Back to School Laptop Shopping at UT Tyler

It now seems that technology rules everything that we do.  From communicating with friends to working on
documents for work and school, the use of a computer is now required for success.  Unfortunately, computers come in hundreds of brands, with thousands of potential differences in them, and sometimes you will not get what you pay for.  In fact, my 2 year old laptop recently shorted out on me and I was forced to purchase a new computer, as I have to have one for school and debate.  So, how do you know what to buy? Well, hopefully I can help make some suggestions!

Tuition rises, but cost of living falls at UT Tyler

As most college students understand, saving money is everything.  College expenses will eat up 90% or more of one’s typical monthly income.  Be sure to buy the cheapest of every item while shopping for groceries.  However, according to recent information published by the US Department of Education, college tuition may be rising at a mostly steady rate, but the cost of living is actually starting to decline.

How UT Tyler Can Help Students Better Understand Their Finances

In my last blog entry, I noted that one of the largest hurdles for undergraduates in their first year of college life is the ability to retain financial support to continue their academic career. In fact, it is the leading cause of low retention rates for colleges and universities in the United States. While a large portion of this issue is based on socioeconomic status, a large amount of relief for this problem can come from having a better understanding of one's finances. Whether it is being able to pay for one's tuition, or just being able to make rent payments on a monthly basis, it is no surprise that undergraduate students could always use more assistance with financial solvency.

New strides are being made with colleges and universities nationwide to alleviate the stresses that come with dealing with a student's personal finances. Many colleges have started financial literacy programs in recent years, some even making these courses and programs a requirement to enroll for classes for subsequent semesters. These programs are necessary based on the average knowledge that undergraduate students have about personal finance--concepts such as budgeting, saving, compound interest, and even check-writing are becoming more unknown for these students. Rather than wasting money on a regular basis on luxuries such as video games, furnishings, alcohol, etc., students can learn how to better save their money to have an easier time making their required payments.

UT Tyler can adopt a framework similar to that of Ohio State University, who are currently in the process of making all students complete a financial-education program during their second year at the school. The mandate requires students to review online material, as well as meet one-on-one with a student financial adviser. These volunteer advisers are trained to spend time with students to help them understand their current financial situation, establish goals for the short and long term, and develop sustainable financial habits and responsibilities. The overall goal is to better inform students as to how they can better their financial responsibility, and make college life easier and more sustainable.

While UT Tyler has the ability to boast an extremely affordable tuition rate that is well below the state median for public university tuition, financial woes for some students still exist. The responsibility for financial stability and success does not have to fall solely on the student--our university can make large strides as well. Until then, there is a litany of resources that can be utilized, both in person as well as on the internet. FAFSA has a large information basis for students applying for financial aid, and UT Tyler provides financial aid advising for its students who require more information. Check it out before your next rent check is due!

The Mystique of As Seen on TV Products: Can You Resist?

Ah, summer: the time of the year when the days are the long and the nights are awesome, there’s no class schedules to keep up with, and no finals to stress over. Let the Netflix binging begin! While some use the summer as a chance to take their passports and go all over the world, others use summer as a chance to unwind and have a nice “staycation”. Want to know some of the fun from having that staycation? Getting to see some of the hilarious, “how have I lived my entire life without this product” As Seen on TV commercials!!

I’ve compiled a list of some of the best As Seen on TV products that really caught my eye. Many of them are available at a Wal-Mart near you!

When in doubt, go with bacon!

-Perfect Bacon Bowl: because scrambled eggs on a plate is so passé! Cure the gustatory doldrums with a bacon bowl. Delectable bacon is the answer to all of life’s problems. Don’t know what to put with your boring, old macaroni and cheese? The answer is always bacon.

Call me Harry Potter, because this is magic!

-Moo Mixer: you will never have to struggle with having to mix chocolate milk with a spoon again. The struggle doesn’t have to be real anymore, folks! Press the trigger on the cow print handle and watch it automatically stir. No longer will you have to stir chocolate milk like a muggle! 

-Ice Cream Magic: so I know that the intended audience for this product is most likely small children, however I know many college students that would be super excited over this product.  with a variety of options such as chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry available, how can one’s inner child possibly be suppressed? I know mine can’t. I am planning an escapade to Sonic for a milkshake as I type this because I don’t have an Ice Cream Magic yet.

