Tahnya Kristina

Merry Christmas Eve everyone.  It’s December 24 and hopefully you are not out browsing through shopping malls and wandering up and down the streets as you finish up your last minute shopping.  I personally love to start my shopping in October or November but I know a lot of people who intentionally wait until three days before Christmas to start their last minute shopping. There are several advantages and disadvantages of waiting until the last minute to start your holiday shopping, so let me ask you a question, GRS friends... are you a last-minute shopper?

The advantages of last minute shopping

- Great deals and discounts.  The closer we get to Christmas the more stores start to advertise sales to get shoppers in the holiday spirit. I personally love Christmas decorations and I love how the store windows and shopping malls are decorated for the holidays, it makes me want to sprinkle glitter on everything and wrap all of my presents in a bow. Continue reading...

I absolutely love this time of year because the weather gets warmer and people get to go outside more often. I enjoy going out for dinner during the summer because all of the patios are open and I love eating outside in the fresh air.

Last night I was eating out with friends and I saw a young couple sit down at the table beside us. When the check came at the end of their meal the man pulled out his wallet to pay for the bill, I couldn’t help but realize what a little wallet the man was holding, I immediately thought to myself “It must be nice to be a guy and have to only carry a little wallet instead of being a woman and having to carry around a huge heavy purse.”

When men get ready in the morning all they have to do is take their shower, grab their little wallet, put it in their pocket, and go.  I pack my purse the night before when I am packing my lunch for the next day because when you are a woman your purse holds many things other than just our wallet.  As I stared down at my own wallet I realized that it was much bigger than the man’s wallet.

As spring approaches our winter semester will be finished and for some students this was the last semester of their college career.  As college comes to an end it’s time to start making plans for the future.

Everyone’s college career is different and so are everyone’s plans after college. Some students may want to live out their personal dream of travelling around a specific continent or even the World, some students may decide to return to continue their studies and return school, some students may directly enter the workforce after graduation, and some students may chose to get married, buy a house, and start a family.  Each option has both advantages and disadvantages and they all have personal value.

The decisions that we make after college graduation may determine how the next few years of our lives play out.  The good thing about taking some risks right after college graduation is that we have many years to recover from them if we make a bad choice.

Good Morning Everyone.  It’s the middle of February, and this means that some of us who hate the cold have been cooped up in our homes and apartments for almost two months.  I don’t know about you, but I am definitely starting to experience some anxiety from cabin fever.

The few months after the holidays can be a big strain on our budgets as we rebuild your savings and pay off our credit cards. We don’t want to be stuck inside because that can get very boring very quickly.

However, maybe our budget just doesn’t have the flexibility right now to spend money on having fun.

It’s December 20^th and that means that there are only four days left to finish our Christmas Shopping.  Let me ask you a question...Is your Christmas shopping already finished, or have you not started your shopping yet?

I am happy to say that as of yesterday, my Christmas Shopping is complete, my presents are wrapped, and they are all under our Christmas Tree.  I really love wrapping Christmas gifts even though my presents look like they could have been wrapped by a 6-year-old; sometimes they are upside down, and sometimes they are ripped, but as they say...it’s the thought that counts.

Today, we will discuss budget-friendly holiday dinners in the next post in our “Home for the Holidays” series.  GRS knows that the holidays can be a very expensive time of the year, so we are here to help you with some budget-friendly meals for your holiday dinners.

I am personally not a great cook.  Every single year, my New Year’s Resolution is to learn to cook, and unfortunately, I have never mastered the art of cooking.  Last year my Christmas dinner ended up being Christmas quesadillas, it was festive but it wasn’t really a true Christmas dinner with all of the trimmings.  This year I have planned my holiday menu and hopefully it will go off without any mishaps.  I am only cooking Christmas dinner for my boyfriend and myself, and I am a vegetarian, so hopefully, all will go as planned.

Previously, we discussed factors that may help us choose which college to attend, such as the proximity to home, which colleges our friends are applying to, as well as the cost of living in the city where we wish to attend college.  Today, we are discussing the actual schools, their names, their reputations, and what they symbolize for potential employers in the real world.

Does Going to an Ivy League Really Matter?

Was the name of a college a deciding factor when you were deciding which colleges to apply to? Some people dream of going to an Ivy League school because they will receive a top-notch education.  However, some students want to attend an Ivy League school because it looks good on their resume.

Today, we are discussing the choice of attending college or trade rchool.  There are advantages of having a college degree but there are also several benefits to earning a one to two year trade school diploma as well. We are going to explore the cost of a College Degree versus a Trade School Diploma as well as the Job Opportunities that come with them after graduation.

The debate of a College Degree versus a Trade School Diploma is always ongoing.  Many students feel that having a 4 year College Degree is more beneficial than having a Trade School Diploma, but this is not always true.

My Dad attended Trade School for 2 years to become a Certified Mechanic and he has been employed at the same company for over 30 years.  My Mother graduated from University with a Degree in Human Resources and she has worked at 5 different companies over the last 30 years, so no one really knows which is better.

I am proud to say that I graduated from college with a four-year Bachelor’s Degree. Unfortunately, I did not graduate from college debt-free. I moved away from home to attend college in a city 7.5 hours away from my family; from my own personal experience I feel that it is almost impossible to graduate from college debt free if we don’t live at home while studying.

If we start saving early in our teenage years we could graduate from college debt free. If we starting working part time while we are in high school we could start saving money for college which will help with the cost of tuition, books, and living away from home while attending college. Unfortunately, many young students prefer to live in the moment and spend their money, rather than save it.

Graduating from college debt free is a great goal, but it may not be a reality for everyone. But don’t worry because GRS is here to help! Students can take little steps throughout our college years to help us graduate from college debt free, or at least close to it.

Today, we are discussing the important question of whether we should go into debt in order to get a college education.  Are you considering applying for a student loan? Or are you sacrificing some aspects of your life in order to graduate debt-free?

Some people feel that student debt is ok to have because it is money well spent on a college education.  Some other people feel that student debt is not a good idea because they don’t want to start their life after college with thousands of dollars in student debt.

College Student Debt

I personally feel that it is ok for college students to have student debt. I was fortunate enough to have financial help from my parents, but I also had to work while I studied.  I graduated in 2005 with some student debt; I can honestly say that applying for student loans made the last two years of my college education a lot easier. Continue reading...