[Life isn’t black and white. As much as we wish we simply loved or hated things, there is often that whole annoying gray area in the middle. Like, we hate getting up for early morning classes, but we love being done by 11. Or, we love how Spanx make us look, but hate how sweaty we get putting them on... Damn you, gray area; you make decision-making that much more complicated!

There are so many difficult choices in life (do we love or hate high heels??), so we thought we’d sort through ‘em right here. Every week we will discuss another issue we are torn up about. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!]

Big bags have been increasingly in style for the past couple of years. Designer oversized bags are often seen on the shoulders of celebrities as they appear in the pages of UsWeekly or on Perez. It’s only natural that this is a look we want to emulate. But is it worth it? I’m torn.

Love it: Most importantly, big bags let you carry ALL of your stuff wherever you go. Class? Party? Airport? Whatever! They are SO versatile, and look cute in practically any situation. You can tote your glasses, iPod, makeup case, wallet, magazine, camera, big sunglasses, Blackberry, ALL of it, anywhere, in style!

But really, let’s be honest–we really love them because an oversized purse make most girls look skinnier. There’s something oddly slimming about carrying a supersized bag, and body conscious girls tend to know this and use it to their advantage. A big bag almost always make their wearer appear more dainty in comparison.

Loathe it: Unfortunately all of this amazingness comes at a price. First, all of all, all of that crap you packed in there tends to get lost and create a mess in that bag of yours. Before you know it, you’re digging through your stuff and all of the things that have accumulated with it, such as gum wrappers and spilled eyeshadow, to get to the bottom of your bag to attempt to switch off your ringing cell phone in the middle of class. Read More »

[College kids are notorious for being poor. And why shouldn’t we be? We take out student loans to pay for private universities, can barely balance a part-time job with our full-time courseload, and the only “balance” we’re familiar with refers to the number of points left on our dining hall cards. Oh, did I mention many of us tend to splurge every extra penny on PBR’s at the campus bar?

If you disagree with everything I just said, you probably don’t need this column. But if you’re nodding along because you’re officially an adult and still don’t know how to manage your money, then you might want to pay attention every week, because I’m going to (try to) get you through this, and make you a successful saver and a wise spender.]

I’ve been writing a lot about how to manage your money in bank accounts and with credit and debit cards. That’s the tricky stuff. As poor students, we are good at finding bargains and at least trying to make our money go a long way. That said, it’s easy to fall into certain traps when what we think is a good “deal” comes our way…and we end up paying dearly. Here are some scams to avoid in order to really save some dough.

1. Gym Memberships.

Beware of whatever type of deal a gym is trying to pitch to finagle you into joining. Why? Because they are probably lying. Okay, I’m bitter about this one. I needed to join a new gym at home for a couple of months, so I signed up for free guest passes at all the gyms in my area so I could work out for free and not buy anything. Next thing I knew, a Bally’s rep was selling me a special offer: $25 a month for a membership that I could transfer anywhere. He told me that if I got back to school and didn’t want to make the trek to the nearest Bally’s, I could freeze my membership for $4 a month, and when i started using their clubs again, I could continue to pay the dirt cheap fee.

The reality? Only the first transfer would be free, so I’d be paying in the future for every new Bally’s I tried to switch to; the “freeze” thing didn’t exist, and I was forced to pay the monthly fee even though I wasn’t working out; I’m stuck in a year contract, and now I have an express hatred for Bally Total Fitness Clubs. Needless to say: gyms are definitely places to read the fine print. Read More »