Blog - Page 278 of 280 - Making Sense Of Cents

Great Links you NEED to check out

Last Updated: October 1, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Here are some great links for working out, finances, and so on that I found today. Check them out!

Trying to lose weight or tone up? Check this out.
Trying to lose weight FAST? Check this link out immediately, and weigh the consequences first please.
Want to get paid what you deserve/want? Check this out.
I’ve never used my microwave except for cooking a quick meal. Here are 15 other ways to use it.
Racking up debt for back to school? Here are the trends for prices.
Even million dollar mansions are being foreclosed. Check these homes out.
Wondering about the stock market? Or confused about it? Read this.

Have you come across any interesting articles? Please share.

Splurging

Last Updated: August 20, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I am constantly trying to save and pay off debt, but every now and then a “splurge” happens or is “needed.” I just splurged on my vacation, and I’m going skydiving in a couple of weeks, so I’ll be splurging again. Since I save so much, I always say in my head that these splurges are necessary in order for me to keep my sanity.

What are your splurges usually on? Do you ever feel bad about them?

Interviews

Last Updated: July 13, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

When I graduated last year, I went on many interviews. I was very nervous, but I am very obsessive about things, so I studied very hard for all of my interviews. I looked up pretty much every interview question imaginable, and I don’t think I was surprised at any of my interviews. I would consider myself very successful with the interviews I went on also. I received many job offers and was even able to decline some.

Here are some interview tips:

Bring extra resume copies with you. Every time I went to an interview, the person who was interviewing me asked for a hard copy. You also never know who else might be in the interview room with you.
Try to figure out the dress code before you go. If you absolutely have no clue, this can be done by driving to the potential place of employment and just looking very quickly.
Be polite to the secretary or assistant. The person who is doing the hiring might ask their assistant what they thought of you. So if you talked down or were rude to the assistant, this can definitely hurt you.
Make sure you give a firm handshake. The person who is hiring you knows whether or not you are fit for the position within the first 5 minutes. A handshake is very important in this process.
When answering questions, make sure not to say “umm” or “uuhhh”. Instead when you’re thinking of your answer, just sit and think quietly to yourself for 3-5 seconds. This comes off as much more professional. Reviewing sample practice interview and answers questions online are GREATLY helpful.
Make sure you ask questions at the end. Interviewers at the end of the interview will ask you if you have any questions. If you say that you have none, you might be giving off a vibe that you don’t care about the company or job, or that you didn’t do enough research on the position.
And of course, be professional.

Any other tips that you might want to offer? What kind of questions do you think are good to ask at the end?

Saving while on Vacation

Last Updated: August 19, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I’m in Puerto Rico now! We’re having tons of fun and the weather has been pretty great so far. We already spent over $100 on food the first day and we weren’t even here for 12 hours.

Any tips on saving money while on vacation? We’re thinking we’re going to go to the Walgreens up the street and stocking up on simple foods, drinks and alcohol.

Any tips?

Where to Apply for Scholarships

Last Updated: July 13, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

You can find scholarships in many places. If you have applied for a college, then when you get your acceptance letter usually you will also get some sort of financial aid package letter also.

First you need to fill out your FAFSA form at FAFSA.org. The deadline to fill this out by FAFSA is in the beginning of each year. Also, you usually have to fill out a separate financial aid form for your school. The deadline for this is usually different, so I would check with each individual school.

However, if you cannot make it by the deadline, FAFSA will still accept it, as will most schools, so no need to worry. If you don’t fill out the forms by the required date though, then you might qualify for a smaller amount of loans, scholarships and grants because after that date, you basically qualify for what and any funds that are left. I have filled out my FAFSA and financial aids late before, and i noticed no difference in my scholarship/financial aid package though.

I received all of my scholarships directly through the school I attended. I received a scholarship package of $16,000 a year, plus some financial aid.

You can also receive scholarships through websites and private organizations. I have tried to apply for scholarships through private organizations, but I felt that for most scholarships, a lot of work was needed. They might want a very long paper, an invention, some sort of research project and so on. I am NOT saying these are a waste though. I have met many people who have received these private scholarships.

For masters programs, the schools in my area do not offer ANY scholarships or financial aid (besides loans) for any of their MBA programs. This is very upsetting because I got into all of the schools I applied to, and I didn’t know that masters programs only offer loans. This made the price of going to graduate school much higher than for my undergraduate degrees.

Some websites that I would check out are:

Finaid.org
Fastweb.com
Scholarships.com

Have you had any luck with receiving scholarships outside of the ones that your school gave you?

Saving for Christmas/Holidays

Last Updated: July 13, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 12 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I know Christmas and the winter holidays are not for quite some time, but I know many people who deposit money into a fund specifically for the winter holidays. I have never done this but I feel that this is a great idea, so that the amount you spend at Christmas time doesn’t seem to be as much of a burden.

Me and the BF do not have any kids (and don’t plan on having any for at least another 10 years), but we always end up spending a TON of money around Christmas time. He has a massive family (when I say massive, I am seriously not kidding, there’s maybe 100 of them and there are ALWAYS family gatherings, which I really really do love) and we always buy a lot of presents for the kids.

Last year we decided on a budget of around $30 for each of the kids that we are closest to, but we went way over budget. And then we always spend a lot on each other, way more than we ever bargain for. This year I hope to set a very clear budget for us to follow.

Do you have a holiday fund? How much do you usually spend?

Working on your Resume

Last Updated: July 13, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 7 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Creating a resume can be very difficult. However, with some help and guidance, it can be very easy. I would like to think that I am very good at creating and improving resumes. When I was looking for jobs last year before I was about to graduate, I used the career office at my school very effectively and efficiently in my job search. I brought my resume there and had multiple people check and review it, and everyone said it was perfect (except for a few very minor errors).

Here are some tips for your resume:

If you can, I would definitely have someone else review your resume. You might have read it 30 times, but another set of eyes never hurts.
I heard that using a Gmail or school e-mail on your resume looks better than using an AOL or Hotmail account. I don’t know if this is true (I used a hotmail, but I just recently switched to Gmail). In the article I read (I believe it was Daily Worth), it said that using an AOL or Hotmail account might come across as that you are not very tech savvy and/or might be older and stuck in a rut. I do not believe than an e-mail account could affect you this much, but like I said, I do not know.
The rule that your resume needs to be one page does not always apply. My friend is in the anthropology field, and the longer her resume is, the better. Her resume is around 5 or 6 pages now.
You should try to include references in your resume. Every place I applied at was very happy that I included my references along with each references’ contact information in my resume because it made it much easier for them.
If you potential employer asks for your GPA or academic standing, do NOT LIE! Employers can request your grades and do background checks, so I would not lie about anything.
Create a cover letter to go along with your resume
State a purpose or objective which specifically applies to the job you are applying to
Don’t use any pictures (unless of course you need a head shot for the job you are applying to)

If you have any other tips that you would like to add, please share.