In The Wise Words Of ABBA, “money Money Money, Must Be Funny In The Rich Man’s World.” Unfortunately

In the wise words of ABBA, “money money money, must be funny in the rich man’s world.” Unfortunately most students are hardly part of the rich man’s world, so here I’ve compiled a list of tips regarding how I personally manage to save and budget my money!

general tips

ask yourself: do you really, really need this, right now? my parents make so much fun of me because i will spend half an hour in a store and end up not buying anything, but this is a really important and effective way to prevent purchases that you could justify, but don’t actually need. i LOVE christmas shopping and gift shopping, but i have to limit myself to one gift per person. do they really need a second gift? even if it seems cute and perfect? no. you want a second or third vest, but do you need it? you have a washing machine and you can wear that vest more than one time before washing it.

keep money in perspective. if you see something that you think is a good price, check yourself by measuring it against a practical essential. for example, you could get that $20 top, OR you could get 9 toothbrushes for the same amount of money. (that’s kind of a lame analogy, but you get what i mean)

do not spend unnecessary money just because it’s a sale! make sure to still ask yourself if you need it. even if it’s a great sale, remember that it’s still money that you’re spending. spend it wisely! it’s better for your purse if you spend nothing because you don’t absolutely need something than if you spend even a little bit on something you don’t need.

BUDGET/TRACK YOUR SPENDINGS. (see below)

budgeting

download money-saving apps. I keep track of my spendings by keeping a binder full of all my receipts, taped to paper and inserted chronologically. And I use spending tracker by MH Riley Ltd (free on the app store), which allows you to log expenses and income, set budgets, and create categories. You can see pie charts for a breakdown of how much you spend on each category as well! I’ve used it for a couple months now and it’s been really useful because I can also see how much I spend in a big spending month (December) vs a normal month. I honestly spend a lot less money than I feel like I do - so it helps me stress a little bit less about money - and when I know that I log every purchase, it helps me save more and be more conscious of what I’m spending (similar to the effect that paying with cash instead of card has).

budget before each month/semester/season. You’ll have a general plan of what’s going to happen in that time frame (trips, classes, weather) and can plan expenses accordingly - estimate how much you’ll spend on whatever you’re planning to do. Leave yourself a cushion (I usually overestimate by a lot on purpose haha) and allow for food/leisure/shopping expenses. It can also help to work backwards, starting with a baseline amount of money you want to spend and either dividing it up by week/month (spend x amount of money per week), or breaking up the sum into categories as previously mentioned.

shopping tips

sign up for rewards at pharmacies. i am a hardcore CVS customer and saver, and i’m not sure about other pharmacies (from my experience, they aren’t nearly as good when you need to save). one time i saved 52% on my purchase! they’re great with giving you extrabucks and with a card, you can often take advantage of a LOT of deals.

clip coupons to your heart’s content! seriously. coupon clipping is nothing to be ashamed of. i am that person that shows up to the counter with a stack of coupons #noshame.

settle for non-brand name products (sometimes). this isn’t a foolproof rule; there are some items where the less expensive version is actually bad compared to the more expensive brand names, but usually the cheap brand of food is okay/tolerable too, and can be significantly less expensive, and if you go with the generic brands, the savings stack up.

shop online. look out for in-store deals. old navy is my all time FAVORITE to online shop. they have excellent deals, esp around the holidays. stores have sales relatively frequently; if they don’t have any sales going on (other than their sale rack, which is always a good place to check first), go back again later.

go straight to the sale section. this is pretty obvious.

look at unit prices. the best deal is really based on the unit price. i get that sometimes you just want the least expensive item, but if it’s something like a baking essential and you want to get the best quantity for the price, check the unit price first.

if you are small enough, check the kid’s section. kid’s clothes and shoes are generally less expensive. an adult small is usually equivalent to a girl’s L or XL, and a boy’s M or L. an adult size 6 shoe is usually a girl’s size 3. they make some wicked cute sweaters and t shirts and shoes for kids, and you can save up to 50%! especially on small things like flip flops, plain t shirts, etc.

tell stores when your birthday is if they ask! i know a few stores do ask for your birthday (vera bradley is the one that jumps to mind first), and if they do, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT! i got a legitimate coupon from vera bradley for the month of november out of it and was able to get a wallet at a great discount!

