The First Impression Package

The First Impression Package

By: Sam Valentine

Going out on a big date this weekend? Have an interview for a killer job coming up? Most of the poor schmucks out there looking for jobs and dates fail because they forget one simple rule: pay attention to detail. When it comes to making a solid first impression on others, paying attention to tiny components of your appearance and presence can make the difference between making the cut and riding the bench. The following is a gentleman's guide to a few things that can help you put your best foot forward right out of the gate.

1. Wristwatch- this simple, yet elegant addition to any man's wardrobe is no further than the nearest Walmart. I found this sleek black and silver dress watch for less than $8. Despite what the big boys in watch-making will tell you, a slick timepiece doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. 

2. Pocket Squares- if you plan on wearing a blazer or even a suit to any semi-formal or formal occasion, a pocket kerchief is a must. This wardrobe-booster screams organization and confidence. Good old Wally world came through again for me in this category, carrying a pack of three different kerchiefs for just $3.50. The Art of Manliness has an awesome article on folding and rocking a pocket square (you're welcome) that I intend to use as soon as the need arises.

3. Tic Tacs- last, but most certainly not least, keeping your breath fresh and clean is a must. If you're having a conversation with someone nearby and by the end of it they're 4 feet away, it's time to take action.

Tic Tacs are a measly $1 at Walmart, so bad breath is the easiest obstacle to a good first impression for you to eliminate. Classic and refreshing, these little mints will have you feeling on top of the world.

I got all this fresh gear at Walmart for a just $13.15. Who knew making your mark on the world could be so easy?

So guys, get out there and take control of your impressions on others. Why not pay attention to the details? You never know who might be looking. 

I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags...

If shopping were an Olympic sport, I would have brought home the gold medal for America. 

I want to buy it all, but I don't have a lot of money...do you see my problem?

Macklemore and I frequent the thrift store. 

However, when you aren't searching for thrift store treasures, finding affordable and fashionable clothing can be a huge challenge. Also, when you're attending a college and barely have time to leave your computer you often find yourself online clothes shopping.

Online shopping is a dangerous endeavor. By the time you've gotten to page 3 on New Arrivals you've already got 30 new must-have blouses in your cart. Just because you're shopping is being done through a virtual forum doesn't mean the money you are spending is virtual. It is real and it can cost you hundreds by the time you have shipping and handling having to be paid for.

Thankfully, fashion doesn't have to come at a jaw-dopping price for many online clothes stores. Through research and experience, I believe Tobi and 10 Dollar Mall to be a couple of the best ways to save money while online clothes shopping. 

Tobi and I go way back to freshman year. My first social formal dress was purchased through this wonderful website. And at a cheap price too! First off, if you ever pay full price at Tobi you are doing it wrong. All their new products are 30% and every few days they have 50% off the entire store. This means your total is cut by 50% on those special days. The immediate relief you feel after cutting your cart total in half is more relaxing then being done with your final exam. Simply amazing. 

Also, there is no minimum amount of money required to receive free shipping. #winning 

Above I screen shotted an order I had received that proves their affordability. I bought two ridiculously big pairs of sunglasses, fun pants, two adorable dresses, a tunic and a belt for under $140. 

Although I have never used 10 Dollar Mall, I found some adorable steals. But I had to do some background investigating on them before I gave into their enticing "20% Off Any Item" deal...

Site Jabber, an online website where you can find reviews on all kinds of websites, gave them 3.5 stars out of five. That is pretty impressive given that there has been 83 contributing reviews. 

10 Dollar Mall also offers to more than just women (Tobi is exclusive to women). They have a sections for Men, Girls, Boys and Plus Size. Something I found different about this website was their "Trends" section. 

They do research too. They produce less than $10 products according to the latest fashion trends. Quite impressive. 

The Male Hygiene Package

When it comes to personal hygiene, there are two things most important to a guy in my opinion: deodorant and facial hair care. As a guy who regularly has to trim, cut, and shave his beard, it can be a bit of an economic strain buying new razors and shaving cream every few weeks. On the deodorant side of things, you want to pick a deodorant that smells good, stops perspiration, and doesn't irritate your skin.

To embark on my journey to fulfill these requirements on a budget, I hopped in my preowned 2002 Hondo Accord and cruised on down to the local CVS Pharmacy.

Finding the right deodorant as a guy can be a trial and error type of process at times. Do you want to get a gel-type deodorant like Speed Stick? I have seen the dark side of gel deodorants and it involves hair clumping and pain. DON'T DO IT. Other products such as Old Spice simply don't work as well for people with sensitives skin and they have some of the most annoying commercials out there.

 

For my money, Degree deodorant is the best.

This particular Degree example is their special dry protection product, which works best when it detects increases in body temperature--perfect for guys who workout and exercise regularly, and for guys who sweat easily. Also, the price for the twin pack is only $6.79, which means you save about $0.40 per stick.

