College Budget $$

Now that I am 18 years old...almost 19. I've become very cautious of what I buy. I was reading some of the blogs I follow and stumbled upon A Bowl Full of Lemons Budget Binder. After reading through the post I decided to make my own! Our binders are very different from each other because of our age difference and she owns a home + she's a mother. So with hers in mind I created my Budget Binder to my needs.
What you'll need to create a budget binder:

• 1" Binder (or whatever you prefer)
• Binder dividers (I used 5)
• A poly envelope
• Labeler or something to label the tabs
• Something to label the binder (I used stickers!)

For my budget binder I used a black 1" binder which I purchased at a Dollar Tree. The only downside to this binder is that it has no pockets. Still does the job though! I have a lot of binders in my room so I labeled my binder with stickers so I know what binder it is. My mom had these stickers with all of her craft stuff so I'm not sure where they are from. My best guess would be Micheal's Craft Store.

I decided to use 5 binder dividers. You can use as much as you need but 5 works best for me. I labeled them 1. Accounts, 2. Income, 3. Spending, 4. Monthly Budget, 5. Annual Expenses. 

The first tab, Accounts, has all my information for my bank and other money related accounts. The Income tab has all my hour logs which tells me how much I made that week. In spending I have a paper for each month. Every time I purchase something I write it down (the date, how I purchased it, what store, how much). The monthly budget tab doesn't have anything in their since I don't have any bills to pay for at the moment. But I would have a calender to mark when a bill would be due and when I paid it. The last tab has all of my loan information. Keeping that information handy really helps so I don't forget about it. 

Behind the tabs I have a poly envelope where I put deposit slips and things of that sort so they don't get lost. You can purchase a ploy envelope at the Container Store for only $4. I'm not sure if the Dollar Tree still sells them but you can always go check though they are not as nice as the Container Store brand. 

For receipts I use a plastic filing coupon organizer which I think purchased at Walmart. You can probably find one where office supplies are sold. I file my receipts by month and then once the new year comes around I go through and discard the ones that don't need to be saved. I keep the majority of receipts I receive just in case. 

Clothing Haul

Fall is on it's way so I ordered a couple things online from Alloy and Charlotte Russe. The one item I've been dying to get are a pair of riding boots. Alloy had some in clearance for only $24.99! The boots are knee high in a  brown chestnut color with buckle detailing as well as stud detailing going all the way up the back of the boot. Also from Alloy I got a pair of black peep toe pumps that where on sale for $14.99. The black peep toe pumps have scalloped edges.

Source: Alloy

From Charlotte Russe I ordered two scarfs and a wristlet for college. The scarfs where on sale for $5 each! And the wristlet was also on sale for $5! Such a great deal! The first scarf is lightweight with tribal and a paint splatter print. The second scarf is also light weight and has fall colors with mixed printed stripes.  The last item I purchased is a wristlet because no girl wants to be caring a purse around campus. It's small and light weight and it can carry my phone!

Source: Charlotte Russe

Source: Charlotte Russe

Source: Charlotte Russe

You can order the boots at Alloy.com
-The heels are no longer for sale (from what I saw).
You can order the scarfs and wristlet from Charlotterusse.com.
*Prices may have changed.

Back To School! (Supplies)

What supplies should you use for college? 
   Well I'm no longer in elementary or high school. Though some of the supplies used in elementary and high school come in handy! I did some thinking over the summer about what supplies would be best to use for college. The most important thing is to pack light because your bag can easily get heavy. Textbooks and if you have a laptop will be the key things that will make you bag heavy.
   Speaking of bags, I decided to go with a backpack instead of a tote which I used in high school because I purchased a laptop. I specifically got a laptop backpack so I know it will be safe. The backpack I purchased was Ogio's Soho Woman's Laptop Backpack. It originally runs for $80 on the website but I ordered it through amazon and got it for around $60. I can't tell you how much I love this backpack!

Picture found: Ogio

  The laptop I purchased was a macbook pro 13". I treat this like a newborn baby! I was to afraid to use it before I got a case for it. I think a laptop is crucial for college for all the papers, homework, studying, and emailing you'll be doing. 

Now onto the real school supplies! 

