That College Kid

Mint - Refreshing money management

Mint.com is a new online budgeting tool. You input your bank and credit card logins for their websites and it gathers the data and pulls all of your financial information together. It simplifies everything because it’s all in one place. You don’t have to login to six different websites to pull up your balances. They also have an alert system to notify you when your balances become low so you don’t overdraft.

I tried it out and was actually very impressed. If you’re not sure how to budget or don’t want to bother, Mint is a great way to keep track of your money. I personally found it a little too simple for me. I have an exact image of the way I want my budget to be and I’ve just had to keep using a spreadsheet do so.

I really like how it breaks down spending and shows trends. It doesn’t always recognize certain charges, but for the most part, it puts them in the right categories. It compares cash and debt, which is nice since apparently it thinks I have more cash than debt (it doesn’t know my poor “cash” is really all debt in student loans.) It does know, however, that my most frequent stop is at HEB (grocery store).

The feature that shows ways you can save money by switching accounts is nice, but doesn’t really apply to a college student with little credit. Mint thinks I could save $424 by switching checking accounts and credit cards, but what it doesn’t know is that I can’t just get another credit card because mine has too high of an interest rate.

Of course, there are some drawbacks to a website like this, the most important being that they have your bank information. As a paranoid person, I just don’t like giving other people my passwords to anything, much less my bank accounts. What with all the security leaks recently, I’m even more paranoid. It doesn’t take much to hack a website and steal all of this information. Other than that, sometimes it seems too simple for me. I have a pretty complicated plan for my budget and have yet to find a program that does what I want.

Posted in Money, Reviews with no comments

Relaxation techniques

Sometimes I have trouble concentrating when I should be writing a paper or reading a particularly boring chapter about C++. A common solution is to listen to music, but if you’re anything like me, it just distracts you. Instead, I’ve been listening to soothing sounds on a website, iSerenity, which offers environments with a photo and soothing sounds. They have over thirty to choose from, including the ocean, a cat’s purring and rain.

Another choice is to do some meditation. And I don’t mean the stereotypical kind that makes people laugh. You can meditate and relax yourself without sitting cross-legged and without making the “Ohm” sounds. I’ve been taking Tai Chi and part of what the instructor is having us do is Chigong, which is breathing exercises to promote inner healing. There are techniques, but really, to relax yourself, you can simply close your eyes, and breath deeply. One thing I like to do is imagine where my breath is going and I can even pop my back by imagining the air expanding behind my ribs.

Even taking a simple five minute break can refresh you enough to finish your task. Sometimes I’ll take my dog for a quick walk around the apartment complex and then be ready to tackle a six page paper.

Also, not getting enough exercise (or any at all) can contribute to stress. Exercising is a natural process that helps us deal with things and keep our bodies healthy. I’m not talking about running five miles a day, but even parking further away from class and walking helps. I always park in a further lot just so I can get a little exercise on the way to class. Carrying a twenty-pound backpack does the body good.

Zen Habits has many articles about relaxation, a newer one being How to Use Mini-Meditations to Relax and Find Focus. Here is a another article by Help-Guide.org, Stress Relief: Yoga, Meditation, and Other Relaxation Techniques. It talks a little about yoga, meditation, Tai Chi, and different breathing exercises that anyone can easily do to relax.

Posted in Misc with 1 comment

Don’t spend money on software

Finding good, reliable software is hard sometimes, especially after being spoiled by programs like Photoshop or Coda. But spending precious money on software is not the smartest thing to do when you can find equally good (and sometimes better) programs for free. Almost all of the programs on my computer were free, with the exception of Illustrator, Photoshop and Coda.

Software for Starving Students is a great resource for both Mac and PC users. (Again, sorry Linux) Their collection of freeware is geared toward students, although anyone could find most of the programs useful. They have a version for both Mac and PC. There is a good number of programs (30+ in both packages) and I have most of them. Unfortunately, you have to download the file and burn it to a CD that will install everything. If you don’t want to do that, they have a list of all the included software and you can pick and choose which to install.

Two other great websites are Open Source Windows and its Mac equivalent, Open Source Mac. They list the essential types of software, including browsers, word processors, graphic programs, and instant messengers.

For Mac users, FreeMacWare is a great resource for free software. They have almost every free program that’s available. If you’re looking for programs not offered at the above websites or just want to clutter up your Applications folder, this website will help you.

Posted in Money, Software with no comments

Educate yourself on credit

As a student with a fixed income, I’ve been tempted with credit cards. I even have three, although the limits are rather small and aren’t maxed out. But one of the biggest problems I’ve seen is that people don’t know what they’re getting themselves into, which nowadays, I think is ridiculous. There’s so much information out there so you can be educated on credit and not get yourself in too deep.

It may not be fair that credit is an important part of society now, most people can’t buy a television without it, let alone a car or a house. Credit scores are even looked at during the employment process. Nonetheless, you should still be smart about borrowing money or you’ll end up paying way more than you should.

Credit Me is a large website that has an incredible amount of information about credit cards. They have a list of resources, FAQ’s and my favorite, the Ultimate Guide to Perfect Credit. Also, they have a list of student (and other) credit cards comparing the rates and terms of each one and listing what kind of credit you need to be approved (good, bad, none.)

