5 Affordable Places to Get Brand/Designer Items

Northface. Sperry’s. Patagonia. Michael Kors. LL Bean Boots.
Just to name a few.

College campuses all across America have established an unofficial uniform made up of brand name items. Now I’m not saying that everyone’s wearing brand clothing, I’m just saying that you can’t walk past a group of people without seeing some sort of logo. And whether you buy into it or think you don’t want to wear it ‘because everyone else is’, you have to admit that deep down you want a pair of [insert item here] yourself.

The downside though is that they can be expensive. We are broke college kids after all. But luckily for us, there are  a few resources to get these goods for cheap.

 1.       The THRIFT STORE

Thrifting has become popular thanks to Macklemore’s hit song, and for good reason. You can find just about anything at a thrift store- including lightly worn designer goods! I myself have gotten two pairs of Sperry’s, a Banana Republic coat, and a Patagonia jacket for under $20- combined. A quick Google map search for ‘thrift store’ will help you locate nearby shops. Some of them even have membership cards or daily sales events, so watch out for those for extra savings.

2.       eBay

Watches, coats, jackets, jewelry- ebay’s got it all AND for about 60% off what you’d normall pay for. Just make sure you keep updated on the bids and double check the item description and return policies to avoid buyers remorse.

 

But if you’re not a fan of the second hand market, here are cheap options for NEW goods.

3.       6pm.com

Usually when stores overbuy goods and can’t afford to keep them in store long enough to sell them, they send them out to stores like 6pm.com. Items get quickly sold out, but you can get a new pair of Frye boots for about half the price you’d buy from them directly.

4.       Hautelook

Hautelook hosts ‘events’ which feature sales that last a few days. They have a few going on at a time and the categories range from clothing to housewares to accessories. You get to create a free account and they’ll send you emails letting you know of events (aka sales). They’ve had designers like Michael Kors and Hunter Boots for around $60!

5.       Gilt.com

Gilt is another events site which functions like Hautelook, but they have different items and categories. They’ve had FRYE, M Missoni, Gucci, and more. You’re best bet is to sign up for both of them to get the most options to save.

 

Don’t let your budget limit your style. With these options, you won’t have to!

 

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Packing Tips & Tricks: Save Money and Time on your Move

The end of the semester is here! No more finals, no more books, no more all nighters .... at least, for a few months maybe. For a lot of us, that means it's time for the dreaded move. Whether you're just packing up your dorm room and it fits into the back of your car (lucky) or you're packing up your entire life and moving it across the country (that's me at the moment) packing can be a daunting, not to mention expensive, task. These tips will help you learn how to save money AND time on your move!

•  Before you pack, get rid of EVERYTHING you don't need. For clothing, if you haven't worn it in over a year, donate it to Goodwill (just drop it off - it's super easy.) If it's cute and in good condition,  try Plato's Closet - they'll also take shoes, bathing suits, jewelry, DVDs, home furnishings, and even some bath stuff. For random junk, add it to your Goodwill pile. If it's too big to move or you'd rather give it away to someone, post it on your local Freecycle or your local Craigslist "Free" section. As you're packing, put everything you don't want or no longer use in a pile, and then either donate it to Goodwill or post it on Freecycle for immediate pick up. Of course, if it's trash, throw it away!

• Paper is heavy - limit the amount you pack. We've all had times where we save a semester's worth of notes "just in case." Maybe we didn't want to throw away the ridiculous amount of notes we'd slaved over, or maybe we thought we might look back on them later. Well, no one ever looks back at their notes from college classes. Recycle your notes. Keep your textbook if it might be useful for a future class or your career, or better yet, sell that too (try Amazon or your local campus bookstore buy-pack program). Magazines are the worst of all - they are SO heavy and somehow I always seem to accumulate so many of them! Get rid of magazines by donating them to the campus fitness center, a doctor's office, a school or daycare center (for crafts!), the local library, putting them outside your door with a sign marked FREE! TAKE SOME! or just list them on Freecycle for pickup. Or, of course, recycle them!

• Don't pack food unless it can honestly be used after the move. Try to limit your grocery shopping to the bare minimum in the month before your move, and when you're packing, only include pantry items that will be useful after the move, particularly if your stuff will be in storage or you'll be eating someone else's groceries all summer long. Canned items are good contenders for packing, but they're super heavy, so eat those up if you can! Also consider the chance that the food may attract bugs, so pack it in heavy duty plastic and seal it well.

• Have plenty of packing supplies on hand. You'll need boxes, tape, scissors, a permanent marker, garbage bags, and something to pad items out, such as bubble wrap, empty shopping bags, towels and linens, or other fabric. You can certainly pay money to get boxes, but I prefer to ask at a grocery store or even at a dorm or cafeteria if I can have some of their boxes. Check if there's a cardboard recycling center on campus or nearby to score even more boxes! At Indiana University, there is a cardboard recycling bin behind Collins LLC.

Look how much FUN they're having! Yay moving!

• Pack like items together and label the boxes. Hopefully the items will be near one another to make that easier, but if not, gather them all into the same box - such as "Kitchen," "Shoes," "Desk/Office," "Crafts," "School Supplies" and so on. It'll save you time when you unpack and make your life easier. Label the boxes with a permanent marker after you're done.

• Play Tetris with your stuff, but fill the crevices and gaps with socks. Try to fit things together in boxes as best as you can - big stuff on bottom, small stuff inside of big stuff and everything sort of Tetrised together. But of course your stuff isn't perfectly shaped to fit together, so fill in the gaps between items with socks. Doesn't have to be socks - dish towels, underwear, or anything else small and made of fabric will work well too. This will help pad everything out so that it doesn't shift, move and potentially break during the moving process. Plus, you won't have to pack your socks later! 

• Keep a box or suitcase to the side with stuff you'll need immediately. Some clothes, toiletries, and whatever else you might find yourself living off of for a little while will be very useful after you get moved and all of your stuff is neatly packed away. 

• Wrap all fragile items in paper, bubble wrap, shopping bags or fabric. Moving can be rough on fragile items such as plates or framed pictures, so wrap them well before putting them into a box. Use newsprint or other paper, bubble wrap, plastic grocery bags or fabric such as towels or even clothes to wrap and protect each fragile item before placing it into a box.

• Choose the most cost efficient moving solution. If you can carry all of your stuff to your car, fit it in your car and drive it yourself, that's going to be your best bet. But for the rest of us, you might want to look into renting a truck or van (or having a parent rent it for you), or even a U-Haul. If you can't carry the boxes yourself, post on your campus classifieds or possibly Craigslist to find someone willing to help you move for pay - $20 an hour or a $100 flat fee should be sufficient. Or ask your strongest friends to help you out. Hiring professional movers is the easiest way to move, but the most costly. If you hire professional movers, remember that they are being paid by the hour, so make sure you're fully packed BEFORE they arrive, and everything is ready to go to be as quick and efficient as possible and save you money. 

