Shopping On A Tight Budget

When it comes to shopping, you don’t necessarily have to pay the big bucks to look good. It is possible to shop and buy stylish clothes without breaking the bank. Here’s what you do:

1. Get online or look through magazines for the latest styles of the season. Take note and make a list of a few clothing essentials that you want to purchase. 

2. First, try shopping at thrift stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Plato’s Closest. Yes, these are second-hand clothing stores, but you can find some nice clothes (that are in style) for really cheap. You may have to take a little more time to hunt for clothes you like, but it'll be worth it in the end when you find out how much money you saved.

3. Also, try shopping at off-price stores like TJ Max, Marshalls, and Ross. You can find name-brand clothing and accessories for great prices. These types of stores purchase overstock clothing from big brand-name stores and then sell them for half-price. It’s a great deal.

4. Buy only what you need or really, really want. If you think you won’t be interested in an item of clothing two weeks down the road, don’t bother buying it. It’s smart to stop and really evaluate what you’re about to buy so that you don't waste your money.

5. Set a price limit for yourself and don’t go over it. Before you walk into a store set a limit for how much you will spend… like $40 for example. If you set a limit it can actually be easier when choosing clothing to buy because you’ll know what you can and cannot afford.

6. Also, for those of you who may be embarrassed to tell people that you shop at thrift stores, here’s what you can do: look at the label on the item of clothing and find out what store it originally came from. When people ask you where you got your shirt, you can say, “It came from Express”, and you won’t necessarily be lying J

Happy shopping!

College Clubs and Organizations

One of the many things that I love about attending a big university is there’s always some way to get involved on campus. Many universities offer a number of club and organizations for their students to get involved with that range from sports clubs, to theatre clubs, to academic clubs, and so on. Most universities have clubs that cover just about any interest you can think of. 

Getting involved in a club on campus is probably one of the best things that a college student can do. And here are the reasons why:

#1. You get to meet people and make friends! If you’re a freshman or transfer student, getting involved in a club is a fast and easy way to make friends. There’s also nothing wrong with joining a club your senior year! When you join a club, the chances of making new friends are inevitable.

#2. You’ll feel like you belong somewhere. And who doesn’t want that? It’s nice to feel like your part of a group.

#3. It looks good on a transcript/resume. Some clubs or organizations are prestigious enough to go on a resume or transcript, which is always a plus.

#4. You might get to travel! Many clubs, especially sports clubs, travel around the state and sometimes the country.

#5. You get to help others. Some clubs/organizations focus on doing volunteer work. Helping others is a great way to spend your time.

#6. You get to develop or continue a skill/interest/hobby. Clubs usually let anybody join no matter their talent or skill level, which means you're free to give a few different clubs a try!

Now, joining a club or organization may seem a bit daunting. Like, where do you start? Easy. Most colleges have information about their clubs and organizations on their website. You can usually find information about them under the student life category. The club info page should list all the information you need to know about joining the club. 

So, if you're looking for a way to make some new friends or develop a skill/interest/hobby, go join a club. You won't regret it!

College Students Need Sleep!

Sleep.

This word is so appealing to college students like myself. We love the thought of getting any extra sleep that we can get. So many of us are walking around campus exhausted to the point where we are catching our z's in class! (HINT: This does not score extra points with the teacher.) But honestly, no wonder we are all so tired... I mean, who wouldn’t be after spending endless hours taking in information - sitting in classes, listening to lectures, reading textbooks, writing 10-page papers, not to mention hanging out with friends until 3:00 in morning? College life can wear you out, man. 



 So, as educated students, we need to be smart about our sleeping habits. We have to take care of ourselves so that we can be functioning at our best every day. It's critical that we get adequate sleep every night. Researchers have found that students who get at least eight hours of sleep every night have higher test scores than those who get less than eight hours of sleep. This is because sleep is good for our brains! It improves our memory. But that's not all. Here's what else sleep does for us...

1. It reduces stress




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2. It helps keep extra weight off - during sleep, the body produces more leptin hormone, which keeps the body from gaining extra weight
3. It’s good for our health - the body makes cytokines during sleep that help the immune system fight infections
4. It’s good for our skin and hair - the body rejuvenates during sleep
5. It lifts the mood!

Try getting at least eight hours of sleep every night. Why eight? Because the body completes two complete REM cycles within eight hours and this is the “magic” number that our bodies respond best to. The more REM cycles your body completes, the more rejuvenated it is. So, for those of you who like to go to bed at 3:00 am but have to wake up by 7:00 to make it to class, try going to bed a few hours earlier. You’ll be amazed at how much more awake you feel during the day. Also, taking a power nap every afternoon has proven to increase alertness and can help you catch up on needed rest. And get this: a 20-minute nap is all your body needs. Researches have actually found that people who take a twenty-minute nap feel more rested than those who take a 2-hour nap during the day. This is because, with a 2-hour nap, your body dips too far into the REM cycle and it is harder to wake up. But with a 20-minute nap, your body is getting just the right amount of rest it needs to feel recharged.

Also, are you having trouble with falling asleep every night before bed? Here are some tips to help you feel more sleepy before bed in the evening…

1. Get some exercise during the day; this promotes restful sleep during the night.
2. Don’t take two-hour naps. The longer your naps are during the day, the less you will sleep at night. You disrupt your body’s natural sleep schedule by napping for too long during the day.
3. Go to bed at the same time every night. Pick a good time to go to bed. If it’s at 11:00, go to bed every night at 11:00. Your body will get used to this time and will naturally begin to feel sleepy around 11:00.
4. Don’t take a hot shower before bed. A hot shower will only wake up your body more.
5. Stretch. Doing yoga or gentle stretching relaxes your body.
6. Keep the room dark. Our bodies sleep best in complete darkness. You can even buy a sleep mask to block out light if necessary.
7. Don’t do school work on your bed. Train your body to view your bed as a place only for sleeping. If you read or study on your bed, your body will begin to think of it as a place to do work and not to sleep. So, read or study either at your desk in your room, or better yet, the library!

BOTTOM LINE: DO try getting 8 hours of sleep every night, even if this means going to bed earlier than you normally do. Also, DO take power naps - they help recharge your body during the day.

So, here's to getting more rest!

Sources: psychologytoday.com