[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 »

Beyonce may have more super powers than we thought.

Imagine trying to find pants to fit the world’s longest legs!

Old men have become hot and sexy, according to Kate Winslet.

GM is pimping Barack Obama’s ride.

Tell your guy to hold out on that huge diamond purchase, they will be on sale soon!

Too lazy/exhausted of thinking of your status updates? Use this.

Peru wants to provide the presidential dog. It could be the ugliest dog alive.

Sarah Jessica Parker is the ultimate New Yorker.

Rock these looks for the Fall/Winter 2008.

Wax on, Wax off.

Listen up fellas!! It is National Men Make Dinner Day…so get your cute butts to cookin’.

The Brazilian wax never goes out of style.

Sarah Silverman’s boy toy, Jimmy, exposes Sarah’s past.

Buckle down the hatches…A storm is coming!

The election is now over (thank goodness)…so here is a 50% sale on Obama goodies!

There is nothing like running freely through Central Park with it all hanging out. Thanks Steve Guttenberg for the visual.

Is the person sitting next to you on the airplane driving you crazy? Well, just duct tape her down, duh!

Dying to play the new Left 4 Dead game? The demo will be out tomorrow. Game on!

Photo courtesy of photobucket.com

Some individuals think Sean Connery is a total hottie…and we think those people are wrong. And gross. And blind. But it seems Louis Vuitton’s people agree, as they just named Mr. Connery the new face of their ad campaigns.

The new ads will launch later this month, but we have a feeling the meetings behind the choice of (super) old dude went something like this:

“The economy sucks.”
“Yeah. It really sucks.”
“People don’t have the money to spend $100,000 on a suitcase! How do we make them more appealing?”
“We gotta make our leather look better. But how?”
“Oh! I know! Put it next to a really old guy. His leathery face will make our bags look like butter.”
“YES!”

Good work, LV. Your bags have never looked better!

Some call shopping a sport. And I agree. I mean, think about it. In order to get the job done right, one needs skill, technique, timing, and so much more. The only equipment you really need is a good, comfortable pair of shoes and a nice big purse (preferably with a fully-stuffed wallet and possibly a granola bar for some nourishment), and now there’s a new piece of equipment that’s going to make shopping a whole lot easier.

To get this new piece of shopping equipment, all you have to do is pull out your cell phone! No, not so you can chat it up with your friends as you bargain hunt, but so you can find the best deals on everything you’re shopping for. A new service called Pongr automatically tells you where you can get the best price on almost any item. Um, amazing?

According to the Pongr website, all you have to do is take a camera phone picture of the item you want (if it’s a book, CD, DVD, or video game) or type the UPC code or product description into a text message (if it’s clothing, shoes, electronics, or purses) and either e-mail your query to ping@pongr.com or text it to SHOPP. You’ll automatically get a text message back telling you where you can get the item for cheapest. If it’s online, you can purchase the item right from your phone and if it’s a brick and mortar store, Pongr will give you directions to the store. Read More »

Sometimes, the best things in life come unexpectedly. Like that time you ran into a store “just to browse” and you found a rockin pair of jeans for super cheap. Or when you got randomly paired up with your roommate and now you can’t imagine how you lived the last 20 years without her- you swear you must have been separated at birth.

This got us thinking - that perhaps, the best MEN in life also come unexpectedly… not only is timing everything, but apparently so is location. So we’ve put together the 5 most unlikely places to meet a man. Try them out or try out an unlikely place of you very own…

The 5 Most Unlikely Places to Meet a Man Read More »

Birthdays are days when you’re allowed to do whatever you want, eat whatever you want, and bask in amazement that you’ve actually gotten this old and still haven’t managed to find Ryan Gosling’s home address (what? Just me?). Anyhoo, being that I am now officially old enough to have a quarter-life crises, I’ve decided to share some things I’ve loved ever since I kicked my way out of the womb two months early (I’m impatient).

The Last Unicorn