Did I miss something? Do you have a foolproof packing tip I should know about? Post it in the comments!

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Save Gas, Save Money: 10 Tips for Getting More Miles Per Gallon

So by now you've probably noticed the ridiculously insane prices of gas. There's no way around it for many of us who have to drive to class every day during the week, not to mention running errands, driving to work, driving to friends' houses - there's no way around it, gas is a huge expense for most of us! But take heart, there are was to conserve your gas, which means filling up less often and saving more money! To learn how, read on.

 1. Lay off the gas pedal! Every time you touch your gas pedal to accelerate, you're using gas - meaning you're spending money. The less you touch that pedal, the more you save! So if you see a stop light up ahead, take your foot off the gas. If you're rolling down a hill, take your foot off the gas. If you're in traffic and the car in front of you moved forward, don't touch that gas pedal - just let your car roll! The less you accelerate (and the less you have to brake, which means you wasted gas) the more you save. Practice letting your car coast as you go down a hill, come to a stop sign or red light and during traffic rather than hitting the pedal and watch the savings add up. And avoid road rage - speeding, rapid acceleration and rapid braking can lower gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent while driving in the city. 

2. Clean out your car. If you needed a good reason to clean it out, this is it - carrying around extra stuff in your means your car has to work harder and use more gas, especially if your extra stuff is heavy. If you're guilty of having a full trunk or carrying around boxes of stuff that you don't really need, now's the time to move it all inside! You can save up to 9 gallons of gasoline per year – almost $40 – by removing an extra 100 pounds of unneeded items from the trunk.

 3. Give your car a checkup. When was the last time your car got checked over? Do you need an oil change? Are your brakes OK? Do your tires need air? ... No idea? You could save gas by getting a tune-up, and it's FREE to get a checkup at most car places (Midas will give you a FREE break check and check the rest of your car for FREE too! It takes about an hour as you wait) or at your dealership. Make sure your car is in tip-top condition so you are getting the maximum miles per gallon.

 4. Crack a window. Operating the air conditioner on "Max" can reduce mpg by 5 – 25% compared to not using it. Open up the window and enjoy the spring breeze instead! Note: this is gas efficient at low speeds, but not efficient at high speeds, so instead, try to keep your air conditioner on a lower setting if you're on the highway.

 5. Combine trips and plan ahead. Ever found yourself driving to the same place twice in one day? Well, that's a waste of gas if you can combine those two trips into one! Plan your errands on your way to or from work or school, combine your errands into one trip and plan the most efficient route. If your errands can wait, make one day your "Errand day" and get everything done all at once so you don't have to make multiple trips. The less you drive, the more gas you save!

 6. Carpool. Is there anyone who can chip in for gas for a ride to class each day? Maybe your roommate needs to go to the grocery store and you guys can split the cost of gas. Or maybe you can bum a ride to a party with a friend. However you do it, carpooling saves money. If you're taking a road trip or going home on the weekend, post about it in your school's classifieds or see if there's a ride-share section online or in the paper (or, try Craigslist). The more people you ride with (and divide up the gas with), the cheaper your trip is! 

7. Don't Speed. Unless you're on the highway, don't go over 60 mpg: each five miles per hour over 60 mph is like paying an additional 24 cents per gallon for gas. And on the highway, make sure you're driving at the speed limit - speeding tickets will cost you around $200, and that's NOT worth getting there 5 minutes faster!

 8. Don't idle your car. It's bad for your wallet and it's bad for the environment. If you're sitting in your car, crack a window and turn it off, whether your parked or just waiting for a train to pass.

This is one way to save gas money, but I don't recommend it.

 9. Consider traffic conditions. If you find yourself driving home in rush-hour traffic every day, spend some time reading a book or enjoy a coffee in the sunshine before you drive home to avoid traffic. Stop-and-go traffic is incredibly gas inefficient, involves a lot of idling, causes stress and takes forever. Avoid it as much as you can, even if it means waking up a few minutes earlier.

 10. Use other means of transportation. Sure, it might not be as fast, but taking the bus or walking saves you a LOT of gas! Most campuses have free bus service available for students, and you can usually walk just about everywhere on campus. If you've ever driven 5 minutes to class just because you didn't feel like walking, definitely reconsider: walking is healthy, it's nice and warm outside, and you'll be saving money. At the very least, take the bus! Heck, you have to pay for it anyway in your tuition, might as well use it.

 When you do need to fill up, download the GasBuddy app for your smart phone to find out where the cheapeast gas is near you, or use the GasBuddy website! Just don't go way out of your way to save a couple of cents - that would be a waste of gas.

 Other ways to save on gas:

• Pay with cash. Some gas stations give a discount for this.
• Use the Kroger Fuel Rewards program to save on gas at Kroger. Some people like to buy a $50 gas gift card just to get the $.10/gallon discount, and then use it to pay for the gas! How's that for clever? 
• Do some mystery shops at gas stations! Or, plan a mystery shop on a trip or errand to help pay for your gas. Learn more about mystery shopping here. 

 You can read some more gas-saving tips in this article and also in this one.

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Save Money on Spring Break: Tips and Tricks for College Students

Ah, Spring Break. That one glorious week in March where all bets are off - the one week we can relax and leave midterms and upcoming finals behind us as we pile into a car and drive off into the sunset to our magical vacation in paradise.  At least, that's the idea. I'm sure many of us are still scrambling around trying to figure out what the plans are for Spring Break, cursing our professors for assigning projects that are due the Monday after Spring Break ends (WHY, professors? I mean really!) and trying to figure out how to fit several 24-packs of Natty Light  sleeping bags and suitcases into one tiny car, and of course, how to pay for the whole thing. Well, I'm here to help - with the money aspect, at least! Here are some tried and true tips for saving money on Spring Break! Find all the supplies you might need with coupons for Buy.com for your spring break!

1. Drive, Don't Fly: Although gas is at an all-time high, driving to Spring Break is a better bet than flying. This is because you can fit more people into a car, which means the gas is split several ways, making the trip much cheaper. A 1700 mile round trip costs as much as one plane ticket (about $180-$200, roughly) but splitting it up even once or twice significantly slashes that cost! So find a friend with a car that gets decent gas mileage (you'll want at least 30 mpg on the highway!)  and offer to share the cost of gas.

