Yeah, that's my life savings right there.

Because I’m making six pennies a year in my job after taxes, I follow a very strict budget that allows me to afford a moderate amount of food and a moderate amount of fun. There is no room for a savings plan in my budget so I just figured if I was extra careful nothing would ever go wrong.

Then last week everything went wrong.

I spilled sangria (or water according to the troubleshooting report I made to Apple) on my laptop, I dropped my straightener one time too many and it broke, and I found out my parent’s insurance company is onto me no longer being a student and has dropped me. For those of you non-accounting majors out there, that’s about 5 billion dollars worth of problems.

I had a minor panic attack. And by minor I mean I opened my window, stood on the ledge for a few moments, and thought about who I would haunt if I came back as a ghost. Then logic hit me and I realized that because I’m only one floor up I would just break a bunch of bones, sending me to the hospital and making my lack of insurance problem even worse.

So instead of jumping I thought of my other options. Luckily my grandparents who live in the city had a laptop I could borrow until I figured you out what to do about my laptop-turned-coaster. Unluckily it was designed for the partially blind. I’ve seen desktop computers more portable than this laptop. Hell, I’ve seen elephants smaller than this thing. The screen was about a football field long and the font was visible from space. This proved to be more than an inconvenience when I was blogging at WiFi cafes.  I was writing about STDs for one blog and let’s just say the employees at the cafe did not enjoy being able to read about gonorrhea while serving coffee. So not only did I have to blog from home all week, but I’m pretty sure I’m on a sex offender list now. Read More »

So, I live in the Midwest and that means the onset of October is practically winter. I have only about two hoodies and sweaters that are anywhere near stylish, and I really want to do a complete fall wardrobe overhaul, but there’s just one tiny problem—I have about enough spare cash to buy a box of mints from the Old Navy checkout aisle, and that’s it.

Not even the Budget Stylista can help me out.

I can’t be the only one in this situation, right? Yeah, I thought not. Luckily, I came up with a solution that has seemed to triple my wardrobe and even saved me that extra money for some emergency Old Navy mints. Ready for it?

I reorganized my closet.

That’s right! I know it sounds like the opposite of groundbreaking, but roll with me here for a minute. It took me almost a whole day, but once I rearranged everything—and got rid of a bunch of old clothes along the way—it was like I had completely new stuff. My method was Color Organization, and it’s about what it sounds like—I took everything in my closet and sorted it by color. (Think Forever 21.) So if I had a purple formal dress and purple cut-off denim shorts, I put them next to each other. Yes, really.

You might think that all this created was a disorganized closet, but you’d be amazed by how many killer outfits I’ve put together since arranging things that way. Not only did I reassess everything I owned (most of which I had completely forgotten about!), but I was able to think of what I owned in a completely new way. I tend think in terms of color and what colors might look good together, so this has been revolutionary for me. It makes getting dressed in the morning soooo much easier (and more fun!); I just look at the colors and grab a few things that look good together. No thought, no fuss, no crawling under my bed to find that box of sweaters I put there last summer.

If you’re a color gal, too, give it a try. And if not, try one of these other organization systems on for size: Read More »

I will not apologize for my beauty sleep. I will not!

This week, in light of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. I’m not Jewish, but the fact that my 21st birthday falls on the day of repenting has caused me to think about the fact that I’m doing the exact opposite: indulging and sinning.

I’m so not chosen for a reason.

Last week the CollegeCandy writers shared the things they want to ask forgiveness for. I’ve decided to take a different route and reflect on the things I’ve done wrong and have no desire to repent for. I’ve got enough Catholic guilt as it is.

10. Borrowing my sister’s clothes without asking.
Sorry Meredith, I just had to have that black shirt. You never wear it!

9. Indulging in cupcakes. At any hour of the day.
8 AM. Magnolia Bakery. Totally appropriate and healthy.

8. Exceeding my budget (by a lot a lot) for the sale at Saks.
It’s not like I need groceries.

7. Skipping class to sleep.
Not going to feel guilty for those extra z’s over watching a video on gender roles in advertising. Barbie, bad. I get it. I can find it on YouTube, right?

6. Lying about having a boyfriend to get out of a date.
Yeah, sorry I have this super protective boyfriend that won’t let me even text other boys. Read More »

For a long time, I thought Newport News was a total “mom store” with terribly outdated and, well, momish stuff.  Then, a few months ago  I noticed some of their stuff in mags like Lucky, InStyle and Glamour and realized that they actually had some super cuteness going on.

Since then I’ve bought several items from them and they’re not only stylish and well-made, they’re great for a gal on a budget. Which is me. And you.

I combed the entire website and found so many adorable things, many for under $20, but here are my top 8, MySpace style: Read More »

A few weeks ago, I packed up everything I own into a compact yellow truck and drove halfway across the country to unload it all and dump it in a new place. I started fantasizing about decorating ideas for my new pad long before I got here (like on the million-hour drive), and one of the things I was most into was vinyl wall art. It’s unique, it’s removable and it’s just pretty damn sweet, right? I mean, who wouldn’t want a a pretty peacock, an intimidating toilet seat (on Etsy, of course), or some gorgeous bamboo trees adorning their walls.

But at $30-$150+ a pop, all I could afford were sad little 6″ tall animals, and I wasn’t about to shell out a bundle for something I was pretty sure I could do myself.