Ice cream is the most amazing thing <3

-Chillow: as anyone in Texas can attest to, it gets super extremely hot in the summer. The chillow is a pillow that you can put in the refrigerator and it will get cold! This is very handy here because it is absolutely unbearable to sleep on a hot pillow when it is hot outside and there is only so much air conditioning can do.  I’m already on my way to trying to develop a Chillow bed. I’m thinking of calling it “The Chill-ed”. Don’t take it from me! It’s as good as patented!

If I can get my hair to look like this, I will be winning. Just add pink!

-Air Curler: this looks really cool! Like honestly. The reviews said it worked pretty decently for both long and short hair. It also seems like it wouldn’t damage hair as badly as my usual morning routine of blow drying and straightening/curling it in the mornings. Instead of doing both, I’m just doing one and it would be on a lower setting! As long as one uses hairspray or mousse, the curls should hold. This one is definitely worth a try. 

 While some most As Seen on TV products are just silly and make the people in the commercials look like they are completely inept at living, there are some that are worth a closer look!

Economic Analyst from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Lectures at UT Tyler

On Wednesday, April 9th, Senior Economic Education Specialist Princeton Williams from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas lectured to several classes within the Economics Department regarding the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas, and the overall Federal Reserve in the United States and its role within the United States economy. 

Williams joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in 2006 as senior economic education specialist. Prior to holding this position, he was a high school economics teacher who taught AP macroeconomics and AP microeconomics at Paschal High School in Fort Worth. He coauthored the district's economics curriculum, mentored new economics teachers, and conducted citywide review sessions for AP students.  Williams received a BBA from Southern Methodist University and a MA in economics from the University of Texas at Arlington. During his graduate studies, he interned in the economic and market analysis division of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas 

Williams' position in the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas consists primarily of public affairs work. He often lectures high school and college students about the utility of the Federal Reserve, and the common misconceptions that the public has about the function of the Federal Reserve. He also leads teacher workshops in the state to improve the economics curriculum within the Texas school system, and he is currently creating an economics curriculum for middle school students in Texas. He also does analysis work over academic work written by economic theorists, mainly by bridging the gap from academia to the public, where said work can often be misconstrued or misinterpreted due to a lack of education in that particular field. 

In the class I was in where he lectured, Issues in Public Policy, several points of discussion were covered. We first discussed the utility of Bitcoin, digital currency that is gaining momentum within the U.S. economic system. Williams finds that the fluid nature of Bitcoin and the uncertainty regarding its value on a day-to-day basis makes it a somewhat unpredictable and possibly unstable alternative for investment in the U.S. We also covered the security of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas, where rumors and perceptions of "bank heists" that occur in popular entertainment (Die Hard With a Vengeance, for example), are entirely unfeasible.

Next, there was a discussion over the new Federal Reserve Chairwoman, Janet Yellen; primarily, her strengths and weaknesses within that position in comparison to former Fed chair, Ben Bernanke. Finally, there was a hefty talk over the fiscal policy of the US government, and how the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve Bank in Washington often clash with fiscal policy, and how these issues can be resolved within the next decade. 

We are extremely grateful for the time Williams spent with our economics classes, and hope that he comes back soon to talk with us more about the economic state in the United States and the Federal Reserve's function within this system. 

UT Tyler Student Money Management: Valentine Edition

     Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! This is the time of the year where you and your significant other celebrate your relationship. The harsh reality though, is that as a college student, you may not have the funds to treat your loved ones with the right date or gifts. Don’t fret though! The Student Money Management program here at The University of Texas at Tyler has all the resources you need to get you financially prepared!

     The Student Money Management will host an event on campus called “Date Night on a Dime.”

Holiday Retail Experiences

This past holiday break was full of great memories from spending time with friends, and spending time with family. You couldn't help but feel the Christmas cheer and New Year hype. This was a nice break from all the study night grinds.

I went back to working retail at Hollister again over the break. It was constant running around as people scrambled to purchase Christmas presents. I may also have become a bit claustrophobic. Maybe. It got really hot as well in the store as all those people were crammed into the small area.

I was able to tolerate it though, as retail can be really fun. Co-workers are the best and we make the time enjoyable as we get to see each other. You should definitely try working retail to learn necessary people skills.

Here is where retail comes into play.