2. Fill Up for Cheap: We've all heard those road trip horror stories, where it's 3am, you're driving through corn fields in the middle of nowhere, the tank is on empty. Suddenly, like the gates of heaven, the neon lights of a gas station appear - only for the price to be $1.00 a gallon higher than the last gas station you passed 2 hours ago. Don't let this happen to you! There are sites - such as Gas Buddy Trip Calculator - that will map out the cheapest gas on your route in advance, so you can make sure you're getting the lowest price possible BEFORE you run out of gas in Nowheresville, USA.

3. The More the Merrier: I already mentioned that splitting the gas with your car-mates reduces your cost, but splitting EVERYTHING with EVERYONE is even cheaper! Whether you're renting a cabin or camping in the woods, the more people there are, the cheaper it is. For example, one year I went with a group of 15 down to Daytona, FL. We added up all of our costs in advance - including gas for the 3 car caravan and 3 hotel rooms in a hotel RIGHT on the beach  - and then split it evenly 15 ways. Total cost for our trip? $120! Whether you're renting a hotel room or a cabin, the more people you can cram in there (legally, of course - check when you make a reservation so you don't get hit with fees or, worse, kicked out) - the cheaper everyone's price will be! So go ahead and invite your friend's girlfriend, her brother, that cute guy from Biology and your RA.

4. Research Before You Get There I know the word "research" kinda makes it sound like homework, but this is FUN homework! Look up stuff like the local scene, clubs, bars, restaurants, tourist attractions and whatever else is cool to do at your destination BEFORE you go. Not only will you save valuable relaxing and partying time once you arrive, but you can also find out what your costs will be- and what places you should avoid, like the botanical gardens that cost $15. You might find some really fun cheap stuff that you didn't know about! Also think about things like transportation (how will you get to/from the bars? Are they walking distance or do you need to get a taxi or arrange a DD to provide a shuttle?) cover charges, and anything else you might not be thinking of yet but will have to pay for during your trip so you can prepare and scrounge together as much money as you need.

5. Save on Food No, you don't have to bring a case of Ramen noodles with you (though you definitely could, you can make it using the hotel's coffee pot or just very hot tap water. I know this from lots of experience.) but food tends to be the highest expense on a vacation, just because everyone wants to eat out  every single meal, 3x a day. It adds up! Save money on food by doing the following:

• Pack a cooler in the car. That way you don't have to stop at Taco Bell every time anyone gets hungry, or spend a bunch of extra money on overpriced snacks at gas stations. 
• Go to the grocery store as soon as you get to your destination! Buy stuff that you can snack on throughout the week and eat for breakfast, especially if your hotel doesn't provide any food. Get some sandwich making stuff for easy, quick, cheap meals even if you don't have a way to cook. If you don't have any amenities like a fridge, that cooler will come in handy here - fill it with ice or cold water.  If you're renting a cabin with a fully functional kitchen, look up some cheap recipes (Like these) and cook dinner together as a group! It's so much cheaper than eating out, and WAY more fun, too. 
• Buy some Restaurant.com coupons. Restaurant.com is a great way to save money on eating out, especially with a big group. The more you spend, the more you can save with the coupon! Search for restaurants in the area you'll be staying and pick up a few for dinner. Although full-priced coupons are $10 for $25 off your meal, the site almost always has coupons available that slash those prices. Right now, until 3/8/12, use the coupon code TRIP to slash 70% off your total purchase. Now you can eat out without breaking the bank!

6. Pay for Everything with Mystery Shopping Remember the post I wrote on mystery shopping? And how I was like omg, this is the great thing ever? Well, allow me to reiterate that. This year, I am paying for the entire gas bill for my Spring Break vacation - with mystery shops. And I don't mean like I'm saving up. I mean I'm literally doing mystery shops all the way down and back -at travel centers and gas stations! Travel centers & gas stations are one of the most bonused shops out there, because they tend to be in the middle of nowhere - and that means you get paid tons to do them! You'll find travel center shops at Intelli-Shop.com and BeyondHello (contact me for a referral link to BeyondHello) gas stations at Corporate Research International  (contact me for a referral link to CRI) and Ritter Associates. How much does a travel center shop pay, you ask? Oh, about $20. Do 5 of them and you just got $100. Sound good? It gets better - you can schedule food shops and more on the way to and at your location! Schedule a few fast food shops with MarketForce. Just about every mystery shopping company has some good food shops available - Corporate Research International has about a million - and some, like Amusement Advantage, even have theme parks, zoos, ice skating rinks, and more! (Give my email - im.so.rad[at]gmail.com - during signup at Amusement Advantage, please! I might get a referral bonus.) The options are limitless - not only are your expenses paid for, but you get PAID on top of that! Read my post about Mystery Shopping for more details.

7. Pack Everything You Might Need I mean, don't pack so much that no one else can fit their luggage in the trunk. But you don't want to arrive at the beach only to realize you've forgotten your towel, swimsuit and sunscreen and need to take a $50 trip to Target. Include all toiletries, camera, plenty of clothes, a few pairs of shoes, a towel, and maybe a deck of cards, some DVDs or a hookah for some free entertainment. Remember to bring a pillow and blanket, especially if your sleeping situation is going to be cramped and possibly involve tents or the floor. And pack clothes for multiple weather conditions - things can get weird this time of year, and you don't want to have to buy a jacket because Daytona Beach happens to be 40 degrees in March (this is a true story, it is super cold there.)

8. Sleeping Situations: I have mentioned a couple possible sleeping situations in passing, but let's run down the list of options.

• Hotel: Easy, convenient, posh, practically risk-free. Most will be cool with having a large group of people stay in one room as long as there's a hefty security deposit, but always check first. 
• Cabin: Renting a cabin is a great idea for large groups. You'll also be able to cook, which means you can save money on food. These tend to go fast though, so don't just show up hoping there's a vacancy!
• Camping: If you're outdoorsy, and your friends are cool with roughing it for a few days, campsites are insanely cheap - think $4 a night cheap. You'll need your own camping equipment (tent, sleeping bag, supplies for cooking, etc) but most campsites do have restrooms and showers, and some offer electricity for a higher fee. Befriend a few Eagle Scouts and stock up on camp-fire gear to make the most of this vacation!
• Couch Surfing: Yes, this is a real thing. Personally I've never tried it, but my boyfriend and his friends used this site for Spring Break one year. They weren't robbed or killed, so that's good, but this certainly isn't the most comfortable sleeping situation. Don't do it alone, and be wary of your surroundings and belongings. Although most people using the site are probably harmless and totally cool, playing it safe is always the best bet. If you and your friends are looking for adventure, meeting new people, and don't mind sleeping on couches and potentially sketchy situations, this one's for you. (Plus: totally free!)
• Hostels: Cheaper than a hotel and less potentially scary than Couch Surfing (unless, of course, you've watched that one movie .... you know the one I'm talking about) hostels are another option for cheap sleeping. Use this site to search for hostels, and DON'T watch that movie if you haven't seen it already. Just don't do it!