Guys, you know and I know how annoying it is to be fighting with your facial hair and cutting your face. Some of you are luckier than me and don't have to shave/trim every day of the week, and others can grow a beard in a little under six hours. Personally, I think that shaving with an electric razor and trimmer is the way to go because A) I don't have to spend money on new razors every week, and B) they get the job done just as well as disposables.

The problem is that high quality electric razors are usually very expensive (upwards of $50.00) and sometimes if you don't grow facial hair easily (lucky you), all you need is a quick shave with a straight razor.

That is where these come in handy:

The old and reliable Bic razors get the job done as well as any of the disposable razors with a million different blades and moisturizing strips. Use them with a shaving cream that is effective at raising the hairs and keeping your skin from feeling dry and irritated and you're good to go. Getting 12 razors at a more than manageable price of only $5.29, is almost robbery. Use these once, pitch it, and move onto the next razor in the bag.

Don't let advertisements of multi-blade razors fool you. There's a reason barbershops still use the single blade method: it works the best.

As far as shaving creams are concerned, I usually like to roll with Gillette products. Their slogan is "The Best a Man Can Get" and it is 100% true in my opinion. I've never bought one of their shaving creams and been disappointed.

This particular shaving cream is the current one i've been using. Not too expensive and gets the job done.

Adding it all together, the total price of these three products comes to just $15.77. You get 12 shaves worth of razors, which will likely last the average guy at least two weeks, probably more. You get shaving cream which will last months; and you get two sticks of deodorant, each of which will last at least a month unless you are barbaric with your deodorant application and smear it everywhere.

PS- After shave is overrated in my opinion, there's no need for me to be like Kevin McCalister in Home Alone:

The Entertainment Package

By: Sam Valentine

Tired of spending $15 every time you want to see a movie? Aren't we all?! The next time you're looking for a cheap date or a low-price night on the couch, look no further than your local supermarket.

Sure, movie theaters have big screens and all those delicious snacks to stuff your face with, but they don't taste quite as good when your wallet goes hungry.



For my cheap movie-watching experience, I ventured out to the always crowded Walmart. The average movie theater ticket is around seven or eight bucks. I managed to get much more than just a movie for $5 and some change.

1. Popcorn- Who ever heard of a movie without popcorn? Some would call that sinful. Wally world has a bucket of Popz popcorn for only $1. That's a steal that makes Bonnie and Clyde look like a couple of wimps.

2. Candy- in the front of Walmart by the cash registers sits the most glorious bin of candy this man has ever seen... and ALL OF IT IS ONLY 98 CENTS! Being the classic guy that I am, I chose "Raisinets," but take your pick because it's all less than a dollar but exactly the same size you'd get at the movies.

3. Drink- You can't go wrong with a classic Coca-Cola. I grabbed a 20 oz for $1.68. Movie theater drinks may be big, but they cost at least five times that.

4. Movie- Am I forgetting something? Oh yeah! The movie! Most superstores have a Redbox kiosk in their lobbies. A Redbox rental costs $1.50 a night. You can see seven Redbox movies for the price of one in theaters.

Still not convinced I got all those things for such a low price? Check it. My receipt (complete with a record of me scanning the Raisinets twice because I got excited) to make you a believer.

So take your friend Abe Lincoln or a few Washingtons to your nearest Walmart, pick a movie and some cheap grub, and laugh out your window as you pass the local movie theater.

Look Like a Million Bucks, Spend $5

By Emily Ragano

Natural beauty is priceless. However, tired eyes will never be a fashion trend. For those of us who don’t want to be easy, breezy, beautiful and broke, I ventured into Wal-Mart to find makeup products for less than $5.

Before becoming the Wolf of Wal-Mart...

I composed a list of makeup essentials: 

Foundation/Concealer

Blush

Eyeliner

Eyeshadow 

Mascara

Lip Gloss

For comparison, I research Sephora's products and prices for my makeup list. 

Omorovicza: Complexion Perfector.....$135.00 

Bobbi Brown: Hot Collection Cheek Palette…$45.00

Surratt Beauty: Auto-Graphique Eyeliner…$42.00

Sephora Collection: Colorful Eyeshadow Portfolio…$599.00

Guerlain: Noir G de Guerlain Exceptional Complete Mascara….$52.00

Guerlain: Rouge G De Guerlain L’Extrait…$53.00 

There better be gold in that concealer considering it's approximately five times my electric bill for my apartment. I don't think I could ever justify spending $599 for eyeshadow unless it gave me super-hero see-through vision. 

With only $5, I knew I would have to make some sacrifices to my list of makeup essentials. There was no way I was going to find concealer for anything less than $6. 

I walked into Wal-Mart and BAM, it's like they knew I was coming...

Unfortunately, I could not indulge in nail polish because it was not apart of this thrifty mission. 

I eliminated concealer, blush and eyeshadow to my list for money savings sake. With my $5 I was able to purchase eyeliner, mascara and "lip stain." 

