Stephanie, Author at Poorer Than You

Rent Your Textbooks?

By Stephanie, updated August 12, 2007 18 Comments
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In my inbox this morning, I came upon a curious little message, which told me to “Rent your books this semester!” It came from Chegg, one of the many college textbook exchanges I joined while trying to sell my unwanted textbooks.

This idea of renting textbooks intrigues me, but I’m not sure if it’s really a good idea. From the website:

Renting Textbooks is Smarter!

Save up to 55-65% on books by renting.

No waiting in line.

Quick Delivery & Easy Returns.

Reusing books helps the environment.

All good things – saving money, saving time, and saving the environment. But how is this better than the many other sites that facilitate textbook exchange, like Starving Scholars or the Facebook Marketplace?

Buying your textbooks used directly from students also saves you money, and it’s also reusing the book, so it’s better for the environment as well. I suppose the only difference in renting books is that it saves you time.

So the difference here is, would you rather save more time, or more money? Personally, I’d rather take the time to hunt down the book from someone on campus, or a used copy on Amazon, and then sell it myself at the end of the semester.

Also, I find that with some of my textbooks, I don’t necessarily want to get rid of them at the end of the semester. A lot of my film textbooks were just downright interesting reads, or insanely useful for future classes, or a great reference for my future career. If I had rented them, I’d probably keep several of them at the end of the semester.

It doesn’t say on Chegg’s website how much that would cost me (although it does say that you can do it), but I suspect it would be a premium price, costing me more in the long run.

Switch from Debt Reduction to Emergency Fund

By Stephanie, updated August 11, 2007 15 Comments
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I’m doing something I never thought I’d do: I’m going against “The Math.” “The Math” tells me that I should aggressively pay down my credit card as quickly as I can, throwing every spare penny at it. “The Math” says that because the interest on my card is nearly 18%, and my savings accounts only earn about 5%, that my money is better spent on that credit card balance.

And for several months, I’ve been listening to “The Math.” And it has, up until now, served me well: I’ve managed to get my credit card debt down below 75% of my limit. This isn’t great, as far as my credit score is concerned, but it’s a definite improvement.

But “The Math” does not know all, and it’s time for a change. A temporary change. I’ve reduced my credit card payments to the minimum plus $1. Why the minimum plus $1?

It looks better on my credit report, because it doesn’t show up as “the minimum payment.”
It makes me feel better, because I’m not making “just the minimum payment.”
It brings the payment up to a nice, round $40, which appeals to my number-based brain.

And the money that was previously earmarked for my credit card is now headed for my newly formed emergency fund. I want some security. I don’t want to worry that my car is going to break down and I won’t be able to pay for it. I don’t want to panic if my income drops one month. And I definitely don’t want to have to borrow more money if I hit a rough spot.

But “The Math” shouldn’t worry – I’ll be back for that credit card debt soon enough.

Kid Business: Making Money at a Young Age

By Stephanie, updated August 9, 2007 81 Comments
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I have a confession to make: I spent the day yesterday on Yahoo! Answers. I was having a bit of writer’s block for the blog here, so I headed over the the Business & Finance section to see if any of the questions there would spark an idea for me. And boy, did it ever.

I see one question asked over and over again in that section. In fact, from what I’ve seen, it’s the most asked question. It goes something like this:

I’m a kid/teenager (somewhere between 11-17) and I want to make money, but I’m too young to be hired, or I can’t find a job for whatever reason. What can I do besides baby-sitting/lemonade stand/mowing lawns?

I love this question. I see myself in it, except I never asked this question as a kid. I already had the answer. I’d started my own business when I was 6 years old, writing and selling my own newspaper in my town. And I continued that business up until I was 13 years old.

So here’s my answer to everyone one of those young business-persons-in-the-making: You can start your own business. And you can do just about anything you want for your business.

But where to start? The library or bookstore. Head out and get your hands on one or both of these books:

Fast Cash for Kids by Bonnie and Noel Drew
and
Better Than A Lemonade Stand: Small Business Ideas For Kids by Daryl Bernstein.

I read these two books when I was a kid, and they helped so much with developing my idea into a real business. And they both come with tons and tons of ideas for businesses to start, if you haven’t thought of one already. I’m talking hundreds of businesses that you could start!

And teenagers, do not be put off by the fact that these books are targeted toward kids. Think of it this way – if a kid can do it, so can you, and you can probably do it bigger and better!

I would love to hear some stories of kids who’ve started their own businesses – please let me know if you’ve ever known or been a kid entrepreneur!

Citibank $100 Bonus Up Again

By Stephanie, updated August 6, 2007 3 Comments
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If you found my post about the Citibank $100 bonus too late, and found that they had dropped it down to $50, you might be in luck (assuming you didn’t open the account for the $50 bonus). The $100 bonus is back! But who knows for how long?

Open a Citibank Ultimate Savings account and enjoy a 4.75% APY as well as a $100 bonus – read my review of this account if you’re unsure (there are, of course, pros and cons), or check out my post on online savings accounts if you’re confused!

Carnival of Personal Finance #122 is up!

By Stephanie, updated August 6, 2007 1 Comment
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Before I get into the carnival and point out my favorites, I’d like to issue an apology. RSS feed subscribers were subjected to some wonkiness the last couple of days – not limited to duplicate items and truncated articles. I apologize – the feed was the injured party in my server move. I hope no one unsubscribed because they thought I have moved to partial feeds – it was just a glitch! This article and all future articles should publish the full article! And now, on to my carnival highlights!

This edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted by the Frugal Law Student and is the BEST WEEK EVER Edition (one of my favorite shows – it will probably be one of the only ones I start watching when I return home and have cable!). My College Freshman Checklist was included. Here are the other articles that I thoroughly enjoyed:

The Dough Roller shares 10 Things I Now Know at 40 That I Wish I Knew at 20 – maybe some of us that are 20 can take this advice and run with it!

Plonkee Money gives a lesson in British Money Slang – something that interests the linguist in me quite a bit! (That’s why I took Latin in high school instead of an modernly useful language.)

Millionaire Mommy let loose the secret of How I Became a Millionaire While Working In My Pajamas – what I like about her story is that there really is no secret to it!

Saving Advice did a wonderful photo essay of 25 Money Confessions.

Thanks again to the Frugal Law Student for hosting the carnival this week!