Check out my video on four ways to save on back-to-school shopping, which I taped at the Kearney, New Jersey Walmart in late August!

I’m working on a new project that had me researching average college costs. While tuition, room and board are important to know about, most college websites included an estimate of how much money you might end up spending on textbooks. Though I’ve been out of college for a few years now, I still remember the financial pain of buying my books for class.

That’s why this recent tip sheet from the National Association of College Stores (NACS) caught my attention. It offers four ways that colleges and their college stores are trying to help keep the costs of textbooks down, and helping students save money in the process.

1. Buybacks. Most college stores do their best to promote a strong used book market through aggressive buyback policies. Over 95% of Cornell students receive personalized e-mails during buyback season. As a result, the store nearly doubled its supply of used books over two years, allowing them to resell used books for even less. Likewise, the University of Connecticut bookstore has recently launched a buyback web site that informs students how many books the store will be buying and at what price. Combined with other programs, UConn Co-op estimates that it saves its students about $3.6 million annually on textbooks. Some stores, such as that at California State University-Fullerton, have guaranteed buyback programs to increase used book stock and put a little extra cash in student pockets.
2. Price Matching. George Fox University, Weber State University and California State-Fullerton are just a few of the stores nationwide that participate in these programs, which practically guarantee students the lowest price.
3. Creative Concepts and Promotions. Washington University bookstore hands out $20 bills at random times throughout the year, the University of Illinois-Champaign store helps match used book sellers with buyers, and the University of Arkansas saved students more than $500,000 over two years by discounting books the day before classes begin.
4. Textbook Rentals. Stores like those at San Mateo (Calif.) Community College are saving students money through textbook rental programs. The San Mateo Community College store estimates saving participating students $79,000 in two years.

I’ve heard of some colleges now offering their students the option of accessing textbooks online. I wonder if they charge for that access. I mean, if they didn’t, how else would the college and textbook publishers make their money? If you know additional ways that college students are saving money on their books, let us know.

As we are slowly making our way through this home renovation, I find myself coming up with additional, frugal ways to get the job done. I’ve already explained the work we did to keep 10 grand in our hands. Here are three other tricks we’ve discovered to keep our budget on track and the redo moving forward:

• Use a clothes iron on steam setting to remove wall paper.
  The powder room in our house used to feel like one of those rooms from “Alice in Wonderland.” That’s because it was floor-to-ceiling wallpaper in a loud, burgundy pattern. You felt like the walls of that tiny room were closing in on you. Once the construction began on the rest of the house, I took that as my signal to start redoing that bathroom. And the first thing to go? The wallpaper. While much of it peeled off without much effort, there were two walls where, clearly, they’d slapped on tons and tons of glue. I knew I could get a steamer machine from a place like Home Depot to help take the wallpaper off, but why not do the job for free instead? I got out my clothes iron, topped it off with water, and then pushed the “steam” button while holding the iron about two inches away from the wall. A few puffs of steam later, and a putty knife to get the peeling started, and the wallpaper came off like butter.
• A sanding sponge smooths walls without killing your fingers.
  I don’t know about you but I hate sanding manually because of how my hands and fingertips feel after I’m done. They are raw, red and aching. This past winter I got a press kit from the folks at 3M, which included a SandBlaster sanding sponge. What was neat about this product was that on one side was a fine-grit sandpaper. On the other side was a sponge that you can use to wipe down the wall you’ve just sanded. It’s got a wavy design that makes it easy on the hands to hold. This has been the perfect tool to get rid of any residual glue left from the wallpaper in my powder room.
• Recycle old shower curtains as drop cloths.
  I’ll never understand why people spend money on drop cloths for painting when, if they looked around their house, I’ll bet they’d find tons of free drop cloths they could use. For example, whenever I switch out an old shower curtain for a new one, I fold up the used shower curtain so I can put in on the floor in the future when I paint. I do the same with sheets and blankets that have becoming too ratty to use.

What about you? Do you have other frugal renovation tips to offer?

(I’m reposting this since the video link didn’t work earlier.)

Here is one of the back-to-school shopping on a budget segments that I appeared in during a satellite media tour yesterday. (Click here to watch the video. That’s just a screen shot below.)

Tomorrow, I’ll post my list of tips!

My kids are at least four years away from going to college, but as a parent, I think it’s important to teach your child how to protect his or her identity–especially when going away to college. That’s why I was thrilled when I came across some advice from Intersections Inc., a leading global provider of consumer and corporate identity risk management services.

According to this company identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country and the 18-24 year old age group of consumers is often hit hard by hackers and identity thieves. Each year, thousands of students go off to college and are unaware of the numerous threats to their identities that exist on campus.

“Some college students are more susceptible to identity theft because they may be first-time account holders — they’ve never had to balance a checkbook or pay bills online and they are simply not aware of the identity threats that exist today. They also may not realize that the social networking sites they’ve essentially grown up with, expose way too much of their personal information. Unfortunately, if a college student’s identity is stolen, they could be faced with years of bad credit ahead including damaged credit scores and even lost job opportunities,” said Intersections CEO and founder, Michael Stanfield.