9. Get a Groupon: Like Restaurant.com, Groupon can be a great way to save money on something you'd probably pay full price for anyway. Right now they have a special Spring Break section with some AMAZING deals on awesome beach resorts and hotels, that are ACTUALLY AFFORDABLE. (Ridiculous!) They also have really cool activities for cheap, like mini golf, museum tickets, yoga, and clubs. Just search in your area to find some awesome stuff for your entire group to do, on the cheap!

10. Have a Staycation: The cheapest way to spend Spring Break is by staying at home. Not only will it allow you to finally catch up on the reading you've been putting off for your classes - and possibly time to do some laundry - but you can actually have a lot of fun at home! Pretend you're a tourist and visit some places you've never been. Grab a friend and explore a new part of town. Get a local Groupon and treat yourself to a spa day or salsa dancing class. Find a new restaurant you've never eaten at before, get a Restaurant.com coupon and order drinks and dessert. Go camping for a night, go fishing and have your very own campfire. See if they have zip-lining in your area (my new favorite thing) or go sky-diving or something crazy! Then when people ask how you spent your spring break, you can say "I went freaking sky-diving!" instead of "I stayed home and did homework." (You secretly did both! Ha!) Staying home CAN be cool!

How are you going to spend Spring Break, and what will you do to keep your costs down? Tell me in the comments! As for me, I'll be in Orlando, FL! I can't wait!! 

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Broke and Beautiful: Tips and Tricks to Save Money on your Beauty Routine

Being broke doesn't mean you have to LOOK broke. As college students, it's a requirement to look put-together for career and networking events such as career fairs or even class projects. This can be tricky when you're on a tight budget, but it's not impossible! Here are some tips and tricks to save money on your everyday beauty routine. And here are some possibilities to save on brand name beauty products through these coupons for Macys.


1. DIY Tinted Moisturizer: Tinted moisturizer - a lightweight, sometimes sheer foundation that moisturizes your skin - has become a hot product, especially for the summertime. It's my go-to product for those days when I'm super bored/lazy/tired/have class in 5 minutes/want to apply foundation and moisturizer at the same time (so basically always). But tinted moisturizers are pricey, often WAY more expensive than either moisturizer or foundation. Chances are, you already have a foundation in your color and a moisturizer that you like, so here's how to make your own tinted moisturizer: combine them. Yup, it's that easy. You can put them in their own little container or just mix a drop of each on the back of your hand before you apply it to your face. Voila! Tinted moisturizer.

• Even Better: Make your tinted moisturizer multi-task even more by adding other products to it such as self-tanner or tea tea oil (for acne - but don't add regular acne cream because it tends to flake). Anything you put underneath your makeup can probably be added to your tinted moisturizer to save time and keep you from buying multi-tasking products that you can make yourself!

2. Apply your makeup right: Using the right applicators to apply your makeup can make the difference between smooth, blended makeup and a streaky mess. It can also make a difference in your wallet - using a sponge to apply makeup sucks up the majority of your product, leaving most of it in the sponge instead of on your face - aka wasting your money! Sponges also tend to grow bacteria and must be thrown out frequently, meaning you have to purchase more sponges, which adds up. Instead, use clean, dry fingers to apply foundation, moisturizer, and concealer. Your hands (which are free) won't absorb as much product as a sponge, and your body's natural warmth will help the product sink into your skin.

• Even better: If you use makeup brushes to apply your makeup, make sure you wash them frequently with cold water and soap (or shampoo, or face wash, etc). Washing them more frequently helps the brushes work better, avoids dirt and oil buildup which leads to acne, and ensures no bacteria growth. Use cold water because hot water loosens the glue which holds the brush together, causing your brush to fall apart over time.

3. Get sparkly white teeth: Teeth whitening can cost an arm and a leg, but it doesn't have to! The primary ingredient in every whitener - be it at your dentist or the pharmacy - is hydrogen peroxide. The secondary ingredient is typically baking soda. You probably know what I'm about to say, but here it is anyway: you can make your own teeth whitening paste by combining hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. These two magical products are available for around $1 at your local grocery store, pharmacy or dollar store! Just combine them and use it in addition to or instead of your normal toothpaste for super white teeth. (Note: it tastes gross, so you might want to add some flavoring or mix it with your normal yummy toothpaste or mouthwash.)

• Even Better: You can use hydrogen peroxide as a whitening mouthwash. It won't give you that tingly feeling or make your breath minty fresh, but it WILL whiten your teeth. You can also use it to help clean out your ears and sanitize cuts. You can use baking soda to wash your hair and your house! Who knew such cheap products were so amazing?

4. When it comes to your face, less is more: For those of us with "problem" skin (oily, acne prone, flaky, etc) our tendency is to buy tons of "miracle" products to try to fix our face. We buy special cleanser, moisturizer, treatment cream, toner, and more for our face and slather it all on there. If it doesn't work, we buy different products and try again. The result is an endless cycle of expensive products that aren't helping anything and are, more likely, creating the very problem we're trying to fix. Let me explain. If you happen to have acne-prone or oily skin (like me) you might be drawn to products that promise to soak up all the oil in your face, dry it out, treat all of the acne with strong acids or peroxides, and leave us with clean, clear skin. Your skin might feel tight after you wash it, but end up an oil slick within hours, resulting in zits and shininess. So maybe you go wash your face again to get rid of all that oil - only to find yourself repeating the cycle over and over. This is because your skin actually NEEDS that oil! It needs to be hydrated so that it can move and stretch and do all of the things skin does. Without oil, things would be painful and uncomfortable. Over-drying our skin causes it to overcompensate by producing MORE oil than we might actually need, creating that oily mess that can lead to acne. If you have oily skin that gets dry and flaky in the winter, this applies to you most of all. Stop drying out your face! Stop stressing out your skin with too many harsh products! Just let it do its thing! 

         Now, I don't want you to have dirty skin - but you can cleanse and treat your skin WITHOUT the harsh chemical cleansers. Try using baby wipes instead. Baby wipes are the cheap version of makeup-removing towelettes, and they also tend to be infused with aloe, vitamin E, and other nutritious stuff for your face. They are designed not to irritate sensitive skin so they don't stress and upset your skin (especially the "unscented" or "sensitive skin" types.) And they do just as good of a job at cleaning off the day's makeup and dirt as your harsh, chemically cleanser would, without stripping your skin of its natural oils and leading to too much oil production. If you're skeptical, try this experiment for a week: use baby wipes in place of your cleanser.  Moisturize afterwards, and spot treat any acne with your usual spot treatment (DON'T slather it all over your face, though!) Check if there's a difference in your skin at the end of the week - most likely, it's a little bit less dry and flaky, a little bit less oily, and a little bit more clear.  Keep using those baby wipes and you'll find that you never need to buy an expensive cleanser again. Just make sure you moisturize and use those baby wipes every day, and you've have clear, beautiful, unstressed skin at a fraction of the cost in no time. (PS: if you  also use the DIY skincare treatments below, your skin and wallet will thank you!)

