Budget 101, Money Talks
Michelle Balaun2020-09-03T18:14:33-04:00The Budget Your Money Talk Some of the most common and often asked questions from new parents are “How much money should I give my student?” “Should I g [...]
Banks and Credit Unions UNF
Michelle Balaun2020-05-28T13:21:38-04:00Many Places to Grab Money, Banks Galore! Leaving for college comes with so many new things, but handling their own money can be one of the scariest. We [...]
Cell Phone and Computer Repair
Michelle Balaun2020-09-20T12:33:45-04:00When Disaster Strikes, repair it! Ugh, nothing is more annoying than when your cell phone stops working or when your computer suddenly shuts down. For s [...]
Dinner, It’s Time Check out these Restaurants
Michelle Balaun2020-09-10T16:08:47-04:00It's dinner-time! Everyone has their favorite place, here are the places we love to frequent, which one is your favorite restaurant? Restaurants Within [...]
Sorority Girl – The Inside Scoop
Michelle Balaun2020-09-24T15:39:46-04:00It’s More Than Parties, Sorority Life. Congratulations if your daughter has joined a sorority! Joining a sorority was one of the best decisions I made [...]
They’ve Been Accepted
Michelle Balaun2020-02-24T12:15:52-05:00Now, What do You Do? Congratulations Class of 2024… Swoop and Welcome to The Nest!! You can now take that sigh of relief that a decision has been made a [...]
Our Favorite Apartment Rentals For Real!
Michelle Balaun2020-06-25T10:34:58-04:00Our Fave Rentals Save U Time! Most students cannot wait to move into rentals or apartments after their freshman year for very good reasons. They will g [...]
The ABC’s of 529 Savings Plans UNF
Michelle Balaun2020-07-13T10:07:36-04:00What 529 Pays When you decide to have kids, your first thought is not how am I going to pay for college, but it might be your second. When my kids were [...]
Dropping a Class
Michelle Balaun2020-09-20T14:58:20-04:00Dropping, When Is it Time? Here are the guidelines you should consider when dropping a class. “I need to drop my Business Calculus class.” Not the best [...]
Fix It! Fix it good!
Michelle Balaun2020-07-10T10:45:48-04:00If it’s Broken, You Must Fix It Fix it and repair shops are one of the necessities of life, and when our kids are away at school, we want to make sure t [...]
Bright Futures – Shining Bright
Michelle Balaun2020-05-07T15:58:24-04:00The Future Is So Bright You'll Need Shades! SEE END OF BLOG FOR CHANGES EFFECTIVE WITH THE 2020-2021 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR Bright Futures has been a grea [...]
Wakey Wakey- Eggs and Bakey Breakfast
Michelle Balaun2020-07-10T10:26:09-04:00Here are Our Favorites for Breakfast Another Broken Egg Café - Start your day the delicious way with southern-style biscuit beignets, gourmet omelets, a [...]
Auxiliary Fees for Classes
Michelle Balaun2020-09-30T12:13:12-04:00HaveUHeard of These Fees for Online Classes? There is no denying that college tuition, in and of itself, is a huge expense; however, on top of the cost, [...]
Planning to Sublease Your Apartment at UNF
Michelle Balaun2020-05-06T10:46:10-04:00The Supply is Greater Than the Demand, Here’s How to Sublease HaveUHeard that when a student moves into an off-campus apartment they generally sign a le [...]
Getting There – Transportation
Michelle Balaun2020-07-06T12:05:56-04:00Planes, Trains, Buses, Transportation, Oh My! Whether it will be the first time dropping off your student, visiting them for parent’s weekend or attendi [...]
Graduation
Michelle Balaun2020-10-29T13:53:54-04:00Can they Already be Finished? It seems like yesterday that your Osprey was an incoming freshman and now, within a few months, they will be graduating an [...]
Health Insurance
Michelle Balaun2020-10-15T11:19:57-04:00Know More About Insurance Options Students at many colleges today must have a health insurance plan that meets their university’s minimum requirement. T [...]