‘checks and balances’: college student style

shop with cash. when you pay with cash and not a card, you see how much you’re spending. i get paid in cash when i babysit, and that’s usually my spending money for the week. if i’m out of cash and i’m going shopping, i’ll withdraw like $40-60. when i have the physical money in my hand it’s easier to reality check and budget than if i swipe a card, even if i have a number in my head already.

take your time. okay, this isn’t always an option, but impulse buys are what often get people - those little things at the line in forever 21, or the candies by the cash registers at k mart. take time to deliberate over whatever it is that you’re buying.

saving on practicalities

rent textbooks. i know there are a lot of websites out there where you can supposedly download books. i haven’t looked at any of them (here’s a masterpost by @blogresources that includes a section about free textbooks), but i know i prefer having a physical book. you can rent most textbooks (i can’t make guarantees, but from what i’ve seen/heard) on amazon for a fraction of the price, and they will give it to you for the entire semester. for example, i need a textbook, and i could buy it for $143 or rent it for $22.

don’t buy fancy stationery. use that as a major splurge, but honestly, you can get by just fine with $1 notebooks from the pharmacy and pens and pencils that will do the job. i have found plenty of pens that cost less than $3 that i love.

carpool / bike / walk / take PT when possible. it depends where you live; i know that sg has an amazing PT system. it takes longer to get places, but costs like $3 from one side of the island to the other. if you live in boston and places are available via the T, take advantage of that, and so on with all the cities out there. if you can reasonably bike to somewhere, do it. walking is always best. but don’t let yourself get hypothermia! if it’s cold, take a taxi or car. gas prices stack up big time, and it doesn’t really make sense to have a car in college anyway!

don’t eat out. don’t go to starbucks. these are small things that chew up a LOT of money each month. i limit myself to eating out once every 1-2 months, and set a $10 limit when i do so. starbucks/dunkin donuts = splurge. bring water/drinks and snacks with you, especially if you know that you’re going out and will likely get hungry!

disclaimers

REMEMBER TO TREAT YOURSELF SOMETIMES. set a budget each month and if you come out under the budget, it’s okay to treat yourself! don’t use up all the deficit if you can, but treat yourself to something nice that you don’t explicitly need but that you’ll use.

make allowances for social events! if you are hanging out with a friend, going to the movies, going out to eat, etc, be mindful of your money but don’t turn down an invitation just because you don’t want to spend the money. going to a movie once every 1-2 months is okay! you can find someplace inexpensive to eat, or agree to eat before going and just get ice cream (less expensive) after.

moderation is key. this all sounds really restrictive, but do remember that moderation is okay here. you shouldn’t sacrifice your comfort and health just to save some money. everything will be okay in the end, and stressing about money isn’t good for anyone.

please message me if you have any other specific questions!

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the no bullshit guide to getting your shit together: for the lazy student

Let’s be honest: time management and organization? They’re really hard. Sure, at first you might feel like you’ve gotten the hang of them, that you’re in control of your life. But how often have you fallen off the wagon? Procrastinated on one thing and the next moment, you’re behind in all your classes? I know that sometimes laziness feels like a part of who you are, but honestly, fuck that. Do you really want to give up your success for the disinterest of a moment?

If your answer is no (it better be no, or you really need to get your priorities straight), let’s get to it.

STEP ONE: BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF

“This class doesn’t even matter.” “I don’t care about my grades.” “I can finish this the day before.” Sound familiar? You might feel great now, but when you’re staring down at your report card later, it’ll feel like you just got punched.

This is a cliche, but the greatest obstacle to your success is yourself - especially the lies you tell yourself! Sit yourself down and be honest about what you need to improve on. Be as blunt as you can, but for god’s sake, don’t throw yourself a pity party! There’s no use agonizing over what you can’t change. Instead, set realistic, achievable goals, and make a game plan. Struggling with math? Go to extra help. Behind in all your classes? Stay in for a couple nights and actually work.