5. Get the most out of your nail polish: Have you ever opened up your nail polish collection only to find that your favorite colors are clumpy, flaky, or just plain dried out? Save yourself the cost of new nail polish by saving those polishes with this nifty trick: just add nail polish remover! I know it sounds strange, but adding a few drops of nail polish remover as needed will make out your polish and make it last much, much longer. If it's an older polish, you might have to do this before EVERY application - but at least you'll be able to finish out the bottle instead of throwing it away only half empty! Go on, try it - what do you have to lose? You'd just be throwing that polish out anyway!

6. Natural (and affordable) DIY beauty solutions: You can give yourself a spa day just using stuff you already have in your house! If you don't have these ingredients, they aren't very expensive and can be purchased at any grocery store.

• For Your Hair

• Egg + Olive Oil = hydrating, protein-rich conditioner! Instructions Here
• Mayonnaise will make your hair soft and shiny. Make sure to use full-fat! Instructions Here
• Beer gives your hair body and shine, plus removes residue. Yup. Instructions Here
• Lemon Juice is like natural Sun-In. Remember Sun-In? Anyway, DIY highlights! Instructions Here
• Baking Soda makes a great clarifying alternative to shampoo. More details here
• Apple Cider Vinegar cleans hair, removes residue and adds shine! More details here
• Olive Oil + Honey = Hydrating hair mask! Instructions here and here

• For Your Skin

• Apple Cider Vinegar makes a great bacteria-killing toner for acne-prone skin. More details here
• Witch Hazel makes another excellent toner! Apply it to a cotton ball to cleanse the dirt from your pores. More details here
• Green Tea makes yet another great toner, especially for oily skin. Read some reviews here
• 1/2 tsp. of sea salt + 2 egg yolks + 1/2 cup of yogurt = Toning Mask! Add all ingredients, apply to face and let dry. This is an exfoliating, tightening and soothing face mask.
• Sea Salt + Olive Oil = Exfoliating Scrub! Add some vanilla or yummy smelling scent to overpower the smell of the olive oil. The Dollar Tree has some good smelling oils in their candle aisle. Use this scrub on hands, feet, and anywhere your skin needs exfoliating moisture.
• Aspirin + Honey = Exfoliating, moisturizing face mask. Great for acne-prone skin. Instructions Here
• Coffee Grounds make an antioxidant-rich, de-puffing exfoliant for face and body. Add olive oil, yogurt or honey to coffee grounds after your daily cup! More details here and here
• Honey is a great humectant and bacteria-killer for your face. It's great for acne-prone skin! More details here
• Yogurt is great for skin as well, especially when combined with honey. Instructions here

7. You are what you eat: Beauty comes from the inside out, so eating a healthy diet and staying hydrated are vital for the health of your nails, skin and hair. Eat as many fruits and veggies as you can, and remember that canned and frozen are just as healthy and much cheaper than fresh! Pick up a box of green tea bags from the dollar store to benefit from antioxidants and disease-fighting free radicals that will help clear your skin (read about more benefits here). Plus, you can use the tea bag on your face after you've brewed it! Make sure you're drinking enough water each day - staying hydrated helps keep your skin from flaking, especially during the winter! Make sure you're getting plenty of protein and calcium, which help your hair and nails grow stronger - dairy is a great source of both! And if your diet is lacking, try to take some vitamin supplements. You can find hair, skin + nails supplement mixes at the grocery store for less than $10!

8. Get every last drop out of your beauty products: You know that feeling when you're squeezing some empty plastic tube every which way, trying to get out the last drops of your expensive beauty products? You KNOW there's some left in there, but you can't get it out - so you probably just throw the product away. Well next time, don't! Just cut the container open so you can access the last bit of your product before throwing it away. There's usually more than you'd expect, so have a baggie on hand to hold the opened product so it doesn't dry out. This works best for plastic containers that are easy to cut open, especially tubes such as for moisturizer or spot treatment, but you can use it for basically any product that appears to be empty. As long as you can break open the packaging, you can make sure you get your money's worth!

More pictures at this blog entry!

9. Don't throw away broken eye shadows: Have a loose or crumbled eye shadow? Don't throw it away! Eye shadows are easy to press back into place using isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). The alcohol evaporates away from the eye shadow, leaving it perfectly in place! Just mix a few drops of alcohol with your eyeshadow powder to make it easy to pour into a pan and set. This trick will actually work with any powder makeup, such as blush! Instructions here and here

10. Buy beauty products for cheaper: I get a lot of beauty products from HauteLook, where brands such as LORAC, Stila and Urban Decay sell makeup for insanely discounted prices, and there's almost always a good hair-care line. HauteLook is where I discovered 100% Pure, which is my all-time favorite beauty brand - but too expensive to afford full price! Bonus: refer friends to HauteLook for free purchase credits! Read more here. I also get a ton of beauty goodies from Amazon thanks to my free gift cards from Swagbucks.  Read more about Swagbucks in this entry - personally, I earn about $25 in Amazon Gift cards each and every month! Did you know that Sephora has an entire store on Amazon? That means that Amazon gift cards = Sephora gift cards - and they're FREE! It's like Christmas every day! You can also get high quality, cheap brushes from CVS - their Essence of Beauty line is great - and Target - their Sonia Kashuk line is pricier than CVS, but still high quality!

So there you have it! You can be broke and stay beautiful! Don't see your favorite cheap beauty tip posted? Let me know in the comments!

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How-To: Get Free eBooks for the Kindle, Nook and more

So if you're one of the lucky folks who got a Kindle or Nook this holiday season, you were probably very excited (THEY'RE SO COOL) but may have been slightly less excited when you realized that putting actual books on the thing was going to be nearly as expensive as buying them at a book store. Boo. Well, have no fear! The Broke Student Guide is here to find you the best resources for getting free e-books and other content to put on your new shiny Kindle, Kindle Fire or Nook. (Or whatever other e-readers are out there.) If you're looking for some good deals on a Kindle, click here for coupons at Overstock.com.

First off, until January 9th, Amazon is offering a $10 Kindle Textbook Credit! Just click here to claim your credit. It will automatically credit to your Amazon account once you claim it and you can use it towards renting or buying e-textbooks for your Kindle. Which is cheaper, not to mention way less heavy and annoying, than lugging around regular textbooks!