Tips to build your credit without hurting it first

• Don’t apply for too much credit at once - this will hurt your score
• If you take advantage of 0% APR grace periods, which is okay to do, be careful of the fees you’ll incur afterward. Sometimes they’re awful.
• Don’t take out cash advances. If you really need cash for something, use the money you’d otherwise spend on food, CDs, etc. that’s in your bank account and put those purchases on your card. Regular interest is better than cash advance interest no matter how you look at it.
• Don’t simply apply for a card just because they’re giving away free t-shirts. You might miss a $50 yearly fee because you’re distracted with presents.
• If you can’t get credit anywhere else, try a in-store credit card at a store you frequent, but only after carefully looking over the terms. Put a small amount on the card, pay it off at the end of the month to avoid interest. Do it again each month for the next six months and apply for a better card somewhere else.
• Remember, that if your score is low, there’s nowhere else to go but up. If you play the game right, you can have great credit without paying too much to the companies.

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New Layout

I am in the process of uploading and debugging a brand new layout for That College Kid. Please bare with me while I get everything straightened out. There will be errors, some might be fixed by the time you refresh the page. I’ll update this when it’s finished.

Edit: For the most part, the new layout is in place. I still have a few things to add, but there shouldn’t be any problems. Please let me know if there are. Thanks.

Posted in That College Kid with 1 comment

Tips to stay away from overdraft fees

One thing a lot of college students get into is debt. And one easy way to cut some of that out is to not get slammed with overdraft fees. They occur when you spend more money than you have in your account and they’re designed to benefit the bank.

Let’s say you have $200 in your checking account. You go get gas and spend $40, then you go to the grocery store, spend $67, and on the way to the mall, you stop and get ice cream, then spend $190 shopping. Most banks post the most expensive item first, even though it didn’t come first, so instead of getting one overdraft fee, you’ll get three. They do this for “your protection to make sure mortgage payments get posted before luxuries like movie rentals.

Unfortunately, it’s not designed to help the consumer so some tips I have for you are to always know what’s in your bank account.

Keep track, whether it’s in a check register, in a spreadsheet or writing it on a piece of paper.

Setup overdraft protection. Most banks allow this, although some only let you link to other accounts with them, which isn’t always helpful. Some banks will even give you a small line of credit that has a reasonable interest rate.

Keep a little extra padding in your checking account (if possible, I know living on a budget doesn’t always allow for this) that way if anything comes up, you’ll be semi-prepared.

Make purchases on a credit card and pay the bill off at the end of the month when it comes. If your limit is low and you’re likely to go over, this isn’t the best option, although my student credit card only charges me a higher interest rate if I go over my balance. It’s good to know the policies.

Also, some banks, especially if you have a student checking account, will be forgiving if it’s a first or even second offense. Simply go to a local branch and ask politely. Bankers will usually forgive at least one of the fees. If your parents have large sums of money in the accounts, that can also be used as leverage if necessary (don’t always recommend it though, mostly on a bank error.)

If you get a lot of financial aid money, sticking it into a high-yield savings account when you don’t need it can help build up some extra money. A large sum like student loan refunds can earn enough in a semester to pay for an entire set of books at 5%, but I only suggest this if you’re better with money and don’t go over budget very often. Also, getting an account with easy, fast and free online transfers is a good idea if you’re going this route.

Posted in Money with 4 comments

Considering the switch?

I’ve had people come up to me when I’m on my Mac and ask questions. “Is it really much easier to use?” or “Are they worth it?” In short answer, it depends on who you are and how you plan on using your computer. The switching debate has been around for awhile and I want to put in my two cents because even though they aren’t worth that much, it might help someone out.

Before you decide whether or not to switch to a Mac, ask yourself this question: “What do you plan on doing with your computer?” If your answer is writing a paper here and there and checking your email, then stick with a PC. Why buy something expensive you’re barely going to use? It’s not going to make a difference what computer you’re on if you’re just using Microsoft Word anyway. If you’re going to play games, stick with a PC, obviously. But if you’re going to be spending a lot of time on your computer, especially if you’re designing, you might want to consider a Mac.

Why Apple? The Mac community will tell you a thousand times over that Macs just work. And they do, usually. There’s cases where they break, where their hard drives crash and so on. But the amount of those cases are significantly lower because they’re higher quality. Apple is an American company and while Dell is, too, tech support for Dell is in India. Apples are more expensive, but if your Apple lasts you ten years while your Dell lasts you two, what’s the better deal? Even if the Dell was only $500 and the Apple was $1500, you’re saving money.

Another thing Mac users will testify to is that they work right out of the box. And that’s true. You don’t have to customize anything. No tweaking all the settings, no uninstalling fifty trial programs you didn’t want in the first place. (Although Macs do come with trial software, such as iLife, you can simply delete it if necessary, and that’s only one trial, not twelve.)

Honestly, my favorite thing about Macs is the software. People can say what they want about the hardware, the GUI, but my favorite is the software. I’ve found so many freeware programs that do exactly what I need. I do have a PC also and when using it, I get sad that I don’t have my Quicksilver or my Cyberduck. Yes, Windows does have freeware, but the quality of those programs just isn’t the same. I’ve also yet to find a good Windows equivalent to Coda (yes, I know it’s not free, but it’s worth it.)

Another thing in the debate is the Mac community, or cult if you will. They’re right. If you have a Mac, you’re automatically in a secret society where members help each other out, simply because they own a Mac. I still don’t know why this is, but it’s true. I’ve instantly liked someone because they belong to the Apple fan club.

There are many reasons to choose a Mac, reliability, aesthetics, or even the community and many reasons not to, price and the fact that they aren’t as common (big effect on students) . But the bottom line is, the decision should be based on what you’re going to use the computer for because I can tell you it’s not worth it to pay $1500 for a Mac you’re just going to check your email on. If you’re going to be an amateur movie director, by all means, get a Mac. All that software comes with it. But if you’re not, spend the extra money on something more worth your time.

Posted in Computers with 2 comments