Here are Intersections’ 10 identify theft prevention tips–geared towards college students but really applicable to anyone who might be at risk for identify theft.

1. When using campus computers and Wi-Fi hotspots, be aware that they aren’t always secure. Ensure you are using encryption (i.e. anti-key logging software, or password protection) to scramble communications over the network. It is best not to view personal information on open campus networks.
2. Keep your information secure by changing your passwords frequently. Keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up-to-date with the latest releases. And if you’re using your laptop around campus, always take it with you to ensure your hard drive isn’t compromised.
3. Credit offers abound on college campuses. Walk through a student union and you can stop and smell the free t-shirts, water bottles, and key chains that banks offer college students when they sign up for credit cards. While it’s a great idea to start building credit, read the offers — and the fine print carefully — and understand exactly what you’re signing up for.
4. Social networking sites are hot spots for most college students. Reveal as little as possible about yourself, especially family name, address, phone numbers, date of birth — identity thieves only need two or three pieces of this information to steal your identity. (This advice holds true for your teen and tween, too.)
5. Protect and memorize your Social Security number. Don’t carry your SSN card with you, and if your college uses Social Security numbers as student IDs, request they generate a random number instead. Most schools will do this when asked.
6. Invest in a good cross-cut shredder and properly dispose of all personal and financial materials. Be aware that information you receive contains personal information that, if stolen, could have serious ramifications. Credit card offers you receive in the mail should be shredded. Bank statements, tax documents — and other documents with personal information — should be securely stored until it is appropriate to shred. And never leave this information out in your dorm room or anywhere it could be compromised.
7. Online shopping is convenient, but be sure the sites you use are secure by looking for “https” in the URL. Check with sites’ privacy policies so you know what they may be doing with your personal information, or if they’ve attached cookies to your computer, enabling them to track your viewing and usage patterns.
8. Start the process of routinely reviewing your credit report. Under a new Federal law, you have the right to receive a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To request your free annual report under that law, go to .
9. Be careful when using peer-to-peer file sharing programs. Be sure to configure the files securely so personal information is not accessible to others.
10. Avoid telemarketing scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never give your personal information to a caller.

I’ve seen lines–LINES–at local car dealerships lately. That’s because people are have gone crazy for the Cash for Clunkers program.

Sure it’s great for the auto industry and those who were going to buy a new car anyway. But why spend money on a new car if your old one runs just fine? Does it make sense to spend $20,000 to save $4,500 on the cash back?

That said, here are five tips from the Car Care Council on how to keep your car running as long as possible so that it doesn’t become a clunker.

1. Change the oil and filter every 3,000 to 5,000 miles or per the owner’s manual. Periodic oil and filter changes keep your engine clean on the inside.
2. Check the tire pressure at least monthly, including the spare. Your car’s tires affect its ride, handling, traction and safety.
3. Schedule a tune-up annually to optimize your car’s performance. A well-tuned engine delivers the best balance of power and fuel economy, and produces the lowest level of emissions.
4. Have the alignment checked at least annually. Potholes and other road conditions, as well as normal wear, can take their toll on your car’s steering and suspension. A wheel alignment reduces tire wear, improves fuel economy and handling, and increases driving enjoyment and safety.
5. Inspect the windshield wipers and lights on the car. Lights and wipers play a major role in safe driving, and they are normal wear items that need periodic replacement.

Speaking of lights and wipers, here’s a 6th tip I’d add–I’ll explain the connection shortly: Always check with your car’s manufacturer for any recalls or “service bulletins.” We recently discovered that our Honda Accord has two such “bulletins” for the windshield wiper motor and the dashboard lights. So we were able to bring the car in to a dealer and get those fixes done for free.

Free baby food. Yup, that’s one of the things that I loved the most about breastfeeding both of my kids. For the six months they were exclusively breastfed, I spent a big fat goose egg–or $0–on food for them. If I’d bought six months worth of formula during that time, I would have spent anywhere from $350 to $1,000 per kid to feed them.

Since August is National Breastfeeding Awareness month, I figured I’d give a shout out to a breastfeeding incentive plan that Independence Blue Cross (IBC) in the Philadelphia area is offering its members and which is designed to save money.

Through IBC’s Baby BluePrints program, members can receive up to $50 back for taking a childbirth or breastfeeding class, $50 back on the purchase of a breast pump, and $100 towards support from a lactation consultant.

I realize that not every mother can or chooses to breastfeed. But if you’re on the fence–and on a budget–consider these facts about breastfeeding before making your final decision. Breastfeeding can:

• Develop a bond of closeness and trust between mother and infant
• Reduce cases of ear infections, diarrhea, bacterial meningitis, allergies, and obesity in infants
• Lower risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer for mothers
• Help mothers to their pre-pregnancy weight faster
• Decrease costs for programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
• Lower annual health care costs by $3.6 billion in the U.S. if every new mother attempted to breastfeed their baby.

OK, so I did incur some costs from breastfeeding, including buying a breast pump and supplies for it, and nursing pads and bras. But I’d like to think that in the long run, we saved more money, and helped to set our daughters up for healthy, happy lives. As teens they may tell you differently, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.