Next: free eBook websites! It's like MegaDownload for your Kindle. (If you don't know about MegaDownload yet, well, now you do!) Here we go:

Free Book Spot: If you have a specific book in mind, you'll be able to use this site to search for it and see if it's available for free.

The Book Depository: This site has over 11,000 free eBook options to choose from.

Baen: This site offers free sci-fi and fantasy eBooks.

Pixel of Ink: This blog posts daily free and bargain eBooks, along with reviews about the books listed. Each book has a link for Kindle and Nook downloads.

Free Nook Book Summary: Like Pixel of Ink, this blog posts daily summaries of free books available for the Nook.

E-Pub Books: This site offers books in a format that can be read on ANY electronic book reader. The selection offered is copyright free/public domain works.

ManyBooks : This site mostly has classic books - remember that all copyright free books will always be free - and a huge variety of genres. Search by Author, Title, Genre, and more.

Project Gutenberg offers over 36,000 free ebooks to download to your PC, Kindle, Android, iOS or other portable device. Choose between ePub, Kindle, HTML and simple text formats.

SmashWords: This site offers eBooks from Independent publishers and authors. Find something new that no one else has read! They have a huge free selection to choose from.

Munseys: Offers tons and tons of fiction. Appears to have a particularly high amount of cheesy 1950s-1960s era fiction novels, a la pulp fiction.

Girl eBooks: Offers a large selection of out of copyright classics, focusing on female authors.

And last but not least: The Library! Yes, you can borrow eBooks for free from your local library! Hit up your local branch to take advantage. (While you're there, pick up some free movies and read a couple free magazines too. Aren't libraries great?)

PS: Did you know that you get a FREE month of Amazon Prime along with your Kindle Fire? That means tons of free movies and TV shows, free 2-day shipping, and more! But even without a new Kindle Fire you can get free Prime - if you haven't taken advantage of the free Student Prime membership deal, go get it now! You'll get 6 months of free Amazon Prime benefits.


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Last Minute Gift Idea: Cake Mix Cookies! And, Free Downloadable Gift Labels

So I made a gift guide a few weeks ago, but I know most of us spent the past week or so running around like crazy trying not to succumb to the horrors of Finals Week. Now that it's over with, let's all breathe a big sigh of relief (PHEW!) and then try to scramble around and figure out what to give everyone for the holidays!

Picture of Retorte's Cake Mix Cookies

The easiest, most wonderfully delicious and inexpensive idea I've come across this year are Cake Mix Cookies. What are cake mix cookies? Well, exactly what they sound like - cookies made from cake mix! Except they don't bake like cake, they bake like delicious cookies, and then when they're done you don't have to decorate them. The reason I love these cookies and am making them in spades this year is because they are easy and cheap. A box of cake mix is typically around $1.00 - don't pay any more than that for it. Hit up your local dollar store or Wal Mart to snag a couple boxes. I highly recommend getting a Butter Yellow or Golden Butter mix, from any brand - it's MUCH better than regular old yellow cake, and it's the most adaptable mix out there. Duncan Hines, Pillsbury and Betty Crocker all have their own version of Butter cake mix. If you're a chocolate person, get some sort of chocolate mix, and if you're adventurous, try a Spice Cake mix or a Cherry Cake mix or Funfetti or whatever catches your fancy!

Here's what you need:
- 1 Box of cake mix (any kind)
- Eggs
- Oil or butter
- Water
- Chocolate chips, M&Ms, nuts, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, dried fruit, candy, ANYTHING you want to put in your cookies

Here's How to Do It:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Dump your cake mix in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup oil or butter (if you're using butter, that's half of a stick.) Add 1 egg if you want cookies that rise but don't spread much (they will be puffier and fluffy inside),  2 eggs if you want your cookies to spread and flatten out more (they will be slightly more crispy). Mix furiously. The dough will be sticky and tough, that's perfectly normal. Work those arm muscles, and pretend you're burning off some of the calories of the 92862768276 delicious cookies you're going to be eating later. Once your dough is all mixed together, add whatever mix-ins you want to add and mix again. Now that you're all mixed and ready to go, grease a cookie sheet and form little dough balls/clumps on the baking sheet, spaced about an inch or two apart to allow for spreading. Try to make them as roundish as possible, because especially if you only used 1 egg, they probably won't spread enough to become magically round on their own. Once your cookie sheet is all filled, pop those suckers in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the tops of the cookies have hardened and the bottoms are slightly browned. Wait for them to cool before eating one!

Here Are Some Interesting Cookie Ideas:

Chocolate Cake Mix Sandwich Cookies from Annie's Eats

- Peppermint Holiday Cookies! Stick an Andes mint inside each cookie, or crumble up some candy canes to use along with chocolate chips.
- Cookie Sandwiches! Ice your cookies and stack them on top of one another. Roll the edges in holiday colored sprinkles.
- Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches! Sandwich ice cream between your flattened, cooled cookies. Roll the edges in holiday colored sprinkles and freeze before wrapping.
- Pinwheel Cookies! Make 1 batch of "white" dough and one of chocolate or red velvet dough. Using this technique,  roll out your dough onto a big rectangle of wax paper and place in fridge until firm. Stack your doughs one on top of the other - place any fillings you want rolled inside on top - and roll carefully into a log. Wrap log in wax paper and roll on surface to achieve optimal round log shaping, and firm in fridge again if necessary. When log is well shaped and firm, slice cookies. A knife might flatten your log so you may want to use unflavored dental floss instead. Voila!
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies! Add dried cherries and chocolate chips to your cookies, and possibly walnuts too.
- Chocolate Caramel Cookies! Get some chocolate caremel candy such as Rolos or Milk Duds and roll one inside of each cookie to create a melty chocolate caramel center when cookies are baked.

Package your cookies by putting them in a cookie tin from the Dollar Tree, or sticking them in plastic sandwich baggies and tying those up with ribbon. Gifts for everyone!!

Also, for those of you who ventured down the homemade alcohol route I discussed in my gift giving guide, I've made some labels for my gifts that I want to share with you all to download and use on yours! I created these in Adobe Illustrator, but they are all converted to plain .JPGs that you can color in yourself. The Skittles basic logo is easily customization just by using the "Paint" fill bucket tool in any photo editing program (heck, even MS paint will work). I added the flavor names for my labels and I've included a .zip file of all of those labels, which are for the "Blenders" Skittles. The Apple Pie Moonshine label is pretty much ready to go, you can fill in the background with a color if you want and then just slap it on your mason jars! Note: the images are very large, so make sure to measure your containers and then scale the labels down to the correct size.

