MONEY SAVING TIPS.. TUITION FEE

Tuition Saving: Community Colleges 

This little gem went unhidden from my eyes until I had only one course available. This is how it works. All courses require that you take some foundation level courses once you are enrolled in their main program.  Check with your university what course credits they would accept from another institution.

A careful comparison with the available courses at the closest community college is the next step.

Typically the community colleges tuition fee are cheaper than private university because they subsidized. Enrolling in the community college will save you atleast 50-75% of your colleges tuition fee.  Thousands of students every year enrol in community colleges and save millions of dollars with no effect to their graduating college degree. I personally know a fellow student who took three courses at community colleges and paid $100 per course instead of $575 per course. That’s a saving of over $1300 over two semesters. 

Ofcourse a bit of planning is required but when you are saving $1000 or more on every two courses you take its worth it.  

More on the next posting..

Ciao..

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Thought for the day: The fastest flight is not on the plane but of the mind: Anonymous

MISC SAVING TIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

Hopefully the new year has started with you being more efficient as well as appreciating the gift of life. I diverted from the mundane posts the last time and blogged in a famous poem on life. Print it, make it a screen saver.. I know it has helped me to relook at things and just might help you to..

Moving on to the topic of this blog, saving tips.. This time I am suggesting investing in one of the time tested tools to save money. Although with an annual membership fee, the subsequent savings quickly add up and include 24 hr car breakdown support and hosts of other benefits.

Yes I am talking about the AAA card.

Even if you don't own a car, chances are you will rent one couple of times a year. Whether its a flat tyre or battery problems, their extensive network ensures timely and efficient support and is an indispensable tool when you are on the road.

For more info log onto www.aaa.com. Do remember to mention your student status because that might get you additional discounts..

More on savings next time..

Good luck

Sharad

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Quote:

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.”

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

HAPPY NEW YEAR

SLOW DANCE.. A Poem .. For New Year Resolutions..

Slow Dance
by
David L. Weatherford

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

Do you run through each day on the fly
When you ask "How are you?" do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
'Cause you never had time to call and say "Hi"?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast
Time is short
The music won't last

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away...

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

New Year 2010

What plans have you all thought of to ring in the new year.

All of us are in the learning mode, including myself. There are dime a dozen websites available online for free suggesting you how to plan your new years. And here is one from self-help guru, Robin Sharma that he emailed last night to me.

To create the single best year of your life to date. Most will waste this opportunity and make the new  year a repeat of the one just past. Sad. But true. But a few will wake up to the possibility and do 7 things that will ensure 2010 is the most unforgettable twelve months they have experienced yet. Want to be one of the fortunate few? Here's what to do:

 

Step #1: Evaluate 2009. Do a written story recording what went well this past year and, even more importantly, what areas you could improve on. Also list all your wins and as many high points as you can recall. Get a clear picture of how you showed up.

 

Step #2: Set Your Theme. Come up with a theme for 2010. It may be "The Year of Financial Freedom" or "The Year of Work Excellence" or "The Year of Fearlessness". But get a theme into a document you can start reviewing every week.

 

Step #3: Create a Mission. The next step is to develop a one paragraph mission statement and put it into this document. Clarity precedes mastery so the more clear your ultimate mountaintop for 2010 is, the greater your focus will be. And the most positive results you'll see.

 

Step #4: List Your Big 5. OK, now ask yourself this powerful self-coaching question: "What 5 things need to happen between now and December 31, 2010 for this to have been the single most successful year of my life to date?" Write down those five goals as simply and clearly as possible into this document.

 

Step #5: Sequence Your Big 5. Now break your Big 5 down into quarterly goals. Set 5 core goals for the first/second/third and fourth quarters of 2010 to ensure you nail your Big 5. Review these every week. Reflect on them everyday if you really want to win. Make these strategic objectives the sole focus of your life.

 

Step #6: Refocus Every Morning. Life's job is to distract you. Your job is to stay staggeringly focused on what's most important. Take 15 minutes during your morning resetting period to reflect on your goals, to envision your best moves and to track out a day that's productive, passionate and fun.

 

Step #7: Get Devoted to Learning. The #1 skill of super successful people is that they are relentless learners. While others are wasting time on low-value websites or watching mindless reality tv shows, they are listening to audio programs, studying books on leadership and success and basically creating a rich, beautiful and meaningful life. As you journey through each day of 2010, make the time to fuel your brain with ideas on excellence and creating your absolute best. Nothing's more important than that. And please remember that all it takes is a single idea to transform the way you lead and how you live.

Do give me your thoughts whether you have any other advice that can help others..

Happy Xmas..

Until then 

Sharad

Quote: Wake up at 5:00 am. It is God's time. Anon

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Dear All,

Resolutions are critical for everyone but only if we implement them earnestly. At least we should try!

Like all human beings, I am sure your list is bubbling with pointers for efficiently ringing in 2010. But what are you thinking about to have on your list. Is it studying harder, saving more, completing assignments quickly or having more fun.

I know of students who put all or some of these as their new year resolution goals. But how many of them actually follow through is another story.

What have been your experiences of your friends and family who make new year resolutions.
Would be wonderful if you could share how your friends and family use the resolution tool. And maybe we can all learn from them.

And do share your one resolution that you can actually follow through on.Well atleat try with full earnestness. It could be just on saving money on making international calls, renting a car, movies or just partying.

Lets see what 2010 has in store for us.

Meanwhile let me quickly start writing my 2010 to do list.

Cheers

Quote: A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.



Anonymous

ENTERTAINMENT SAVINGS.. PART 2

While last time I wrote about sharing your entertainment experiences, this time I am writing to you on a definite saving on entertainment expenses.


Whether you are spending on movies, eating out, travel needs or amusement parks, there is one companion you cannot do without. And that is the "Entertainment book" of coupons. I am sure you have heard about it and deliberated its worthiness.

Take it from me and hosts of users, it is a MUST HAVE. With your investment of under $35-45 per geographical area, you save atleast 3-4 times on your usual spends. And god help you if you are a shopping afficianado. In my personal opinion it is almost impossible to exhaust all the coupons.

Here is the concept behind the book. Amazing saving coupons from branded retail outlets for the daily user to the shopaholic.

You need to remember that while you can buy the book anytime of the year, coupons are valid from start of the Year i.e. Jan-Dec. So why not promise yourself and start saving on what you spend on anyways.

Contact me if you would like to order the book and save additional $$$$ over any other offering.

Cheers

Quote: "The most valuable function performed by the federal government is entertainment."

— Dave Barry

Not Just Phone Savings

While I blabbered more than once on phone savings, no one can just endlessely be a couch potato and just phone talk. You gotta go out in the real world. Entertain yourself.

Be it movies, concerts, stand up comedy, nba basketball games or driving on highway 1 in california, a student has to spend smartly and yet live it up.

It would be interesting to hear from students who have entertained themselves in traditional/creative ways and saved along as well. Or one cannot have fun without blowing wads of money. Lets share..

Write in to share your own entertainment secret and how you creatively saved $$$$$$

Cheers

Quote: "I am amazed at radio DJs today. I am firmly convinced that AM on my radio stands for Absolute Moron. I will not begin to tell you what FM stands for."

— Jasper Carrott