Equipment Leasing | Commercial Mortgage

Once young people make the transition to college, they want to be able to get around so that they can explore and enjoy their new found freedom. During an economy crisis, parents may be weary and concerned about how they can help their college student with their transportation needs without it costing the family an exorbitant amount of money. Here are three great and cheap ways that everyone can get what they want…students can get around and parents can keep some of their hard earned cash in their wallets:

Bus it! Using public transportation is one way that many people are able to get around without the expense of maintaining a vehicle. This economy crisis and the high gas costs have made it more feasible for people to use buses, subways, and trains more often. Students usually qualify for low price tickets or special pricing for monthly passes for unlimited riding. Students can buy for cheap a bus or transit pass as they learn the different routes to meet their own personal travel needs.

Always encourage them to use school provided transportation when available. Many colleges and universities will offer students free transportation to popular local venues. The cost is often incorporated into their university fees. This can be a great benefit for students that need to go to places within walking distance of the various university bus stops. Not only is this a chance for frugal students to get around and save, but it is also a safe alternative that parents can appreciate.

Encourage your frugal student to create a carpool or ride share program at their school. It’s fairly easy to set up and would allow for everyone involved to save money and still do their local travel around town. These types of ride share programs work great for students that don’t have any other transportation access and for students that work at common places like malls or city centers.

The way that a ride share program would work is that those who have a vehicle would charge a small fee for others to ride along to these places. The fee could cover the cost of gas and possibly insurance for the students. Students without vehicles benefit because they can buy for cheap rides all over the place, and their parents don’t have to worry about paying high insurance bills or keeping their gas tanks full.

Set a gas budget for students with vehicles. If your college student just has to have his or her own wheels, then, it is best to set a budget for their gas expense. This will help them to learn to manage their time and resources. When students understand that they can only spend a certain amount of money, which parents can regulate by providing students with a gas card or prepaid credit card, they will limit unnecessary travel.

One of the best things that you can ever teach your college student is how to practice money saving, cost-consciousness, and careful spending. Tell him or her to buy for cheap their gas so that they can stretch their budget and still have gas to get to all of the places that they want to go. College is about learning to be a responsible adult. Finding ways to save and still enjoy life are a big part of that. When it comes to your college student, help them to become the frugal fashionista that they need to be to take care of their transportation needs by researching and spending wisely during the economy crisis, and for the rest of their lives!

Summer goes almost as quickly as it comes. The end of those long, hot days of fun signifies the start of the upcoming school year. That’s when parents, teachers, and kids start preparing for the “back to school” season! But, during an economy crisis, such as we are in, people are a little concerned about how far their hard earned money will stretch this year. Truth is, there are plenty of ways for families for get FREE back to school clothes or to buy for cheap any clothes that the kids will need to make a fashion statement this school year without making a bad statement on your bank account. Here’s how:

Organize a clothing swap. For teenagers, especially, you can create a party dedicated specifically to fun and fashion. Get a large group of parents together and secure a large free space, such as a church basement or community center. Each parent commits to providing a low cost snack or drink, and make sure to have “shopping bags”. Have parent and teens bring their clothes that are too small or that they are just ready to let go. The key to making the event go over is for everyone to bring clothes in good condition, making sure that they are ironed, laundered, and on hangers. Organize the clothing by size and gender. You could even offer a small bin for clothes that “need help”, which families may be able to use as the base of sewing projects. Then, invite the kids, play some funky music, watch them snack and shop… all for the cost of a little snack! Every family will benefit from the free clothes and the event will be a blast for the kids.

Make the most of consignment. Take all of those clothes that your kids can no longer fit or that they never had a chance to wear to your local consignment shop. These wonderful shops will purchase your slightly used clothing from you. You can expect to get paid 30-50% of the price that they will be selling your stuff for. Then, after you get your money, you can buy some of the cool stuff that they have there. Expect to find high quality, top name brands for up to 85% off of the regular retail price. Use the money they give you for your old stuff and you will be getting a whole new wardrobe for FREE!

Work the off -season sales! Buy for summer in the late fall and for winter in the early spring. By following this simple formula, you will be able to buy for cheap any and everything that you will need. From shoes to sweaters, flip-flops to swimsuits, when you buy off season, you can expect to save upwards of 90% off of the regular retail price. When you find a really good deal, buy in abundance, and have great stuff for the kids as they grow.

Malls don’t always offer the best ways for saving, cost-cutting, or opportunities to buy for cheap. During this economy crisis, you may need to try other places and ways for buying those back to school clothes that your kids will need. Creativity and a little planning could take your dollars a long way!

Don’t make the invitations a major investment! Either buy for cheap all of the materials that you need to make fabulous invites or just buy the cheapest invites that you can find. You can always make a plan invite “cool” by adding a few little embellishments fashioned from stuff that you have around the house. It’s amazing what you can do with a marker, glue, and some odds and ends. Of course, technology has allowed for even cheaper alternatives. You could always text an invite, call to invite someone, or just email them one of those fun and funky online invitations. Any of these alternatives will get the job done without costing you an arm and a leg!

Make invitations or find some that you can buy for cheap! Try not to lose sight of the point of the birthday celebration. It’s to have fun! So, the invitations don’t have to be the focal point of things. They simply serve to get the “party started right”. There are plenty of great invitations that you can find at your local dollar store or discount party supply shop. You could even possibly find some at your local thrift store, which is sure to have some that have been left over from another person’s party endeavor. If you decide to make the invitations, be sure to use what you have already; otherwise, you could spend a lot on buying supplies. Research some styles online and use basic stuff to make some funky invites. But, since you are online anyway…you could even nix the paper invitations for some extra cool email invitations, which are usually FREE! Of course, don’t forget that a phone call or text message invite works just as well, also.

Holiday items work wonders for goodie bags! Holidays bring about a ton of potential birthday goodies such as stickers, candy, and gobs of toys. Plan to buy your goodie bag items after the biggie holidays like Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. You could save as much as 90% off of the regular price tag. Buy for cheap and save for later is the saving “recipe” that any frugal fashionista should know!

Use and reuse when it comes to party decorations and supplies! Party stores have so many leftover items from the different themes that they prepare for each year that they have a hard time getting rid of this stuff. For a maximum saving, cost-conscious people should buy this stuff up and use it when they need it. Not only use it, but reuse it. Many of these items could easily have a second life. For instance, for St. Patrick’s Day, there is tons of green stuff. Well, for a kid’s birthday, if any of their favorite characters have green in their decor, then you could reuse that St. Patty’s stuff again! Mix or match the various holiday leftovers with the “character” stuff and you could end up with a considerable saving.

Keep the food cheap, easy, and kid-friendly! Kids like simple foods that are easy to eat. With that in mind, take advantage of that. They love many foods that you can get on sale by using coupons at your local supermarket. From frozen pizza that can sectioned for children to an all-time favorite like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that are cut into fun shapes like stars, there are plenty of party foods that you can buy for cheap by just using coupons and taking advantage of sales.

Take advantage of cheap and free party places! There are tons of free places that you could use for a party, such as community centers and parks. Sometimes, you will find that the prices are different if you are a “group” with a reservation, with which you will end up paying a premium to hold your space. However, if you just show up with your group, these spaces are often FREE to use. In an economy crisis like we are in, you may want to seek out these free spaces as opposed to spending tons of money for a space.

When it comes to party planning, if you buy for cheap, consider every possible saving, cost-cut by networking, and use a little creativity, you could end up with money left over after your affair to buy yourself a nice little gift for all of your labor!