As a Finance major, volunteer, and intern at Financial Beginnings I frequently teach the subject of Banking and often the fact that I have no savings account comes up in class. I have been making excuses for myself to explain this and I would say to the students “Oh I used to have one, but now I’m in college full time and can’t maintain the minimum balance”. So I have decided that 2014 is a new year for me and I need to start following my own advice. I got the idea to start saving again while browsing the subject of “Finance” on Pinterest. I came across “The 52 Week Money Challenge” and all you have to do is save the dollar amount of the week you’re in for the year. For example in week 1 you would put away $1 and in the last week of the year you would put away $52. At the end of the year you should have saved $1,378.The first two weeks were so easy to save for, but then it started getting more difficult. I learned in Personal Finance (taught by Melody Bell) that the hardest thing about using your money wisely is actually doing it, and I am discovering how true that is. Since I still do not have a savings account, I have to withdraw the cash I save from my checking account and ended up getting behind. However, in week 5 of The 52 Week Money Challenge, I am actually ahead of the game. Instead of having the planned $15 saved for week 5, I am already up to $23. I look forward to saving even more and I intend to stay ahead of the savings plan from now on.

Adrienne Prevost

Like most people nowadays, I rely heavily on my debit or credit card to make my daily purchases. To help myself keep on track with my budget a little better, I decided that making my transactions with cash could help me monitor my recreational spending on a weekly basis. Though I have been better about how much I am spending on leisure items, I started to remember the reason why I don’t like to use cash… SPARE CHANGE. Not only does it make my wallet and purse heavy, but I never have a great use for it, and my pile never seems to get smaller, and I was determined to find a good use for all of those pennies and nickels. Though my credit union has a coin machine where I can exchange my spare change for cash or put in my account, I remembered what a friend had told me before, and I quickly had a new favorite use for spare change.

Now I usually shy away from the Coinstar machines at the grocery store because of the fee they charge to exchange your change, I have learned that they now have two services that I was previously unaware of. Users now have the option to forgo those fees by purchasing a gift card or giving to one of fourteen charities. Using Coinstar to get rid of all of that change can not only help you treat yourself, but treat others with ease.  With gift card options such as Amazon, Nike, and Southwest Airlines, I couldn’t wait to exchange my first batch of change, start my collection of gift cards in my wallet, and help my purse with one of its new years resolutions, to feel a little lighter.

Basha Gitnes

I am a self admitted ‘shopoholic’. I constantly hear, “Again, Basha?” from my loved ones around me, which always makes me think a little more about my purchases, but when I find a good deal, I have a hard time passing it up. It is important to me to not get myself into debt over this, so I thought I would share a few tips on how I indulge in my desire to spend, without breaking the bank and racking up the credit card bills.

Amazon Prime: Amazon has made themselves known to be the marketplace for whatever your heart desires, but seriously, the site really has just about everything on it at a price cheaper than you can get a most retail stores. Before I graduated from college, I decided to give Amazon Prime a try since they gave me a free six-month trial, and I haven’t turned back since. Aside from having access to their own Netflix type streaming service, what I appreciate the most is the free two-day shipping. Let me repeat that, FREE TWO-DAY SHIPPING! Though it does come at a price of $80 a year, or $40 for students, when you’re constantly losing or breaking your phone charger, needing a gift for a family member, or just treating yourself, this feature surely pays itself off.
Groupon and LivingSocial: Though I have heard horror stories about these deal sites, and how much they harm small businesses, I have recently bought into this whole Groupon and LivingSocial craze and have surprisingly been pleased. I have started out by purchasing a couple of corporate deals, one for the Body Shop, and the other for American Apparel. Products at both places don’t come cheap, so I knew I had to get them while they lasted, and ended up walking out of the Body Shop with over $50 worth of skincare products for $20 thanks to an additional inshore sale. Another great feature that I love about these sites is the ability to send gifts right there on your mobile app or on their website. Recently, one of my best friends bought a house in Florida, and with all of the holiday shipping going on, I knew I wanted to stay far away from the Post Office to make sure she had something to welcome her into her new home. Browsing through LivingSocial I stumbled upon a deal for a years magazine subscription for only $5! Not only would I avoid the crazy lines at the Post Office, but I could give a great gift that keeps on giving, well, at least until the end of 2014.
Email Alerts: While I will admit getting upwards of a hundred emails a week from various retail stores get a little obnoxious, I cant help but get excited when I open one of these emails and find a coupon hidden in there waiting for me. Who doesn’t appreciate a surprise 25% off of your purchase?

With the Holiday season in full force around us, I hope you all celebrate warm and with your families, and hopefully with money saving giving.

-Basha Gitnes

As a college student, budgeting became a huge part of my financial life, but since becoming employed, it seems I have left my money saving and monitoring back in Eugene. In the next coming months, I have a lot of saving that needs to be done, so the buckling down is starting now.

To help me track and monitor my budgeting and goal setting, I decided to give mint.com a try. Like I have mentioned before, I am a technology buff, so anything that is online and can be accessed from my laptop or cell phone is great. I downloaded the Mint iPhone application and got started, and I shortly realized I should have done it sooner. After my accounts were all synced, my transactions were auto-categorized into predefined categories and subcategories, exposing the truth of my spending habits. I was amazed at how much I was actually spending in each category, and quickly realized I should start working on eating at home a little bit more, or that I really don’t need that cute top I saw at Nordstrom. This also allowed me to better gauge my overall budget, and look for areas I can scale back on to free up some money, especially for my upcoming vacation to the Dominican Republic.

In order to get a better feel for this app, I thought I would share a few screen shots (not of my personal accounts).

With the start of the new month, I am going to use the application to set and monitor my new budget for November. I am hoping to report back with some more conservative spending habits, a little more fun money for my travels, and a little less Starbucks coffee in my system.

Basha Gitnes