You learn:

·         Interpersonal skills

·         Customer service

·         Work experience

All three are important components in refining your work abilities when you go out into the real world job market. In any field it is excruciatingly important for you to have interpersonal as well as communication skills. Everyone needs to be an effective communicator no matter what your job market is. You needs to effectively express your ideas and opinions or else the dam will not be built right, the patients won’t be taken care of properly, and the computers won’t be wired properly.

Customer service is essential in every job field as your basically pleasing a customer’s demand. This is why retail is a good foundation to start out your work experience. You will learn how to interact with people in a professional setting.

                You should definitely try retail options such as working at the mall, or even smallboutiques.

Going For The Masters

Deciding where you want to go in life can be difficult at times. Really difficult. Like, you have two doors with one reading MONEY and the other reading DEATH ... and you are blindfolded, turned around, and then asked to pick what door you want to go through.

More Things To Do With Your Financial Aid Refund

   So we've had one blog about things you can do with your University of Texas at Tyler Financial Aid refund so why not another!

   I advocate using money like the Financial Aid refund to do things like clear things off you Life's To Do List. So, what kinds of things are that?

   1 ) Set aside the money or put up the $$$ directly to pay your phone bill for the semester ... or two. If you are like me then you don't like being without a phone or your ability to text. If your phone bill has a flat rate then just multiply the bill by however many months you don't want to worry about it!

   2) Paying your rent ahead of time ... and then some. So I know plenty of people who use their Financial Aid for rent, however a trend pops up from time to time ( one even I am guilty of ) - poor planning. If you're staying here for a 4 month semester then I'd say set aside two extra months worth of rent if you can spare it. Here is why ~ Summer courses and financial buffers. Basically, there are a plethora of reasons why you might wind up not having Financial Aid for Summer if you need the courses. Now, the issue is - how do you KNOW if you'll need them? Well ... you probably don't. Things come up, life happens, and sometimes you need a summer class to graduate on time. But if you don't get enough financial to cover school AND your housing? If you have some $$$ set aside NOW then you will be OK in the future.

 If you are in the Fall semester then you saved money now will add to your coffers in Spring!

3) Use the money to experiment with setting up a good cooking/shopping plan now. This one is something I never did until recently but I am glad I did. There were always dishes and things I wanted to cook and try but sometimes buying the foundation ingredients to test/try some dishes is not economically feasible. BUT, when Financial Aid refunds hit? Use the time now while you can to test new foods, see what you might be able to add to your diet later when things get sparse, etc...

4) Save your money and do some research into building a new PC instead of buying one direct. So, this needs a lot of homework and research. You might need a friend of family member to help with this ( however having your friends help you with this project is tremendous fun ) but you can wind up saving a LOT of money.

   Now, I say this as somebody who likes and has owned many, many Apple products. You do not need a 1,500 laptop for school if all you want to do is write papers, Skype, and use Facebook. Arguably gaming can be be done on laptops but for half of that 1,500 dollars you can build a desktop that will rip apart any game on the market. Period.

5) Save up a little money for a road trip of some kind! This one will need you to save up a various amount depending on what you want to do, however if you can afford it? Go see somewhere neat in your state! See your capital, visit a museum somewhere other than where you live! Maybe even pool in $$$ with friends and go somewhere together?

What to do with your financial aid refund

On August 16th, the financial aid award packages were added to our tuition bills. Everyone that was expecting financial aid was anxious.

If you haven't checked and made sure your myUTTyler account shows all the awards you have accepted on your account, you should do that and follow up if you think there's been an error.

Aw yiss! Payments made!

It is a wonderful sight

Beginning August 30th, any remaining aid money that didn't pay for your tuition will be refunded to you. Once you see you have extra money, a million things you could do with it will cross your mind. So what shall you do with this gift?

1. Buy a car.
If you haven't bought a car and don't live within walking distance of campus, this is your opportunity to buy a car. If you have a decent income from your part-time job, the amount from your financial aid package will be a good sum for a down payment. Shop around to make sure you have a good deal.

Take a parent or a friend you completely trust with cars and test drive different models. Ask around to find out where the best deal on car insurance is.  Remember that you're going to pay for more than just the car itself: title, inspection, registration and insurance will be an added cost. Also, gas, oil changes, tires and any kind of repairs should be expected.

If you already have a car, but are constantly having issues with it, trade it in and give an extra payment with your refund. Get something more fuel efficient, with more seats (carpool and ask your friends to help you out with gas every so often) and safer (your insurance is cheaper with a more safe vehicle than, say, a sports car) to save some money.