To Download: Click to open full-sized in a new window, right-click and "Save As."

To Download these labels as a .zip compressed set of files: Click Here

To Download: Click to open full-sized in a new window, right-click and "Save As."

Enjoy and have a wonderful holiday break!
- The Broke Student Guide

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The Broke Student Gift-Giving Guide

Holiday Gift Wrap Ideas make your cheap gifts WAY more classy.

The Holiday season is pretty much officially here (I mean, I don't think there really is an "official" arrival time, but it seems to me that it's pretty much happening, you know?  I mean, Starbucks is serving Holiday drinks now - buy one get one free, even!)! One of my favorite things about the Holiday season - aside from two weeks or so off from school -is giving my loved ones the perfect Christmas/Hanukkah/Whatever present, and with no income to speak of, that gets difficult. The following will be your How-To Guide for being able to afford this year's presents, so you can avoid that disappointed look when you  give your best friend yet another knitted scarf (or is that just my friends?). I present to you (GET IT? LOL) the Broke Student Gift-Giving Guide! 

More cheap, creative Gift Wrap Ideas!

1.  Before we begin, go and enter the Broke Student Giveaway, because you can buy lots of gifts with a $25 Gift Certificate to BuyGreen.com! Now, let's begin. The best way to give people quality gifts is, of course, to actually spend money on them. Which is where things get tricky, since of course, we don't have any money. If we did we wouldn't be reading this blog/entry. Have no fear! The Holiday season is the best time to cash in on all the hard work you've been putting into those Paid-To sites you signed up with months ago when I first wrote about them. (Right?!?!?! No? Ok, go sign up now, and hurry.) This month, I've cashed in a $45 check from InboxDollars.com, $75 in gift cards from Swagbucks.com, and a $50 Amazon gift card from MyPoints.com. For those of us who can't do math in our heads, that's a total of $170 that I'll have to spend on gifts this year! (Of course, after I buy my boyfriend all the video games he wants, that leaves about -$10 for everyone else. Which is why this isn't the only number in this list. Moving on.)

Wrapping your gifts in newsprint gives a vintage vibe.

2. Remember that entry I wrote about Mystery Shopping? If not, go read it. This month alone I've earned $114 from Mystery Shopping, which doesn't include payments that haven't been issued yet this month. Although some of that money is reimbursement (for things like meals I had to purchase) most of it is just income! So that brings my total Gift Budget up to $284! I do realize that #1 and #2 take quite a bit of planning, though, and it's kind of too late to catch up if you haven't already started with Paid-To Sites and Mystery Shopping (though do sign up now and start earning for next year!) So here's some stuff you can start doing TODAY.

Even more Gift Wrap Ideas!

3.  Do you have a computer and some extra time? (Obviously you do if you're reading this, that was rhetorical.) Why not write your favorite companies to get some free stuff? Sure, some of them just send coupons - but some of them send coupons for FREE products, or gift cards! Example: I had a gross muffin at Panera, so I wrote them describing in great detail the grossness of that muffin. One week later, I had a sweet hand-written card with a $10 Panera Gift Card folded inside! That gift card will be someone's Christmas present! (Friends who are reading this: GO AWAY.)  You can write with either genuine compliments or complaints - you'll typically get a response for either, as companies are very invested in keeping their loyal customers by rewarding them for their loyalty. Some of the best companies I've had responses from are White Castle (coupons for 6 free burgers!) and Starbucks (free drink coupons!). I'd also  recommend trying Panera, Kohl's, Qdoba, or wherever you shop or eat the most. Just be genuine and talk about your relationship with that retailer or company! They usually respond quickly, so you should be getting some good stuff to use as gifts before Christmas. Let me know which companies respond with the best stuff!

4. Ok, let's talk about stuff you can do RIGHT NOW. Well, maybe after a trip to the store. These are tried and true gifts that stand the test of friendship: delicious edible gifts. Get ready to become your circle of friends' Paula Deen. (Yes, Paula Deen. PS, my boyfriend tried deep-frying balls of cheesecake, and apparently it was delicious and everyone loved it. So I'm not including that on the list, because gross, but technically  that could be a pretty good gift. I will refer you to him if you have questions regarding anything deep-fried.) While baking cupcakes or cookies is always nice, these edible gift ideas are simple, unexpected and cheap - plus, no baking skills required.

Super simple chocolate dipped pretzels!

1. Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks These are super easy to

   

   Bourbon balls or truffles are delicious simple gifts.

   

   Chocolate-dipped Marshmallows rolled in graham crackers.

   make, with minimal ingredients which means not very expensive. You'll need a bag (or two) of pretzel rods, some chocolate to melt (look in the baking aisle - chocolate for candy-making is best, but you can use chocolate chips too) and whatever toppings or decorations you want: white chocolate, sprinkles, mini m&ms, crushed up oreos, etc. Get creative! Here are some detailed instructions, but it's super easy: all you do is melt some chocolate, dip a pretezel rod in that chocolate, roll it around in some toppings, and then lay it out to dry. SO FREAKING EASY. A quick Google search for "Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Sticks" turns up a million results with some great ideas about what to dip them in and how to package them nicely (I just stuck a bunch in saran wrap and tied it at the bottom with a pretty ribbon.) These are a hit with just about everyone and 1-2 bags will yield more than enough pretzels.
2. Chocolate Dipped Everything Anything is better dipped in chocolate. And it's SO FREAKING EASY to dip stuff in chocolate, so why not get creative? Snag some coffee stirrers from Starbucks (free Popsicle sticks!) and stick them into Bananas, Twinkies or Oreos (and then dip them in chocolate, obv.) Dip some Marshmallows in chocolate and roll them in crushed graham cracker crumbs for S'mores on a Stick. How about  apples or dried fruit of any kind? Plain sugar cookies? If you can eat it, you can dip it in chocolate. Let your inner Paula Deen go wild!
3. Give the Gift of Balls There are so many kinds of balls that you can make this Holiday Season. First, watch the SNL Shweddy Balls skit to get you in the mood. Now that you're ready to make some balls, how about Cake Pops? Just bake a cake, crumble it up, mix it with icing and roll into balls that you can then dip in chocolate. (Tip: use LOTS of icing to hold the cake crumbs together.) Or how about Brownie Balls? Same idea: make brownies, crumble brownies, mix with icing, dip in chocolate! What about Chocolate Truffles? Truffles are easier than they look (only 3 ingredients, really!), DELICIOUS, and can be customized to just about anyone's taste. If you don't believe me, here's a giant list of truffle recipes. Here are some Oreo truffles, or perhaps you could customize your truffles with a liquor. Are you a peanut butter person? Make some Buckeyes! If you're from Kentucky, you've probably had Bourbon Balls before - did you know they're super easy to make? Here's another recipe to try. Make sure you have some powdered sugar or sprinkles on hand to dip all of these delicious balls into.

