Holiday budgeting simplified by SIFE

Whether deciding what old-time favorites to surprise your mom with this holiday season or designing the sweetest gift for your special someone, one factor will almost certainly come into play: money. It is important to remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch, or a free iPod, for that matter. Unless you are the child of a Fortune 500 executive, chances are that you are purchasing your holiday gifts on a tight budget. Fortunately, there are some techniques you can use to ensure that you get the right gifts for everyone at the right price.

A fundamental part of any budgeting challenge is setting priorities. You will want to allocate the most money to your most desired purchases, and then decrease the money you spend on items in diminishing order of importance. Tabulate each of your purchases in a spending diary, regardless of the amount spent.

Also, many people find themselves encountering dire debt woes when they place too many purchases they cannot afford on credit. Remember to limit your purchases to those which you can pay for immediately or can reasonably expect to pay in the near future.

The first step is identifying those for whom you wish to purchase gifts. Then, you need to determine how much you can afford to spend on these gifts. In addition to the gifts themselves, you should also budget some money for paraphernalia such as wrapping paper, cards and postage stamps.

For these items, purchasing in bulk may earn you a discount. When you finally venture out to find your gifts, remember to create a definitive list and avoid making unplanned “impulse purchases.”

Whether you will be celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or another holiday, it will nevertheless be crucial not to overextend your finances while purchasing gifts. Your loved ones may be priceless, but their gifts do not necessarily need to be pricey. With the ideal budget, you can find a way to keep everyone festive and joyous without the added blast to your wallet.

This article was originally published in the Etownian on Thursday, December 6th, 2007.

Going Green for Your World & Your Wallet

Simple changes can result in easy savings, for both the climate and for your budget. Try these simple tips:

• Close the Refrigerator door - Leaving the door open for only a few minutes releases cool air, making the compressor work harder, and wasting significant amounts of energy.
• Turn off the lights! - Energy is saved by turning off a light for just one second. Think how much energy can be saved by turning off the lights when at class.
• Unplug appliances when not in use - Appliances continue to use energy even when turned off. Unplugging them removes this energy loss and is also safer, reducing the chance of an electrical fire.
• Avoid excessive amounts of fast and/or prepackaged foods - These types of food (which are often rather expensive as well) are often over packaged. Limiting their use reduces the amount of trash headed to a landfill. If you do have trash left over after a meal, make sure to dispose of it properly instead of throwing it along the roadside.

By using common sense, you can easily save some money in your wallet, and save help the future as well.

These tips are based on those originally posted in the September issue of EC SIFE's Bathroom Business, a monthly publication distributed throughout the Elizabethtown Campus. Check out this month's issue for more tips.

References:
Save a buck save the world - CNN Money - June 1, 2007
Going Green

Sife Sense - Going Green (Extended Edition)

Authors Note: This is an extended edition of the Going Green article that appeared in the Etownian, it contains additional ideas and ways to be friendly to the environment and save some money.

In today’s world of complex electronics and disposable products, being environmentally friendly can seem a challenging and expensive task. Yet there are many things that an ordinary college student can do to save the environment, and save some money at the same time.

There are always the simple things you can do to save some green (both the natural and the monetary kind). First, when you go to bed at night, turn off your computer; it doesn’t need to be on while you sleep, and if someone has an important message to leave you, they can always send an email. Another simple computer tip is to set your monitor to go into power-save when you haven’t used your computer in a while, this saves both energy and makes your screen last longer. Lastly, you probably didn’t grow up in a barn, so turn off your lights when you leave a room. Right now you may be thinking to yourself, why does this matter, the college pays my electric bill. You’re right, they do pay the bill, and you also need to remember that you pay their bills every year. Why not save a little bit of power, and maybe keep that tuition increase a bit smaller next year?

