Quick tips on saving money post-holidays MONEY -FOCUSED APS Today, there’s an app for almost anything. That being said, you can bet your bottom dollar that there are apps for crunching pennies. Our new favorite? Acorns. This handy-dandy app automatically invests your spare change. That’s right. It rounds up every purchase you make with your credit or debit card, and puts the difference into a separate savings account. Totally free to charge, the mobilefirst investment platform takes only $1 of your earnings a month for accounts under $5,000. Those with more money in their savings will see 0.25 percent taken out yearly from the company. Make enough purchases on your card and, in months’ time, you’ll have plenty already saved up thanks to Acorns. Another favorite app of ours? Mint. This puppy allows you to keep track of all your financial activity from all your accounts – checking, savings, retirement, that babysitting fund. Every transaction is automatically recorded and categorized, making note of your spending patterns to create a budget easily. SELL YOU R SECOND -HAND STU FF Nowadays, there are plenty of online apps for selling your pre-loved treasures. Do you have a closet full of cardigans that you keep for good measure but never, ever wear? Poshmark is the place for that. There, you can sell everything from clothes to bags to jewelry and even untouched makeup. Have some old electronics lying around? Try sites like Gazelle or apps like Depop. And, speaking of selling… BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK ‘Tis the season to save money. Now that the holidays have come and gone, it’s time to buckle down and make back some of those funds you spent buying presents for your friends, family, significant other, significant other’s family, your dog (you get the idea). Check out these tips and tricks for saving money this New Year: SELL OLD TE XTBOOKS Textbooks are expensive. So, try and get the most bang for your buck by selling them back. Handle them with care and, odds are, you should be able to sell them back at the end of your semester. Be it via a website like eBay or Bookfinder, nationwide bookstores like Strand or by selling it back to your campus bookstore, the possibilities are endless (so long as you don’t let your dog near it). A GOOD -OLD FASHIONED PIGGY BANK Keep a jar on your desk or – you guessed it – an old piggy bank by your bed and throw your loose change in there every so often. You never know what it will add up to (and just how fast it will!). Happy saving! QNS.com WINTER 2016 37
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