you can play fun road games with your friends. Notquitesusie.com talks about her top 10 favorite road trip activities. Some of which you and your friends might be able to use to make those long hours go by a bit quicker and reduce boredom.

The second most popular student go-to is traveling by bus. There are tons of affordable bus companies that students can take for the holidays. Many of our students at TU are from the New York/New Jersey area, and bus services such as Peter Pan, Mega bus and bolt bus leave directly out of Baltimore for as low as $1 to accommodate those students. Those buses also go to multiple locations around the U.S.  I actually took a bus twice this past summer for the first time in a while and the overall experience was pretty cool. I rode the mega bus all the way to Charlotte, NC from Washington, DC. It was great because for the first 2 hours, before we got to our first stop, I was able to ride with no one sitting next to me. I was also able to use my kindle and phone because there was free Wi-Fi inside the bus. I also got a chance to ride Peter Pan bus line from Maryland to New York and the experience was pretty good as well besides the fact that I wasn’t able to sit next to my friend.

Another way to travel is by train. Baltimore has the MARC train, which s conveniently located at Penn station. Students at TU can take the college town shuttle for free from the union, and it will go to Penn Station. The train costs about 10 dollars or less to go most places. Most of my friends would go home on the train freshman and sophomore year. They’d always encourage me to take it as well because they say it’s convenient and easy. I don’t like doing things that I don’t know how to do, so I opted out. But I’m pretty sure if you’re looking to save some money and gas, then you’d do it. I’m a chronic over-packer; therefore riding the training probably would not suit me and my 50 suitcases.

Lastly, if able to splurge just a bit or you have a little extra cash and want to arrive at your destination the quickest, you can fly. This would be best if your destination is over 5 hours driving and if you have some money that grandma sent you to come visit her for the holidays. This is definitely the most expensive form of transportation. But, no worries there are so many affordable deals that it should not be a huge issue. Livingsocial.com and Expedia.com offer great deals for air fare all year round. But Southwest Airlines is having a sale on airfare for Black Friday. That means you will be able to visit your crazy Uncle Joe in New York or travel to Georgia and eat some of Aunt Barbara’s tasty southern-style mac n’ cheese! Lack of transportation should never be a reason why we don’t go somewhere because there’s entirely too many ways to get around.

All You Need to Know to Save Money during the Holidays: Black Friday Edition

Saving money during the holidays? Is that even possible? What if I told you it was? Get your Holiday shopping started now and save money this season!

As college students, we want to make our parents, family and friends smile during the holidays, and giving out gifts is typically symbolic of that. But we all know that we’d much rather Santa bring us the gifts (A.K.A. our parents), instead of us spending our non-existent money from over draft bank accounts. (Side note: Just kidding, if you actually have an overdraft bank account, you might want to skip out on holiday shopping this time around). Nonetheless, holiday shopping doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, stores typically have huge sales before the holidays, “Black Friday” being the most notorious discounted shopping day of the holiday season. Most stores sell items for 50-75% off on this day. Depending on the store and the item, sometimes items are marked down as much as 90-95% off.  Most people like going to places like Wal-Mart and Target for huge sales on a lot of electronics like flat screen TV’s, iPod’s, tablets etc.

So start now because according to USA Today’s article about holiday shopping, Black Friday has already arrived at some retailers. Saturday November 8, 2014, is the kickoff for early Black Friday sales from stores such as Wal-Mart and Amazon (online). They are only a couple out of several retailers that have started their deals weeks in advanced.

While watching the “Hunger Games” this weekend, there was a commercial that came on during the movie about a Wal-Mart app called savings catcher. It’s simple to use and does the comparison shopping for you! First, you have to download the Wal-Mart app and scan your Wal-Mart receipt bar code. Then the app does its job. It’ll match the price of local competitor’s printed ad for the same item. But if savings catcher finds a lower advertised price, you will get the difference. This feature could be useful for those of us that are too lazy to look up and compare prices in the sales papers by hand.

Moreover, there are a few tips you need before diving into those huge crowds on Black Friday. First and for most, you must plan ahead/make a list. Don’t just go diving into those crazy crowds on black Friday without a clue as to what you need and what stores to hit.  Trust me when I say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Secondly, do your research. Look up who’s having the biggest sales on some of the things you need. Researching in advanced will be a great help in the planning process. Third, create a budget. Write out a solid number that you are willing to spend, and do not go over that amount. Lastly, after you have completed a well thought out list, double check it to make sure everything you need is on it. You don’t want to go out on Black Friday and start grabbing a bunch of random things. Whatever is not on the list shall not be bought because that is how you will go over your budget.

