Scholarship Season Is In Full Swing!

In today's post for Financial Literacy Awareness Month, I thought I would talk a little bit about something near and dear to every student's heart - or bank account - Scholarships!
'Tis the season to ramp up the applications and really try to get every possible scholarship, bursary or grant that you can find. There are numerous scholarships which have their deadlines either this month or before Christmas, so it's important to find the ones with the soonest cutoffs and get moving on them first.
I found a great article written today by my friend Jodi Okun. She is a professional Financial Aid Advisor. Her entire business is to help families get through the paperwork and preparations necessary to get financial aid for college. Jodi's article is entitled  '10 Ways to Make Scholarship Sponsors Love You'. It gives some terrific information to increase your odds of being awarded money to continue your education just for filling out some forms.
I have a couple more resources available on the sidebar which will lead you straight to scholarship search sites - and Jodi has many links on her site as well for you to check out. Don't delay! Now is the time to get those scholarship apps in the mail - or the email! Your bank account will thank you in the end. Cheers!

Another Great Site - For Students

Continuing with the theme for Financial Literacy Awareness Month - I wanted to introduce the younger readers (and by 'younger' I mean those in their early 20's) to a great personal finance website. The site is called Studenomics.com. The sub-title of the blog describes what readers can do if they read it - 'Kill Debt. Have More Money Now. Enjoy Life.' It is written by a young man by the name of Martin whom I had the pleasure of meeting recently at the Canadian Personal Finance Conference in Toronto. Martin is a very funny guy (both in person and in his writing) - and he's also very wise beyond his years when it comes to thoughts on personal finance. The combination of humour and wisdom comes through in his blog in some great posts which will have you laughing one second and taking notes the next.
Studenomics was recently selected the best PF blog for young people at the Plutus Awards handed out at FinCon12 in Denver. Martin does a great job of supplying his readers with useful tools while making it fun to read at the same time. Go ahead and click on over to take a look! Cheers!

Studenomics.com

Another Great Family Resource!

One of the things I really like about being online, is that as the Money Smart Student Community grows I am coming across more and more fantastic resources to pass on. I've found another one!
The website is http://www.moneytrail.net/ and it is a money management site for teens and their families. Parents and teens can track things like allowances, IOU's and expenses. The best part about it is - it's FREE!
I encourage you to check it out and see if it might be of use in your family. I have a feeling it will!

CFAA - A Great Resource for Students and Parents

I wanted to introduce you to a great resource I found recently thanks to Twitter. It's called 'College Financial Aid Advisors'. The young lady behind the company is Jodi Okun. Jodi is a wealth of information for students AND parents when it comes to sources of financial aid, maximizing your amount eligibility, and other college money information. I invite all of you to check out Jodi's website and take a look at the services she offers and the information she has available. You never know what money saving, or money getting, tips you'll find.
Jodi is also the moderator of the weekly Twitter chat #collegecash, every Thursday night at 10 pm Eastern. You can join Jodi (@JodiOkun) and others, including yours truly (@monysmartstdnts), as we discuss a different subject each week related to college life and college finances. There are some really great people involved in this chat and a lot of great information is exchanged - so I hope we'll see you there.

Fantastic Article on Money Apps

Today's tip is to follow the link below and read the article from CNN Money. It has the top Apps to help you save money and manage your money - everything from finding an ATM to tracking your receipts.
If a few of them help you to handle your money better - it will be worth the time reading it. Enjoy!

BEST MONEY APPS ARTICLE