Turns out I could! And it’s even easier and cheaper than I thought. These wall-art companies must be fleecing people! Stop them by doing it all yourself.

Here’s what you need:
- Scissors
- Clear tape (optional)
- A marker
- Self-adhesive vinyl ConTact paper (Note: This is cheap and available by the yard in a variety of colors at almost all hardware stores.) Read More »

Let’s be honest for a moment here: as college females, we aren’t so good at managing our money. Sure, we’d like to be…until we walk past Anthropologie and have to have every dress in the window and those adorable throw pillows for our bedrooms.

The truth is, money management and financial mumbo jumbo is boring and spending all that hard earned money is fun! Who wants boring when we can have this?

But it doesn’t have to be that way, which I learned after reading So Many Shoes, So Little Money: A Girl’s Guide to Finance. Lisa Serwin, a girly girl to her core, breaks all that budget business down in a way that is easy to understand and, even more importantly, easy to incorporate (realistically!) into the college girl’s life. Serwin doesn’t tell us to eat ramen and wear our leftovers from middle school; she explains how to save and how to spend in a way that won’t send us back to our childhood bedrooms when the money (inevitably) runs out.

Naturally, I needed her to set my budget to talk to her. And I did! Here is a bit about my new financial hero and a lot of useful information that all of us can benefit from!

5 Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What’s your most hysterical/ridiculous college memory?
That’s fit for print? I accidentally locked myself in a second floor bathroom during a fraternity party.  The door handle broke off, and no one heard my pounding. (The one and only time in history there wasn’t a line for a ladies room!) I climbed out the bathroom window onto the roof – high heels and all, shimmied down a tree, and walked back in through the front door. However, apparently everyone had been watching my descent through the window.  When I walked back in I was greeted with cat calls and applause.

2. What are the five things you can’t live without?
In no particular order:
Great shoes
Chocolate
My family and friends
Books
A good night’s sleep (otherwise I’m really cranky) Read More »

Let’s face it – August is a hard month for shopping. Everywhere you go, window displays scream mohair and motorcycle boots, but you are still sittin’ pretty (and very happily) in your flowery sundress, thankyouverymuch. And while you know you should be looking to invest in a good pair of boots to walk through the slushy snow in just a few months (ew), you would much rather peruse the racks upon racks of summer dresses that are cute and – um – ON MAJOR SALE.

I mean seriously, $200 dresses on sale for $40? I don’t care if it’s negative 30 outside – we can find a way to wear these badboys a little while longer. Who says you have to part with floral the second the leaves start falling from the trees?

Here’s a way to be stylish and savvy: reuse and rewear your favorite summer frocks. Just pair them with some thick tights, a boyfriend blazer or leather bomber, a scarf, some booties or boots and – presto chango – your springtime floral is instantly ready for a stroll with a pumpkin spice latte (the one good thing about cold weather).

Here are 3 options of summery looks that you can take well into fall, but feel free to try this with most summer dresses in your wardrobe! Read More »

Jewelry can make or break an outfit. This is fact. It’s a great way to spice up your usual uniform (jeans, black v-neck, black flats – I know it all too well), assuming, of course, that you don’t go overboard and look like you went shopping in your grandma’s closet (tchotchke heaven).

This season there is no better way to reinvent some old pieces in your wardrobe than by adding some bling bling. Right now jewelry is big, it’s bold, it’s bedazzled, jeweled and animal printed. It’s also ridiculously over-priced at so many places. But those aren’t the places you are going to be shopping, because it is so easy to find pieces for cheap that look like they belong in J.Lo’s closet. Read: bling blingin’ on the cheap cheapin’.

So before you go spending $150 on a necklace you claim will give you seasons of love, come to terms with the fact that in 12 months time, you will more likely than not have moved on out – Jeffersons style – to something that’s a lot less animal printed. So why spend $150 when you can get the same bangin look for $15?

Yeah, I thought so. Read More »

There’s nothing that puts a smile on my face like finding a fantastic bargain, and since we all wanna look good in a crappy economy, finding those deals is even more important these days.  Each week I’ll feature one store/website where you can find eight A-dorable items for under $20 (not too shabby, right?).

This week I’m featuring Mandee.  While some of their stuff admittedly looks like it costs under $20, it’s a great place to find cute basics, cheap denim, and certain trendy pieces that probably won’t last more than one season (so paying under $20 is perfect).  Another bonus: they often have good sales that make their stuff even more of a bargain.

Summer’s more than halfway over and school will be back in session before we know it, but there’s still plenty of warm weather to be had (and hey, you can usually utilize some of your cute summer clothes for those early days of fall semester) which means it’s not too late to buy halters, flip flops, shorts or skirts, especially when you can find ‘em this cheap. Read More »

Floral prints are flirty, feminine and perfect for spring/summer.  Have no fear! Finding floral prints that don’t resemble your grandmother’s couch is easy these days, as the oh-so-classic rose print got some modern touches this season.

You can find an assortment of styles & prints in a vast price range, but for those of us on a recessionista budget, this dress on sale for 60% off (!) at Nordstrom is a great bet. It’s light & casual enough for running errands, going to summer school or just chillin’ with friends, but can be easily vamped up for night time with a switch of the bra and a few extra accessories. Read More »