5. Are you over 21? If so, these gift options are for you. Alcohol makes a lovely gift. And no, we don't mean bringing over a 30-pack of Natty Light to the Christmas party. Have some class, really. These ideas will not only result in the best Christmas gifts ever, but they'll get your friends/family so drunk they won't even remember that you didn't get them anything else!

Skittles Vodka! Easy, pretty and delicious.

Infused Vodkas

1. Skittles Vodka As easy as it sounds, this is basically vodka + skittles = delicious skittles flavored vodka! Here's a how-to recipe. All you do is add some color-separated skittles to some vodka and let it sit for a while. You'll need to strain the skittles chunks before you serve it to your friends, but that's pretty much the hardest thing about this super-simple gift idea. Try jazzing it up with tropical skittles for a beautiful rainbow array of flavors and colors! I'm packaging my Skittles vodka in miniature $1 wine bottles I got from Kroger, but any capped bottle or container you have will do just fine. Just remember, you'll need one container for each color/flavor. Once you've completed your Skittles vodka, mix it with some Sprite for a super easy, super delicious mixed drink!
3. Infused Vodkas if Skittles don't float your boat, you can infuse vodka with a million other things, and it's really, really easy. Here are some guidelines.  You can keep it simple (fruit + vodka, ginger root + vodka, cucumber + vodka, Rolos + vodka...) or make it more complex (habanero bacon vodka, perhaps?) Search Google or TasteSpotting.com to find some awesome recipe ideas. Just allow about a month for the infusion to penetrate the vodka.
4. Apple Cider Moonshine No, it's not really "moonshine," but it's a simplified version of this classic recipe made with straight grain alcohol such as Everclear. Before you instinctively vomit everywhere remembering the last time you had Everclear, hear me out. Here's the recipe. Essentially, you'll add Apple Juice to Apple Cider, boil it in a pot with a lot of sugar and a lot of cinnamon, cool it off and then add an entire bottle of straight grain alcohol. I made this last week and I can verify that it is, indeed, delicious.Your apartment will smell like apple pie and your friends will be drunkenly amazed at your skills. I bottled all of mine in leftover recycled pasta and jam jars that I intend to decorate!
5. Homemade Cordials and Mixers On this page you'll find recipes for everything from homemade Irish Cream to Sweet-N-Sour Mix. Here are recipes for Homemade Liqeuors. There are so many options, you'll be giving alcohol gifts for YEARS to come!!

6. By now there are probably some angry freshman who want to kill me for not including any gifts that don't require a kitchen. (You can microwave the chocolate, guys.) Anyway, just to be fair, here are some gifts that DON'T require any sort of kitchen equipment!

This is my boyfriend modelling his DIY shirt.

1. Customized T-Shirts Everyone loves those shirts on Threadless or similar. But the problem is, they cost money. Not to worry - making your own graphic t-shirts is easy and not that expensive! Think of the possibilities: a picture of your and your friend; an inside joke; a reference to your friend's favorite movie or TV series; lyrics to your friend's favorite song; something really silly, insulting and/or dumb - there are SO many directions you could go with this. Customizing a t-shirt can be done in a few different ways: iron-on transfer paper, stick-on letters, or plain ol' paint and markers. Head to your closest craft store such as Hobby Lobby or Michael's (be sure to search for and print out the weekly 40% off coupon first, though!) and locate the t-shirt decorating aisle. You can buy plain t-shirts here, or you can go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Anyway, look for iron-on transfer paper if you want to print out an image for your shirt. You'll need access to a printer and an iron for those. If you just want words, get some iron-on or stick-on letters - you'll want stick-on if you don't have an iron. There should also be fabric paint and fabric markers - you can decorate the shirt freehand! The picture you see to the right there is actually my boyfriend modelling his creation for Minecon 2011.
2. Get Crafty There are lots of gift ideas that only require some basic crafty skills and materials. How about making a Reasons Why I Love You booklet? Here are some examples using a deck of cards: Example 1, Example 2. Here are some other examples: Example 1, Example 2.These make great gifts for your boyfriend/girlfriend, and are a step above a mix CD or playlist. (Not that those aren't cool too.) They'll also work for your friends! Here's another idea: make a collage using pictures of you and your friends! Just print out your favorite pictures from Facebook and paste them onto a big sheet of poster board with some cute cut-outs from magazines and quotes. Or if you're no good at collages, make a Memory Board: Cover some foam board in pretty fabric and pin ribbons criss-crossing on top of the board to make a cute way to display pictures! You can decorate it however you like, or leave it blank for your friend to customize themselves. How about making some Custom Magnets by gluing pictures or jewels onto magnet backings purchased at a craft store? There are tons of ideas out there! Here are some tutorials, some more tutorials, and a forum filled with gift ideas. Happy searching!



Salt and Sugar Scrubs are easy and make great gifts.

3. Bath & Beauty Gifts Bath and beauty stuff is so easy to make. Whether you purchase a melt and pour soap-making
   kit at Michael's or opt for making a simple salt or sugar scrub, there are tons of ideas out there. Here are some good tutorials. Some of my personal favorites are Bath Bombs, Lip Balm or Gloss, and Salt or Sugar Scrubs. The last one is really the easiest - just mix olive oil with sea salt or sugar, and add a scent! Here are a bunch of Sugar Scrub recipes. Surprisingly, you can find good ingredients for DIY beauty projects at the Dollar Tree, including Sea Salt (food aisle), Epsom Salts (bath aisle) and scented oils (in the candle aisle)

Cute comic wrapped gifts! Great for kids.

Ok. Hopefully at least ONE of those suggestions inspired you. And remember, gift wrapping is cool and all, but recycling a brown paper bag and tying it with a pretty ribbon is cheaper, more environmentally-friendly, AND looks more unique and super classy. Or try using recycled Sunday comics papers or magazine tears! There are so many ways to give awesome gifts to your friends, but if you still can't afford any of the ideas above, don't sweat it. Your friends/family will understand and forgive you for being broke as a joke. I have a friend who is a music major, and every year she writes and performs personalized songs for her loved ones. I've received hand-made cards with heartfelt notes in lieu of gifts, and it was sweeter than any store-bought trinket. Just because you can't afford to buy *stuff* doesn't mean you can't show your loved ones that you care about them. So relax! The Holiday season is meant to be fun and enjoyable, and there are many more things to enjoy and be thankful for than giving and receiving gifts.  As always, let me know if you have any questions about anything in this post, and please comment with gift ideas not listed here!

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