Lip stain was a hybrid between lip gloss and lip stick, two-for-one deal. For $2. 

 Without tax, I was under the $5 limit...but with tax...I had to come up with $0.12. Mission: 98% complete.

To test the value of these products I did a selfie photo shoot. And yes, I felt ridiculous during the whole process. I compared the products to the ones I use frequently. Before I show you my natural selfie on a scale from one to ugly, I'm pushing Hargrid....

***WARNING CONTENT OF PHOTO MAY CAUSE MILD NAUSEA AND SHOCK***

No makeup AH 

No Makeup 

Products I already use:                                                Makeover: 

Products from Wal-Mart:                                            Makeover: 

Left: No makeup Center: Regular Markup Right: Wal-Mart Makeup 

Makeup is fun and for $5 you can get a lot of individual purchases. However, trying to complete an entire look was challenging. 

Making Sense out of Cents

By Emily Ragano

"Mo' money, mo' problems" may be the most confusing saying ever to be declared. Coming from four college students, if I have more money a lot of my problems can be helped...if not solved. We've been blessed with the option of a "Meal Plan" but there is not "Meal Plan" for real life. I can't ask to use a "punch" (explain what a punch is) at Olive Garden.
We have dedicated this blog to going out in the real world of Harrisonburg, VA to maximize the most value out of the amount of money we have. One week we might designate a limit of $5 another week we may spend a fortune...and by fortune I mean $20.
None of us like cliches, but being a broke college student is more of a way of life than stereotype. Comment and share our posts! Enjoy!

Low-Cost Munchies Satisfaction

If you're like me then there are many times later at night when you're up doing homework, writing a paper, or studying and you get the thunderous rumble of hunger rolling in you're midsection. When this sense of near starvation crashes upon you like high tide on a rocky Pacific coast shoreline, it is difficult, for me at least, to satisfy my hunger with just one item. 

When I recently experienced one of these rebellious stomach uprisings, I weighed my options. I thought to myself, “Do I want to get a burger? A taco? A chicken sandwich?” Keep in mind that in these late-night situations, you want something quick so that you don’t lose time studying and force yourself to stay up even later to make up for the lost time.

I threw caution to the wind and decided that I wanted both a burger and a chicken sandwich, and since I’m not the biggest McDonald’s fan I chose to go to Wendy’s.

Here’s my receipt:

As you can see (kind of), I got a cheeseburger, a chicken sandwich, and a side of small fries for under $4. If we’re being honest though, I ordered a jr. bacon cheeseburger instead of a jr. cheeseburger so that’s probably the reason why it was under. Triquon getting my order wrong actually ended up saving me a few extra cents, which never hurts. I didn't order a drink because I usually just end up getting water, which doesn't cost me anything anyway. 

I ordered straight from their "Right Price Right Size" menu, which is below. 

Nothing on this menu is above $2.09, so it is very affordable for someone who's on a budget trying to get some brain fuel for studying. Fastfoodmenuprices.com has a great, more in depth breakdown of the entire Wendy's menu and here's an even better listicle breakdown of how to save money at Wendy's. 

Now that you're full from using the value menu, you're saving money and that will definitely help you sleep at night.

DIY Crafting

I’m sure I’m not the only person who has scrolled through pages upon pages of Pintrest posts looking for easy, cute, Do it Yourself crafts to do in my spare time. Just something small to decorate my room with, that I can gaze it with a small smile thinking “I made that!! And it doesn’t look ridiculous!” I yet to find that ONE craft that I could do in my spare time, and that would make me feel artsy.

I may not be the artsiest person in the world, or the most creative, but by some miracle, I found an easy, fun, do-it-yourself craft that would allow me to have fun, and be frugal at the same time. Luckily, as I scrolled through Tumblr one day, I came  across a DIY craft called “A Jar of Stars.” It took me a little bit of practice to get the hang of it, but once I picked it up, it’s something I do when I need a little study break.

To make my Jar of Stars, I used a few items.

1.     A Ker Pint Mason Jar ($0.99) – from Michaels

2.     Colored Paper ($4.96) – from Walmart

3.     Scissors

4.     Straight Edge / Ruler

5.     Pencil / Pen

I searched YouTube and found this helpful tutorial on exactly how to make the stars, and pretty soon, I was folding away! As soon as I was able to practice with making the paper stars, the jar quickly grew more and more full.

With my Jar of Stars, I actually write something on the inside of each star that I make. For myself, I write a happy memory on each, so when I drop them into the jar, I have a bunch of happy memories sitting on my desk. Whenever I have a free moment, I think of a memory, and get to making one more star that I can add to my jar!

This project is one that you can put down, and pick up at leisure, knowing that you didn’t spend a ton of money on it, but one that you can place on your desk, and look back on with fondness. It makes for fantastic gifts, and a nice easy way to relax after a long day of work and classes!

Enjoy my time-lapse of my jar of stars!