2. Give to a charity
Find out what it is that you want to change and find the (reputable) charity that does that. Once you donate, you get a feeling of goodwill (those warm fuzzies) and if you have a job and have to report your taxes, the donation is tax-deductible!

3. Buy a bicycle
If you live on campus or you just want to cut the time it takes you to walk between your classes and get a good workout out of it, then buy a bike.

There's tons of bikes on campus and almost every single building has a bike rack at the entrance. It improves your health, takes less time, and you won't be tempted to drive from one building to another (and waste gas in the process).

4. Save!
If you want to put your money away for a rainy day, put it into a savings account. Shop around both online and at local branches. Compare the advantages and benefits each give you.

Look at the fine print and make sure you won't be charged for things you weren't aware of. Make sure there aren't any penalties for withdrawing money because you're saving for an emergency or when your own funds fall short during the semester.

If you want to put that money away for a long time, think about putting it into a Roth IRA. It'll eventually grow (with some help from your income) into a good sum for your retirement. It's something to think about if you want your money to be put to good use and you're sure you won't need it anytime soon. We aren't going to be young forever, you know.

5. Buy an ice cream truck

If you want to be the cool kid on the block and always have a stash of ice cream, this is for you. It will be summer year-round! It's a great ice breaker and you'll be the most well known person for miles.

Okay, don't do this. I'm not telling you what to do; if you really want an ice cream truck, I can't stop you. But, seriously, don't do this. 


Christmas comes early for those of us that receive financial aid refunds and the endless opportunities that come with that refund are always a cause for celebration. Be smart with your money and remember that later in the semester, you might need it (but don't just stash it in your sock drawer).

What are you going to do with your financial aid refund? 

We Want YOU... to Work at UT Tyler!

Being in college, most of your parents are going to cut you off, or at least give you less money than they used to (as my mother has done). 

I have to beg her for a little $20, but that money disappears quick.

So getting a job was imperative. However, I have a really busy school schedule and no transportation. So I started looking on Patriot Jobs for jobs on campus. 

There are all kinds of awesome jobs to do on campus. I happen to love my job in the communications center, but if I could pick ANY other job, it would be to work in the Visitor Center. 

...and they happen to be hiring right now.

In the Visitor Center you'll get to work with all kinds of people, you'll get the amazing job of giving tours to prospective students, and just getting paid to share your experience and knowledge of your school with people. 

It's a fun job it looks like, and so simple. 

Plus, you'll be working on campus so that means no traffic worries, no worrying about your schedule interfering with studying, and you won't be working nights. On campus jobs are the best just because they cater to you as a student, but still allow you to make a pretty good salary. 

Imagine all the people you'd get to meet working for the Visitor Center? I'd love to do it. But hurry, because applications get sent in pretty quick. 

Check out Patriot Jobs to apply to work for the Visitor Center quickly!

One Broke Girl

I recently just endured one of the most embarassing moments of my life.

Do you know what it feels like to have your card declined? How about when it's declined in front of your friend? How about when it's declined in front of your friend, your boyfriend, and ALL of McDonalds?

Well, that's what happened to me yesterday.
I go into McDonalds, I ask my boyfriend what he wants, trying to be awesome since he's always paying for me. I order two meals. I swear I have money because just Saturday I had my mom put in like $30. The meal comes out to be $14. I swipe my card and read the words, "TRANSACTION NOT APPROVED".

I start to freak out inside, but I calmly pull out my phone and go into my bank account... where there is only $12. (I forgot I had went to Walmart the day before and bought worthless junk)

I suppose I could have just asked the cashier to make the two meals I ordred into just sandwiches, but I had already tried to ball in front of everyone... so I took the low road.
I let my boyfriend pay.

And I was HUMILIATED. My friend relentlessly mocked me (because those are the types of friends I have), but I learned a lesson every college student needs to know.

EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS!

Thankfully here at UT Tyler, it's only so often that I actually have to spend my own money. On campus we have free anything you can think of:
Free check-ups at the clinic,free gym membership, free events. free food every once in a while, we have these cute little free movies on the lawn... and it's not old movies I would see at home on my VHS, no. They're good, NEWLY RELEASED movies, saving me an embarassing trip to the movie theatre.

