T.H.E. Ramen Report

You’re a student – therefore it is the time in your life to live cheap! As a student, words that motivate you may be: SALE, HALF-OFF, BARGAIN, USED, or the life-long favorite… FREE! You have probably cut coupons (You know you’ve dug through your garbage to save $1.00 on your next large pizza). You’ve probably switched from your brand name cereal and attempted the bagged-generic version. You’ve probably even searched in the couch cushions for spare change, maybe not even at your own house.

Chances are you have more than enough studying and research to keep you busy—you don’t have all kinds of free time to explore the mysteries of your credit score. But considering how important your credit history will be for the next 40 or 50 years, it might be wise to brush up on the facts.

We’ll try to make this quick and easy. Just keep checking back each week for a new lesson.

Once I get a bad credit score, there is nothing I can do to increase it.

I just received my quarterly interest statement from T.H.E. I am surprised there was so much interest accrued. Can I make a one-time payment to avoid interest capitalization?

You just won 100 bucks for sharing some of your budgeting secrets.
We hope this prize money doesn’t affect your excellent spending habits.

The holidays are right around the corner, and your first disbursement’s already gone. How can you afford the gift-giving season when you’re broke? Regifting? IOUs? Is a trip to the Dollar Store in your future?

Give us your bright ideas for creative presents on a tight budget.

You just won 100 bucks for sharing a little of your savvy credit advice.

Save money? Stop using credit cards? Pay down student loans? What’s your new year’s resolution?

Some of us here at the Ramen Report think Valentine’s Day is a phony-baloney holiday (and if you’re unhappily single, it can be downright depressing). The rest of us consider it a great opportunity to show people how much we love them. If you’re one of the millions of Americans who plan to treat their sweetie on February 14, give us some tips for celebrating on a student’s income.

A few weeks ago, we posted one graduate’s reflections on the high price of attending her first-choice school. That got you guys talking, so we thought we’d follow up with this article showing that more and more students are picking their second- and third-choice schools. The big reason, not surprisingly, seems to be the price tag.

Every March, thousands of graduating medical students learn their residency fate in an exciting, and sometimes scary, ritual called Match Day (this year, it’s March 15). We wondered how the med students out there are coping with the anticipation. Will you tear open your envelope right away or let someone else do it for you? Counting on getting into your first choice hospital? Losing sleep over the unknown?

Let’s hear about it in the comments.

With spring break just around the corner, it’s probably tempting to dip into your student loan money to finance a much-needed getaway. Before you do, keep in mind that you’ll be paying interest on that borrowed money for years to come. So even if you find a great deal on a trip, the final cost could be significantly more if you are booking it on borrowed money.

With that in mind, we came up with a few ways to save on your spring break adventures:

A recent survey of parents with kids in college suggests that this generation of moms and dads, sometimes aptly called “helicopter parents,” are way more involved in their kids’ college lives than their own parents were in their college lives. In fact, 73% of parents in this survey said they talk to their kid in college two or three times a week, and 31% talk daily. The survey also reported that parents’ number one concern about their children’s college lives is — surprise, surprise! — money.

How often do you talk to your parents? Is money the tie that binds? Are your parents “hovering” or letting you do your own thing? Tell us about it in the comments

They’re called boomerang kids, adultescents, thresholders. Across the pond, the term is kippers. College grads moving back in with their parents are becoming a common trend and the nicknames are plentiful. But are they clingy or just financially savvy? Weigh in with your thoughts on moving back home after graduation.