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Being Frugal in College (Ep. 27)

Kristin WongYo, I’m about the blow your mind here.

Ok… think about the amount of money you have right now. Imagine it in a vault, like Scrooge McDuck’s except really tiny – like the size of a port-a-potty or something.

Alright. Now imagine your port-a-potty vault having even more money in it.

WHAAAAAAAT! I know, right? Now, the best way to end up with more money (dropping the port-a-potty metaphor now, don’t worry) is to actually make more money – which is why I talk so much about becoming more attractive to recruiters.

However, the other side of the coin – saving money – shouldn’t be ignored. That’s why I decided to bring Kristin Wong on the podcast.

Kristin runs Brokepedia, which – if you can’t tell already – is a site all about being frugal and saving money in cool ways. She also write for TwoCents Lifehacker and Get Rich Slowly, which are two great personal finance blogs.

Between her life experiences and all the writing she’s done, Kristin’s brain is a treasure trove of frugality knowledge. Plus, she tweets pure gold like this:

Want to learn how to cut your college expenses and keep extra money in the bank? I’ve got my mic and my brain shovel, so tune in.

Things mentioned in this episode:

Resources of the Week:

At the beginning of each episode, I briefly feature one tool I’ve found to be useful, as well as one learning resource I’ve found enlightening.

  • The Tool: Martin says… Trello! I love Trello; it’s one of the best tools out there for group projects, and you could even use it for your homework.
  • The Learning Resource: The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage – a great book on the origins of the telegraph. I really enjoyed this one. Also, I’m doing weekly book recommendations on the CIG Facebook page now!

Listener Tip of the Week

This week’s listener tip comes from Steven, who has some great advice on staying focused and avoiding procrastination. Thanks Steven! Check out the episode to hear his tip.

“Hey, I have a great tip too!” – you

On every episode listener tip on each episode before I dive into the main content. Want to be featured on the podcast? I’m looking for tips in each of these categories:

  • General college tips – learning, studying, productivity, etc
  • Jobs and internships
  • Money management

If you’d like your tip featured on the show, email it or tweet it to me!

Also, remember to leave your name – and if you’d like me to give a shoutout to something of yours (your website, twitter profile, etc), mention that as well.

A couple great quotes from our conversation:

“If you have experience and skills that you can bring to the table, then you’re allowed to negotiate your salary.” | Tweet This

“Why does everyone think frugal people make their own soap?” | Tweet This

“If you’re wasting a lot of your time to save a little money, you’re just being cheap.” | Tweet This

“Watching the news is important because you don’t want to be surprised by the weather!” – Time Warner Lady

If you enjoyed this episode, give the CIG podcast a review on iTunes!