STEP TWO: STOP WITH THE FANCY SHIT

Now you know what your goals are, but maybe you want some inspiration, so you log on to tumblr and are instantly bombarded by all these beautiful, well lit shots of the most gorgeous bullet journals, planners, and notes. Impressive, right? Well, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: they’re all useless! A simple phone planner works just as well, if not better, than a fancy agenda, because you’ll always have it on you, it’s not a hassle to carry around, and you don’t feel obligated to make it look pretty.

Riddle me this, where are you going to find all this extra motivation to keep prettying up your bullet journal? To write all your notes in perfect, colour coded printing? There aren’t many times in life where taking the easy was out will actually benefit you, so take advantage! Stop wasting your time; get a phone planner and write your notes in your natural goddamn handwriting.

STEP THREE: CLEAN YOUR ROOM

Yep, your entire room - not just your study space! This one can be put on the back burner for a bit if you’re on a really pressing deadline, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m notoriously messy, and if I don’t watch myself, I’d find myself in dirty-laundry-and-old-notes hell. A little bit of organized chaos is fine, I even encourage it! But try working when your desk is covered in mounds of paper and you have nowhere to put your laptop – it’s just not conducive to success.

Keeping your entire room clean is a way to stave off stress, frustration, and even embarrassment, because nobody wants to show potential roommates how much of a mess they are.

STEP FOUR: ACTUALLY WORK

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: “actually work? Who does this girl think she is?” I’d probably think the same thing, except I’ve learned the valuable lesson of sucking it the hell up, and you will too. When you get home from work, grab a snack and work. When you have a free period, figure out what’s due and work. Stop reasoning yourself out of work: you’re not going to finish this later, and that will be on the test. There’s really not much to say about this one, because it’s the step that requires the most raw effort, and you’re really only going to find that within yourself. Tell yourself what’s at stake, and realize that, by setting the standard for your mediocrity now, you’re potentially trapping yourself in a cycle that will last for years.

STEP FIVE: CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK

Maybe you’ve been on top of your shit for a day, a week, or even a month, and that’s really great. But then… you fail. You miss a deadline or you bomb a test. So what do you do now? Do you allow yourself to fall back into your old habits? Fuck no! Everyone fails, even that studyblr with those perfect bullet journal photos and a perpetually clean study space. I’m going to tell you something that’ll sound really strange: you should value your failures, especially if you worked hard to avoid them. What?! Be HAPPY about failing when I actually TRIED? Yeah, you heard me right. If you don’t know how to handle failure, then when you inevitably experience it, your reaction will be much worse.

Failing hurts, and boy, I know how embarrassing it can be. But learning how to deal with failure, and especially how to keep trying after it happens, is an invaluable lesson.

STEP SIX: TREAT. YO. SELF.

Disclaimer: I’m not suggesting you treat yourself after the most basic of tasks, because please. Treat yourself when you know you goddamn well deserve it. Remember that “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.” If all you do is study and do your homework, then, pardon my french, your life sucks. If you don’t have friends, play a video game! Eat an entire jumbo chocolate bar! Indulge in whatever the fuck you want, you deserve it. I’m someone that has trouble prioritizing future benefits over immediate gratification, so by allowing myself little pleasures, I save myself from crashing and burning.

Hope these tips helped, but remember to take them with a grain of salt - you’re you and I’m me, and different things work for different people. Good luck!

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swirlspill-study

7 years ago

[ 02.05.16 • 4/100 DAYS OF PRODUCTIVITY ] 4 days till my exams yikes D: my first exam isn’t even geography but the subject is so content heavy so I’m studying first even though I have 8 days to the exam ahhhh didn’t really bother putting a super nice set-up for the picture because meh good luck to those having their mid-years or their finals!!

