Queercents

I call it “Vaga-bonding”. I’m bonding with new places, pets and people this year. One of the many wonderful benefits of being queer is worldwide queer community and one of the benefits of queer community is queer housing connections. While in college I benefited from this in terms of living in great all-queer households, and now I get queer community on a more adult level. I can move from house-sitting job to house-sitting job and never pay rent and I can travel without hotel costs.

Professional House-Sitting is great for artists (like me), the self-employed, people in periods of transition out of live-in relationships, people waiting for the buying of a house to go through and my own personal number-one reason is that I don’t want to settle for any living-space right now. I want to look around and find a great deal and that may take months to a year It’s also great for anyone who wants to enjoy more luxury than they can by themselves afford. I’ve always been one for make-believe.

Reasons people hire house-sitters: Read the rest of this entry »

With the summer travel season upon us I wanted to write about one of my favorite travel related savings tips and hints. Hostels, most often overlooked as a lodging opportunity, actually provide a wealth of savings and cultural opportunities.

Full disclosure and fair warnings up front: I’m a member of my local non-profit hostel’s board of directors. Many hostels not only provide lodging for guests of all ages but they also enrich their communities through education and outreach. We just celebrated our tenth anniversary here in Madison, Wisconsin which was an opportunity to host community members for an afternoon of entertainment.

For the budget savvy, hostels offer two great money saving opportunities. First, a bed here in Madison starts at around $18 per night. Single rooms start around $41. Many hostels, including Madison’s are located in the heart of metropolitan areas. Compare the hostel prices to the room rate for the hotel across the street where rooms start at $199 per night. Both the hotel, and Madison’s hostel are located two blocks from the state’s capitol building.

Second, many of a hostel’s community educational, social, or cultural events are offered to the public at no or very low costs. Not only does this present another savings opportunity but it means that your money is well spent and will be reinvested in the local community. Read the rest of this entry »

As summertime approaches, we will be inundated with free activities in which to participate. From parades and neighborhood picnics to outdoor summer concerts and local theater, you’ll start to hear about events in your community. With a little attention and planning you can have an awesome summer of fun on a low budget.

To kick off the season, here’s one it’s not too late to take advantage of! Read the rest of this entry »

Yo! How many times have you walked past the bulletin board outside the school library and pined for the day when you’d be able to take that semester abroad trip to Spain? Wondering how you’re going to get to Miami or Cabo for Spring break? Let’s see… you’re broke, right? Don’t cry, it’ll be OK.

First and foremost, any financial aid you receive from your school or from your state and/or federal government may be transferable to your study abroad program or host institution, meaning you’d have few out-of-pocket expenses if you did decide to study abroad. These out-of-pocket expenses include airfare, train tickets, lodging, and food”not to mention those cute little wooden shoes you found on your foray into Denmark. “So, Erin,” you say, “I’d still have to spend money to study abroad. What’s your point?” Well, you don’t have to spend as much money as you may have expected. Read the rest of this entry »

To attend a community college in my county in California, it costs $20 per unit. Each class is 3 units, so if you’re taking the full load (12 units), it’s costing you $240 per semester in tuition. Quite a steal, really, when you consider the fact that the average cost to attend a UC is around $20,000 a year, and a private university is upwards of $30,000. I took 12 units my first semester of college, and spent $498 on books. I spent twice as much on books than I did on my actual classes!

So I did a little digging. I cruised around online and visited some company websites for offset printers (people who print our too-heavy, oversized tomes of college wisdom). It can cost as little as $0.70 to print a standard paperback, so to print a full-color textbook, average market price $50-$100, my guess is that it only costs around $10 to $15. If your eyeballs aren’t falling out of your sockets yet, just know that book distributors, book stores, and publishing companies are collectively making $40 to $90 off that book gathering dust under your bed all semester. I hate money-stealers. I hate being ripped off. And as a college student, I especially hate paying more than I have to for something I need to make a future for myself.

I’ve got some suggestions for cutting down on your textbook costs, so listen up! Read the rest of this entry »