Happy shopping! And may the odds be ever in your favor!

Too Early for Halloween 2015?

When is it too early to start preparing for Halloween? According to mommabeartrax’s blog post, we could start as early as right now. Even though Halloween was only a couple of days ago, it’s something that we as college students don’t take lightly. Halloween to college students is the equivalent of a Redskin’s vs. Cowboys super bowl game; it doesn’t happen often, but when it does we take it serious. It’s a huge party that we get to celebrate the entire month of October from the ghouls and goblins at Fright Fest Six Flags of America, to the pumpkin patches, haunted houses and hay rides etc. October is an eventful month for college students, and it’s something that we should partake in affordably. It’ only right that we participate in it without worrying about breaking the bank.

Party city is great for Halloween costumes and things to decorate your college dorm room or apartment with, but during the weeks before Halloween it can get a little crazy. I even visited party city a whole 3 weeks in advanced, and the line was wrapped around the store. People were purchasing everything from costumes to props to decorations. Pure chaos! Is it really worth it when you can just plan ahead and shop online instead? This way you can avoid lines and save money!

There are huge online vendors such as Aliexpress.com that have big discounts on costumes all of the time. The site also allows you to be unique and different so you won’t be walking into the party and see 5 other people with the same costume. You can get a cute “Frozen” princess costume, from the Disney movie, on Ali Express and be the only one at the party with it. Shopping online allows you to be unique in a sense and stand out from the crowd. So instead of waiting last minute to purchase costumes and cute things to accent your room, just don’t wait. As the Everest commercial guy would say: You’re sitting on your couch watching TV and your life is passing you by, you keep procrastinating over and over, well maybe I’ll purchase my costume next month or maybe next year, no do it right now.

On the contraire, stores like Wal-Mart and Party city would be great to shop at right now to get a head start on Halloween essentials for 2015 because everything would be half off. Therefore, the moral of the story is, again, just don’t wait! If you know you’re going to participate in Halloween festivities next year, it would be logical and cost-beneficial for you to purchase what you need now. Make Halloween just a tad bit easier, as mommabeartrax’s post says.

Don’t Fret, Relieve Your Stress

Psychology intern gives students tips and tricks to relive stress in a healthy way
Photo by: Nia Gresham/TU Student

Finals week is upon us and college students everywhere are freaking out. “This has to be one of the most dreaded times of the year for students” said recent college grad, Tori. “I’m glad my time is over with,” she said.

There are steps and tips that students can take to relieve stress in the best ways in order to help calm down and think rationally during this hectic time. Towson University students, in particular, have started their finals at the end of last week and will be continuing through the middle of this week.

“Follow these tips accordingly, and it should make relieving your stress throughout your college career a success!” said psychology intern Sarah Gruszka.

“So the proper way and I guess sort of the easiest way I would say to deal with stress is to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Gruszka said. “What that looks like is maintaining sleep hygiene; so try to make sure as a student you’re getting approximately 8 hours of sleep at night and 3 balanced meals throughout the day,” Gruszka said.

Tori shares that she did not always eat the proper amount of meals and she found herself skipping breakfast a lot, which may have contributed to the stress that she already felt during the hectic times in the semester.

“When you’re not putting enough fuel into your body, that gives you a lot less to keep you going in terms of energy and attention and things like that.” You have to learn the information in class in order to know it for the final exam, but if you are not attentive and energetic, you may find yourself falling asleep, which is where eating breakfast and getting rest at night comes into play.

“Exercise is also a good way to try and combat stress, and making sure you’re setting some time aside to yourself to enjoy yourself because I think when that gets lost, then people are more prone to feeling stressed,” Gruszka said.

Towson sophomore ends her day with yoga and exercise to relieve stress from a typical day’s work.
Listen to this story: http://tiger.towson.edu/~ngresh1/publish_to_web/

Photo By: Nia Gresham/TU Student

Gruszka says you need to make sure you spend time with friends and lean on your family for support when times get rough. “Those are some of the basic and easiest ways to relieve stress and maintain balance in your life,” Gruszka said.

“But when things start to feel a bit too overwhelming, at the counseling center we certainly offer students the opportunity to come in and speak with individual counselors here,” Gruszka said. “Some of the different techniques we can teach students are things like thought restructuring, deep breathing and mindfulness.”

“There are a lot of different things that students can do when they are feeling that stressed and feeling that they just don’t have the mental capacity to cope with it,” Gruszka said.

Gruszka implies that students should relax, and find a happy place that takes your mind off the stress for a while because when you are not thinking about it, it feels like it’s not there.