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Inspiration

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swirlspill-study

2 years ago

FREE MEDICAL PDFs

Anatomy:

1–> KLM for Gross Anatomy

2–> Snell’s Anatomy

3–> BD Churassia

4–> RJ Last

5–> Grey’s Anatomy

6–> Langman Embryology

7–> KLM for Embryology

8–> BD For General Anatomy

9–> Dissector

10–> Di Fore Histology

11–> Junqueira’s Histology

12–> Netter Atlas of human Aantomy

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LYV9KQ3lxY29FY28

Physiology:

1–> Guyton

2–> Ganong

3–> Sheerwood

4–> Sembulingam

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LdXlCSjdZM214dEE

Biochemistry:

1–> Harper

2–> Lippincott

3–> Chatterjea

4–> Satyanarayan

5–> Stryer

6–> MRS Biochemistry

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0Ld0o3WnhCR2VEczg

Pathology:

1–> Big Robins

2–> Medium Robins

3–> Pathoma

4–> Goljan

5–> Harsh Mohan Pathology

6–> Atlas of Histopathology

7–> Levinson

8–> MRS microbiology

9–> Microbiology by Jacquelyn G. Black

10–> Color Atlas of Microbiology

11–> Kaplan Pathology

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LYkRYdjFrTm5MR0U

Pharmacology:

1–> Big Katzung

2–> Mini Katzung

3–> Kaplan Review

4–> Lippincott

5–> Pocket Katzung

6–> Rang and Dale’s Pharmacology

7–> Atlas of Pharmacology

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LMkE1UUVRZGwtTlU

Forensic Medicine:

1–> Simpson’s Forensics

2–> Krishan’s Forensics

3–> Atlas of Autopsy

4–> Atlas of Forensic Medicine

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LQXVwOGoyWnFSV2s

Ophthalmology:

1–> Jogi

2–> Jatoi

3–> Parson’s Textbook of Eye

4–> Kanski

5–> AK Khurana

6–> Atlas of ophthalmology

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LOHc5WVZMdkJjX2M

Otorhinolaryngology:

1–> Dhingra

2–> Logans Turner

3–> Color Atlas of Otorhinolaryngology

4–> Maqbool’s Text Book of ENT

5–> Clinical Methods in ENT by PT Wakode

6–> ENT at a Glance

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LaDY2a0lFNDlfTGc

Community Medicine:

1–> Monica’s Text Book Community Medicine

2–> Mahajan And Gupta Text Book of Community Medicine

3–> Bancroft’s Text Book of Community Medicine

Folder link–> https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0Lc1RCMml2NjhFNjA

Internal Medicine:

1–> Churchill’s Pocketbook of DD

2–> MTB Step 2 Ck

3–> Davidson Essentials

4–> Davidson Principals and practice

5–> Harrison’s Internal Medicine

6–> Internal Medicine USMLE Nuggets

7–> Internal Medicine on call bt LANGE 8–> Oxfords Specialties

Folder link–>https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LeEFJNG5TMlc4eWc

Surgery:

1–> Bailey_love short practice of Surgery

2–> Churchill’s pocketbook of Surgery

3–> Deja Review of surgery

4–> Farquharson’s Textbook of Operative General Surgery

5–> Hamilton Bailey’s Physical Signs

6–> Oxford Handbook of Clinical Surgery

7–> Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery

8–> Macleod’s Clinical Examination

9–> Macleod’s Clinical Diagnosis

Folder link–>https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LRFpFSG5hZ1pVWkE

Obstetrics & Gynecology:

1–> Case Discussions in Obstetrics and Gynecology

2–> Deja Review of Obstetrics Gynecology

3–> Obstetrics by Ten Teachers

4–> Gynaecology illustrated

5–> Gynaecology by Ten Teachers

Folder link–>https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LMU1LRjFDa1FrbjA

Pediatrics:

1–> Nelson Essentials of Pediatrics

2–> Nelson Complete

3–> Pediatrics Review

Folder link–>https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3WdpdsqpX0LUkdTQkVuNV92Yzg

I hope this helps everyone, it’s not mine. But has been shared to me and I am sharing this with all of you.

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medicine resource

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swirlspill-study

7 years ago

Read JY Yang’s “Waiting on a Bright Moon”, a story of rebellion among far-flung colonies united by song magic.