My mother always says to me, "You're in college, you're supposed to be broke."
This doesn't make me feel any better, but I'm so happy that my school accomodates people like me so that I'm not withering away in my dorm room.

Remember to WISELY spend your money (going here helps), check your bank account when you go out, and don't be ashamed to rely on the kindness of your friends.

How To Survive and Understand Financial Aid

How To Survive and Understand Financial Aid!

   Look, between you and me and the monitor? College costs money. Buckets and buckets of money for some, or easily managed payments for others. Every school is different and not every school costs the same … but it still costs.

   Are we all still okay? Have we survived the first obstacle in this talk on Financial Aid?  Awesome!
   The biggest thing to understand about financial aid requests is that it takes time, paperwork ( sort-of ), and the patience of a saint to get through the whole process. Sometimes you will need to have access to documents and forms that you, by yourself, do not normally handle depending on your age, mainly IRS forms.

   Here I will detail the steps you’ll need to go through in about as much sense as the process can be translated. It’s not AS hard as deciphering hieroglyphs into swhaili and then into English … but its tricky all the same.

   First – Have all the records of your income that you or your parents have. Be sure to know if you are claimed by your family as a dependent! This is a HUGE deal.  You’ll need to make sure you have the official forms because you will need *very* specific information from these documents when we get to the second step.

   Second – Go to FAFSA.ed.gov  Here you will make an account, get your 4-digit PIN, and then you’ll register your current financial “status” based on your income/dependency, etc… You’ll be asked a seemingly endless series of questions pertaining to how much money you or your family have made, considerations for differing things, etc… You will be able to “register” that you want this information sent to the school of your choice so it’s understood that step is done after you’ve confirmed your offer of admission with your university.

   Third, see what your college is able to provide you. For UT Tyler the website will be https://www.uttyler.edu/financialaid/scholarships/index.php . Here you can find the numerous options you have for finding scholarships.

   Quick! Do you know the difference between a LOAN, and GRANT, and a SCHOLARSHIP? Grants and Scholarships do not have to be paid back so it’s free money ( well, kind of – some Grants/Scholarships have a dependency clause stating that to renew the funds you need to get a certain GPA, for example ) for you to use. Loans a are trickier and they will have to be paid back in time, however you have six months after graduation ( or between your last college class taken ) to start making payments.

   CAUTION: If possible, always be careful with taking out Loans for college needlessly. The temptation to just be given an extra 5-10,000 a year can really help your life out, however if you do not plan for paying this money back ( even in small 150 dollar payments a month )  they can become trouble down the road.

   The last step is to constantly check in with the Financial Aid office(s) for your college, however please be courteous to these hard working people and if they say “It will be a week before we know anything,” give them a week.

Penny Pinching for College Kids

We've all had those times where we get creative in finding ways to pay for things such as food, gas, and school supplies. Sometimes you might eat nothing but Ramen...or you might offer to do your friend's laundry if they'll buy you some McDonald's. 

But there are ways to avoid these struggles, or at least reduce the number of occurrences! 

Keep reading to find out some of my specific money-saving methods!

A Student's Letter To Parents

 First, let me say that I am approaching this article from a very unique standpoint and it deserves some commentary beforehand so as to have my thoughts make the most possible sense. First, I have spent way more time in college than I should have on account of having switched majors, as well as for the fact that my degree searching took me across two states. This journey caused a severe delay in my expected graduation date of 2013 ... and I started in 2005-2006. I hope you might listen to my perspective as I look forward to being a dad someday, I really do. I understand that I am going to have to watch my kid go from being wholly dependent on me; to likely know that they think that ( while trusting that he/she/they love and respecting me ) that I don't “get" his/her trials, tribulations, and difficulties. Or, who knows, we could be thick as thieves? The point is that I'll have to watch him or her go off to college.

Advice for freshmen - from a freshman!

After being a freshman in college for a good three weeks, I have learned quite a few things about college. I’ve also relearned how to do things that I already knew how to do, but better. Here are just a few of the things I’ve learned so far!

·Get as much sleep as you can at night! When you stay up until 3 of the am and your first class starts at 8 the next day, you end up feeling more tired than you did when you went to sleep. And then once you get in the habit of going to bed late at night, it’s really hard to break that habit. Basically, if you know that you’re going to have to wake up early the next day because you have a class, don’t stay out too late.