She says there also things to avoid when preparing for finals week, that will bring on more stress. “Try not to cram,” Gruszka said. Cramming is not typically effective, even though some students claim they will work better under pressure. It is better to review and study in advance at least a week before the test so that you are not feeling as overwhelmed.

Overloading can lead to high levels of stress says Gruszka, which may lead to the bad ways that students find in coping with stress.

“Some of the maladaptive coping skills they develop could look like drug and alcohol use, that’s a big one,” Gruszka said. “When it gets really serious, things like self-injury, like cutting and things like that, and then also disordered eating behaviors can kind of also emerge.”

“I think these are things that individuals have developed, to some extent, over a period of time that may not have emerged until college,” Gruszka said. But they can be avoided because students are able to control how much they let pile up on them at once.

“College is about time management,” Tori said. “I heard my teachers say it all throughout high school, but I really learned how much truth there was to what they were saying when I actually came to college and experienced it for myself.”

“I think not managing our time well enough is why a lot of college students run into the stress that they encounter,” Tori said. “…Because most of the stress in college can be avoided, to be honest.”

Ms. Constance Glenn is a retired high school teacher, and she reminisces about how much she had to tell her students the importance of managing time and getting things done by the due date is and will be in the future.

“They always asked me for extended deadlines on reading assignments, papers and homework, but I made it clear that they would not be able to do these things in college, so why would I let them slack off with me,” said Glenn. “I wanted to make sure my students were prepared for the real world, and turning in assignments late all the time was not an option.”

Ms. Glenn said that every now and then she would allow her students a chance to turn in something late if they had earned it, by obtaining a homework pass or things of that nature, but besides that, the policy was non-negotiable.

“In college, stress is inevitable, but certainly you can minimize those levels of stress by living what is considered to be an overall healthy lifestyle for a college student,” Tori said.

A Stress Free Day is Just a Yoga Away

Towson student takes time out from her busy schedule to incorporate yoga into her day, helping her to relax and feel at ease during a stressful week.
Photo by: Nia Gresham/TU Student

Towson University sophomore is in tune with her yoga in order to keep her sane throughout the week. She does yoga and exercise everyday for at least 30 minutes no matter how busy her schedule may get. It always helps to keep her calm, think rationally, and it’s a quick remedy to relieve the stress when she is feeling overwhelmed.

http://tiger.towson.edu/~ngresh1/publish_to_web/

Got Stress?

Nia sits down with Pre-Doctoral Intern counselor at Towson University, Sarah Gruszka, to discuss the maladaptive coping skills students develop when dealing with stress.
(Photo by: Nia Gresham/TU Student)

The most dreaded time of the year is approaching at Towson University. Finals week and end of the semester course work are piling up on many students. Many are overwhelmed with schoolwork and other things going on in their lives. The stress levels are at its peak in the semester for Towson students. Listen to this story about how Towson students are dealing with the climaxing stress.

Halloween Meets Autumn on TU’s Campus

Towson Student participates in the Halloween Festivities on campus and dresses up as Mary Moo cow. (Photo by: Nia Gresham/TU Student)

The inspiration for this photo is the natural beauty it captures along with depicting the Halloween spirit on campus. Taking a look at the scenery in the background, you see the big tree with all its pretty and colorful leaves. I thought this would be the perfect spot to capture a student in their costume, combining the season of Halloween and the Fall season all in one. A photo that will get you into the spirit and ready for those trick or treaters when they come knocking.

Study abroad at TU, it’s for you!

Peer advisors in the study abroad office discussing information
(Photo by: Nia Gresham/TU Student)

Thinking about studying abroad, but you just don’t know where to begin? Don’t worry I’ve got you covered. Maybe you’re thinking about doing it, but you keep putting it off because you think it’s too complicated of a process. Wrong! Or it could be you’re too lazy to go to one of the information sessions; well no worries, here’s a personal information session in a nutshell.

You really can’t go wrong studying abroad! You get to meet new people, experience another culture, and do the things you’ve always wanted to do. It’s a pretty cool experience if you ask me. But don’t take my word for it.

“It was 5 months long, a little longer than Towson’s semester, which was pretty cool.” Peer advisor in the study abroad office, Leigh Anne Wever said about her experience. “I got to sight-see, and in that time I traveled, taking a back packing trip to Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome and Barcelona!”

“The purpose of the program is to give students that experience of what it’s like in other cultures, and to give students a fun and exciting traveling experience,” said Leigh Anne. “Makes your time in college a little more fun than just being in Baltimore.”