I got go two notebooks, one for math notes (the composition notebook), and one for textbook notes (the striped one). The striped notebook is kind of heavy but since I'm only using two notebooks I'm sure the weight won't be to bad. I can always use another one. The composition is one of my favorite items. Not only is it cute but its bendable! Some people may not enjoy this but I love it more than the hard covered ones. 

There are two popular methods to organize school work. There is the binder method and the folder method. I kinda went for both. I got a 1" binder and a pack 5 tab dividers because I have five classes this semester. So every class has its own spot where I can put exams, homework, classwork, and essays. I also have a "folder notebook"...yes that's right a "folder notebook"...well that's what I call it anyway. It is like a spiral notebook but it has three "pages" that have pockets on each side.

Last but not least we have the small supplies.

I picked up a pack of four highlighters (and added a green highlighter that I had), some colored pens, and a pencil case. I am a highlighter fanatic! I am always highlight things so when classes start i'll be using them for textbooks and notes. I enjoy using colored pens for my agenda (if you haven't seen that post check it out!) also using colored pens for notes makes it easier to read just like highlighting. I grabbed some things around my room that I already had to put in my bag. Such as a mini stapler (don't even know how many time people used mine in high school!), pencil sharpener, eraser (I know its old and beat up...but still capable of working), and pens and pencils. 

That's all I have in my bag at the moment. If I add/ change anything I'll be sure to update everyone. 

All photo's are taken with my Iphone (can't afford a camera at the moment...speaking of college!)

Striped notebook, colored pens, binder and dividers, and pencil case where purchased at Walmart.

Highlighters where purchased at Dollar Tree.

Notebook folder, mini stapler, pencil sharpener, eraser, pens and pencil were found around my house.

Macbook pro was purchased online at Apple

Back To School! (Agenda)

Its that time of year...

     Many of us are heading back to school. I fortunately enjoy school and happen to be attending my freshman year of college! My first day is on September 5th and I couldn't be more excited.  I will be sharing the supplies I will be using throughout the year. Since this is my first year of college I am not certain that everything will have the purpose I attend to use it for. That being said I'll be sure to update everyone. 

   The first item that I could never live without would be my agenda. I've used an agenda throughout high school. I could not explain how much a agenda helps! I got this agenda at Walmart for $7.97. It is by the brand Blue Sky. My favorite planners are the Lilly Pulitzer agendas but this agenda is just as great! It's a much better price...talk about a $20.03 difference if you get the Lilly Pulitzer large agenda! In the photo you can see that there are two tabs that I put there to make it easy to find the month and week I am on.

 

On the inside of the front cover I have some long post-it's (not name brand Post-its) I found at the Dollar Tree. I use these to write down important things that I need to know or get done. On the bottom of the front cover I made myself to little keys that I laminated. The key on the left tells me what the color of a pen represents. On the right the key tells me what the highlighted color represents. This is useful to distinguish between subjects as well as make your agenda a whole lot prettier! 

With the color keys in mind I write all of the things that goes into the month view with the color it should be. So if I have an appointment then I write it in green, work = blue, holiday = orange and so on.  I also have these little stickers that say doctors, no school, dentist, those type of things.  The stickers make it easier to see when I have an important day coming up. When the day is over I put a line through the box. On the right side there is a "note" column where I write some of the things I need to pick up at the store. When I pick an item up I check it off with a red pen.  

The week by week section is where I write down things that need to be done. When I do the task I check it off with a red pen. I find that writing a To Do list really helps stop procrastinating! When school starts I will be writing assignments/exams as well.

 Stay tuned for useful tips and the rest of my supplies that I will be using throughout the school year! Post will be up later or tomorrow.

The Journey Begins!

Starting September 5th I will be attending college full time. I thought to myself that starting a blog now would be such a perfect time. It's been around four years that I have been dying to be apart of the blogging community. I've finally found a good time to start one.
So a little about myself...

• I was born on January 13, 1995...that makes me 18.
• I am attending Fitchburg State University for Graphic Design.
• I have a boyfriend who serves in the Navy.

Things I enjoy...

• Reading
• Makeup
• Fashion
• Home Decor
• Organization
• And last but not least cats!

All of the things I enjoy will be apart of my blog. I also intend to post a lot about my daily life. Please feel free to leave request :]