[This summer a dream internship with Lucky magazine moved me from Austin, Texas, where I’ve spent all 21 years of my life, to New York City for the summer. Come along for the ride and follow me through this column as I take on all that the city has in store for me. I’ll share tips I’ve picked up along the way about everything from how to pack (stop, drop and roll people!) to dating to fitting in (or standing out) and so much more.]

There a few things about New York I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to, like the inexplicably constant reek of urine it the subway and, maybe it’s just because I’m from Texas, but where I come from horse cops demand respect and are not meant to be pet by tourists. Every time I pass by the cops on horseback in Times Square and see tourists gleefully petting these horses, I can’t help but wonder how people in this city are okay with their tax dollars going toward novelty horse cops. But believe it or not there are some things I have gotten used to, like checking out local event sites to see what’s going on in the city daily. Read More »

"A razor? What are you trying to say, honey?

Christmas is fast approaching. (Five days, but hey, who’s counting?) While I’m sure you’ve already picked out the perfect gift for everyone on your list, I bet you haven’t given much thought to what you’re getting this holiday season.

Well…I have.

I’ve taken my favorite Gleek’s (Brittany S. Pierce!) advice and made my Christmas list early and sent it on its way to the North Pole. But I know that even someone as prepared and as considerate as me (making it easy for my parents by adding what I wanted for Christmas to their Amazon shopping carts) will more than likely get stuck with a few bad Christmas gifts. It’s okay though, it’s a burden we all have to bear, so I’ll brave the post holiday madness and head to the return lines.

I just hope I don’t get anything quite as bad as these gifts. Read More »

Woo! $1.00 off when you buy 12 cans of expired tuna!

Being an adult means making a lot of sacrifices. It’s about saying no to a dinner party because you can’t afford to bring more than stale bread ends. It’s about turning down movie offers because it costs 5 billion dollars to buy a ticket in NYC (and god forbid you want to see IMAX…bye bye, life savings!). And most unfortunately, it’s about buying store brands because you can’t justify shelling out for brand name mustard.

When I was younger (I’m referring to just a year ago) I would throw an absolute hissy fit in the grocery store if my mother even thought about buying non-organic eggs or frozen vegetables. The horror! I logically compared her buying non-free-range chicken to her murdering me in my sleep. But now I’m the one cruising the supermarket with a fistful of coupons and determination not to spend more than necessary. And if that means buying pre-opened food, cans with puncture holes, and expired meats on a discount, so be it. Like I said, it’s all about sacrifices. Like staying in on Saturday night because you have food poisoning from eating year-old salmon.

Penny pinching is one of my least favorite activities. It falls right between having to Google pregnancy symptoms and watching previews for Cougar Town. Yet the longer I’m out of school and the longer I go without finding out I inherited a fortune from a distant relative, the stingier I get. I practically fight over pennies on the street with homeless people. And that’s a new low.

Even for me. Read More »

The economic crisis has not stretched my wallet to the breaking point just yet, but our intelligent President-elect does say that it’s going to get worse before it gets better, so I’m not about to dole out any more than I have to on holiday gifts this year.We all know the traditional ways of saving money on gifts (knitting scarves for everyone on your list, offering homemade coupons or baked goods in lieu of actual presents, etc.). But what if you do want to get actual gifts for people without going bankrupt? Try these hot tips to save some moola while doing your shopping.

Tip 1: Search/Clip Coupons

I ordered my dad $30 worth of merchandise from Land’s End the other day and almost had a heart attack when I saw that the shipping was $8. Let’s get real here—it does not cost $8 to send two turtlenecks via 7-day delivery. In my incensed state of rage, I went to Google and typed in “land’s end coupons”—and lo and behold, a page with a free shipping code on it popped up.

Deals like that are only a few clicks away, so make sure to search every time you buy something online. If you prefer to do your shopping in the flesh, cough up a few quarters for the Sunday paper and comb all the ads. You can clip coupons from there and learn about the hot sales going on near you. It takes extra time, but you’ll make up for it in extra money. Read More »