·Don‘t wait until the last possible minute to do your homework. When you procrastinate, you feel rushed, and don’t necessarily have a lot of time to think about what you’re putting on your paper. And if you decide to do your homework the night before, make sure it’s not after midnight, because then you’ll get less sleep, and feel like a Zombie the next day!

·If you have a meal plan, don’t go out to eat while the met is open. When you go off campus and spend your own money on food, when you can just your meal plan, that’s a waste of your money. Now if you just don’t feel like getting the usual food and decide to eat somewhere else that’s fine, but I wouldn’t recommend that you make a habit out of it, or you’ll run out of money fast!

·Keep your things organized, and especially keep track of you syllabi. If you just put you papers just anywhere, when you go to look for them, you might not find them. So it’s just better to buy some folders and organize your things however you feel fit. You’ll be glad you did! Also highlight anything that you think is important on those syllabi, because your professors might not remind you about when things are due.

Basically, keep yourself together and don’t panic if you mess up. I may just be a wee little freshman, but think I’ve learned a lot these past 3 weeks! This is only the beginning of a new semester, and things are starting to get really interesting in my classes!

P.S- Feel free to leave me some comments! They really help me out! Tell me what you guys think about my blogs!

Student Money Management at UT Tyler

    Money Management. This is not a foreign subject for any college student. In fact, most college students cringe when you mention this topic for the simple reason that most of us are perpetually broke and really do not wish to be reminded of that fact. If they do not have questions about it now, many students will unfortunately face this harsh truth when they graduate because according to forbes.com “The average American is $ 4,000.00 in debt!” I know I have hit on this     topic before in my Breaking the College Poverty Cycle blog, but I have recently found new resources and I must share them with the world.

        Student Money Management, this is a new organization on campus which aims to equip The University of Texas at Tyler students with the knowledge to control their money instead of letting their money control them. The graduate Assistant in Student Affairs, Christina Gibson, has been participating in the implementation of the program by researching other schools money management programs, finding educational resources, and creating the Student Money Management website. She will be conducting the outreach and facilitating programs to engage students in discussion about good money management.  Basically, she is the brains behind this organization! So I decided to get the answers directly from the source and ask her a few more questions about the organization!

ME: What is the goal of this organization?

Christina Gibson (CG): The Student Money Management (SMM) Program’s main goal is to educate students on how to become financially independent and graduate college with a sense of how to manage their money. We currently offer student's a money management education through presentations and workshops, online resources on our website, and eventually like to offer personal consultations with a financial advisor. We want to give students the opportunity to:

-          Learn how to create a personal budget

-          Make a plan to repay student loans and personal debts after graduation

-          Learn ways to protect their identity

-          Learn how to track and manage expenses during and after college

-          Understand and build strong personal credit

-          Find educational resources that offer advice, tips, and tools to better their financial situation

ME: Who can benefit from this program?

CG: All students! We want all of our students to make good financial decisions. College students are in dire need of financial guidance. Out of a recent survey of more than 1,000 colleges, 98 colleges said their 2010 graduating class owed an average of more than $35,000, and 73 colleges reported that more than 90% of students graduated with some amount of debt. Average student loan debt tops $25,000.

With college students consuming this amount of debt, and spending such vast amounts of money during their college experience, students can benefit from financial advice being provided for them from their universities.

ME:  How do students get involved?

CG: Students are welcome to check out our website. There are many resources, tools, informative articles, and beneficial items to get them started on their money management journey. It is separated by different categories, depending on what type of information they are looking for. We will update it periodically with new resources, along with adding videos and pictures from the different events we have! On our website, there is also a link to our UT Tyler CashCourse. This is a program the University has invested in for our students to use in the Student Money Management program. 

So, as you can see, this organization is a great hands-on organization tailored directly for the students of UT Tyler. For more resources follow Student Money Management on Twitter where they repost TONS of helpful articles from places like USA Today Money, Dave Ramsey, and our own UT Tyler Departments. Be on the lookout for events in the fall. Trust me you DO NOT want to miss out on this!

UT Tyler Vlog: How to Get Around a Proper Haircut (Straight Hair)

In college, my basic hair maintenance lost time to much needed extra sleep. Not the mention the price of a basic cut. Courtney's Hair Vlog inspired me to show y'all how I "cut" or "trim" my own hair.

WARNING: This is not a proper hair cut.