Xin is an ansible, using her song magic to connect the originworld of the Imperial Authority and its far-flung colonies— a role that is forced upon magically-gifted women “of a certain closeness”. When a dead body comes through her portal at a time of growing rebellion, Xin is drawn deep into a station-wide conspiracy along with Ouyang Suqing, one of the station’s mysterious, high-ranking starmages.

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books to read

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swirlspill-study

7 years ago

DEAR RESEARCHERS OF TUMBLR

You know what’s awesome? Research. You know what’s not awesome? Not being able to get access to research because it’s stuck behind a paywall and you don’t belong to an institution/your institution doesn’t subscribe to that particular journal.

FEAR NOT.

Here is a list of free, open access materials on a variety of subjects. Feel free to add if you like!

GO FORTH AND LEARN SHIT, MY FRIENDS.

Directory of Open Access Journals- A compendium of over 9000 journals from 133 countries, multilingual and multidisciplinary.

Directory of Open Access Books- Like the above, but for ebooks. Also multidisciplinary.

Ubiquity Press- Journals covering archaeology, comics scholarship, museum studies, psychology, history, international development, and more. Also publishes open access ebooks on a wide variety of subjects.

Europeana- Digital library about the history and culture of Europe.

Digital Public Library of America- American history, culture, economics, SO MUCH AMERICA.

Internet Archive- In addition to books, they have music and videos, too. Free! And legal! They also have the Wayback Machine, which lets you see webpages as they looked at a particular time.

College and Research Libraries- Library science and information studies. Because that’s what I do.

Library of Congress Digital Collections- American history and culture, historic newspapers, sound recordings, photographs, and a ton of other neat stuff.

LSE Digital Library- London history, women’s history.

Wiley Open Access- Science things! Neurology, medicine, chemistry, ecology, engineering, food science, biology, psychology, veterinary medicine.

SpringerOpen- Mainly STEM journals, looooong list.

Elsevier Open Access- Elsevier’s kind of the devil but you might as well take advantage of this. Mainly STEM, also a linguistics journal and a medical journal in Spanish.

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reference research

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swirlspill-study

7 years ago

Yeah Chem, Its Not Like I Have A Social Status To Live Up To. 112115.

yeah chem, its not like i have a social status to live up to. 112115.

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Inspiration

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swirlspill-study

4 years ago

I need advice. I've always had a problem with my grades. I've failed a lot of classes, not because I don't understand, just because I'm so depressed I can't find the motivation to do a single thing. I know that this year I NEED to get good grades. Report cards are almost out. Im more depressed now then ever. I have bad grades at the moment. I just recently learned that I have to put my cat down, and that is making it hard for me to even speak, let alone get stuff done. Any advice

/hugs/ I’m so sorry to hear that you’re going through a rough time. Especially with your cat.

First thing is first: take time. From what you’ve written, it doesn’t sound like the content of your classes is causing you trouble. Rather, it seems like there’s external factors that’s preventing you from studying - circumstances which are triggering your depression etc.

Studying with depression is difficult. Consider professional help as an option. Rely on your support network. Learn to forgive yourself for not performing at your best because of your mental illness. Remember - it is something to be managed; not a barrier to your success.

I’d also consider speaking with your faculty/ advisor etc. There may be formal avenues of review or adjustments to where/ when you take your exams and/or deadlines that may help relieve the stress in the interim as you get back on your feet.

Here’s some tips re: motivation

Five Practical Study Tips to Keep Motivated in School by @nag-aaral/ @sadgirlstudying (working link by @pas-au-talent)

Motivation by @areistotle

Motivation masterpost by @elkstudies

Motivation masterpost by @artkidstudies

Tips for avoiding burnout and staying motivated by @coffeesforstudiers

And for dealing with failure:

Dealing with Failure

Shit Grade? Feeling better after a terrible exam

This response

And this one

And this one here

On Bad Semesters by @post–grad

This Masterpost by @areistotle

How to Fail by @psychstudyblr

Good luck - give yourself time. Focus on “how” (not just a demand - ‘need’) to get exams. Celebrate your victories - not matter how small. Because it’s going to be a slow process. But you’ll get there. It may not be the ‘perfect’ solution or the perfect ‘result’ you want - but hell, we’re human. It keeps things interesting.

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