Want to be a bit healthier and save some cash, do something that you do every day, walk. At well over $2 a gallon, gasoline is expensive and pollutes. Walking, or riding a bike, is a good way to save some money and the environment. Have to head to the quads? Walk there, or ride your bike, there is no reason to drive. Even a walking trip from campus to the grocery store is entirely plausible on a nice day. Those short trips are also the most damaging to your vehicle, reducing performance and driving up repair bills. Also, watch your speed while driving home for the weekend or on a break. For every 5 mph over 60 mph you drive, it can waste up to 10 cents per gallon.

At the end of the semester or the year, don’t throw out all those things in your room that you don’t want to take home. As the adage goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Have an old shelf you don’t need any more, or perhaps a slightly used futon? Put it in the campus classifieds, or if its small, put it on eBay. Selling things on eBay is easier than you think, and if you sell it for a few dollars, it’s better than making nothing. At the same time, you are reducing the amount of trash that is hauled off to landfills. If you can’t sell it, try to recycle it, or give it away for free to someone who can use it. When looking for new furniture, or almost anything, check out sites like Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) or Craigslist (www.craigslist.org), for bargains in the local area. Items can cost significantly less, and you prevent them from going to a landfill.

If you buy bottled water, consider purchasing a water filter pitcher, or one that mounts on a sink. Most bottled water is just filtered tap water, and is expensive and wasteful. The energy used to pump, transport, disinfect, and bottle water is more than you may think. Unless the bottle is recycled, it also adds to landfill space. Using a water filter can pay for itself quicker than you may think, at over a dollar per bottle, the cost of the most plentiful resource on earth adds up fast.

Here are some other items to consider. Buy and sell used textbooks; they are cheaper and avoid wasting paper. Avoid printing unnecessary pages, only print what you need. Don’t take more food than you are going to eat in the Marketplace or at a buffet, you can always go back for more. Reuse what you can, recycle what you cannot.

Going green can be done without any really hard work, just a few simple changes in your everyday tasks. Remember that every little bit helps, and that being friendly to the environment can save you some green in the bank as well.

Portions of this article appeared in the September 20th edition of the Etownian.

Sife Sense - Going Green

In today’s world of complex electronics and disposable products, being environmentally friendly can seem a challenging and expensive task. Yet there are many things that an ordinary college student can do to save the environment, and save some money at the same time.

There are always simple things you can do to save some green (natural and monetary). When you go to bed at night, turn off your computer. Another simple tip, set your monitor to go into power-save when you haven’t used your computer in a while, this saves energy and your screen. Lastly, you probably didn’t grow up in a barn, so turn off the lights when you leave a room. You may be thinking, who cares, the college pays my electric bill. You’re right, but you pay their bills every semester. Save some electricity, and keep that tuition increase a bit smaller next year.

At well over $2 a gallon, gasoline is expensive and pollutes. Walking or riding a bike is a good way to save some money and the environment. Have to head to the quads, downtown, or the grocery store? There’s no need to drive. Those short trips are also the most damaging to your vehicle, reducing performance and driving up repair bills. Also, watch your speed while driving home for the weekend or a break. For every 5 mph over 60 mph you drive, it can waste up to 10 cents per gallon.

At the end of the year, don’t throw out those things you don’t want to take home. Have some old stuff you don’t need anymore? Put it in the campus classifieds, or sell it on eBay. Selling things on online is easier than you think, and an easy way to make some cash and reduce trash. If you can’t sell it, recycle it or give it away for free. When looking for new furniture, check out sites like Freecycle (www.freecycle.org) or Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) for bargains in the area.

If you drink bottled water, consider purchasing a water filter. Most bottled water is just expensive filtered tap water. The energy used to pump, transport, disinfect, and bottle water is more than you may think, and most water bottles are never recycled. According to the Sierra Club, the cost for filtered water is approximately $.13/gallon and for bottled water at minimum $1.27 per gallon (or much more in smaller bottles). A filter clearly is an easy and inexpensive way to get water.

Going green can be done easily, just a few simple changes in your everyday tasks. Remember, going green can save the environment, and your wallet at the same time.

Published in the Etownian, September 20th, 2007.