Eating on a Budget
Michelle Balaun2020-06-29T15:08:23-04:00Teach Them To Budget And The Rest Is Easy Eating on a budget is hard to do at any age. Teaching my three kids how to budget their money was not an easy [...]
Home Sweet Dorm Make it Fab!
Michelle Balaun2020-07-06T16:10:26-04:00Turn Their Dorm Room From Drab to Fab Don’t be alarmed on move-in day when you walk into your student’s bare and cold dorm room. It’s amazing how quickl [...]
Insider’s Guide to Living on Campus
Michelle Balaun2020-06-22T10:50:25-04:00We have the inside scoop on places to live ON-Campus! You can certainly read about the dorms and where to live from UNF’s web page Housing and Residence [...]
Lost and Found – we can help!
Michelle Balaun2020-06-23T15:57:51-04:00Oh No…. It Happened! We’ve all done it, lost something. But what's been lost can be found! It’s not surprising that a college student may lose their ke [...]
Hotels
Michelle Balaun2020-06-23T15:52:47-04:00A Nice Place to Stay Keeping in my that UNF is a small part of the thriving city of Jacksonville, there are plenty of hotel options. The airport is with [...]
Get on the Bus
Michelle Balaun2020-06-17T15:16:36-04:00A Guide to UNF’s Bus System Getting to and from campus or around campus at UNF can be a little stressful, however, UNF’s Bus system Osprey Connector can [...]
Meal Plan at UNF
Michelle Balaun2020-05-25T14:42:47-04:00Burgers and Pizza and Fries – OH MY! Your student is away at school and many of you might be envisioning your student’s diet as burgers, pizza, fries an [...]
Finding An Internship
Michelle Balaun2020-09-03T16:21:31-04:00Learn About Your Options, Find an Internship I have three children; one graduated from FSU, one is a junior at FSU and one is a freshman at UNF. Each on [...]
Moving In
Michelle Balaun2020-06-10T13:58:00-04:00All the Tips and Tricks to Make Moving Easy Once your student has been given their move-in date and dorm or residence assignment, the process of handlin [...]
Eating Healthy at college
Michelle Balaun2020-06-12T11:33:31-04:00Eating healthy, not an easy feat! It can be hard to eat healthy when at college. While on-campus dining offers healthy options, sometimes having the opt [...]
Trouble in Paradise
Michelle Balaun2020-05-05T09:31:48-04:00Trouble, It Happens… Is your student having trouble or in trouble? Are they having problems with a roommate, an apartment lease, underage drinking, acad [...]
Moving Out
Michelle Balaun2020-11-11T10:41:44-05:00Is Moving Out Harder? For some, the process of moving in is easier than moving out. When your student moves in, they neatly pack their items in a suitca [...]
Off-Campus Living
Michelle Balaun2020-06-05T14:16:19-04:00Economical to Extravagant Off-Campus Your child moves into their dorm in August and everyone is so excited…new friends, new space and everything is goin [...]
Food for Thought, Is Everyone Fed?
Michelle Balaun2020-07-01T15:02:52-04:00No Student Goes Hungry Much like the national campaign No Kid Hungry®, there are many students at colleges throughout the United States that are barely [...]
First Time Loan Borrower
Michelle Balaun2020-07-09T12:10:34-04:00You’ll Need to Do This for a Loan What is the Entrance Counseling? In July of 2016, the U.S. Department of Education made it a requirement that, in orde [...]
Orient Yourself, What You Need For Orientation
Michelle Balaun2020-02-27T14:14:50-05:00A Guide to Orientation Congratulations! Your child has been accepted to UNF! This is such a wonderful time in your child’s life and the start of the n [...]
Spring Break, Fun Times
Michelle Balaun2020-05-27T17:10:02-04:00Letting Off Steam Before Finals Spring Break...just the words conjure up so many different feelings, memories, and emotions. Some of the memories are f [...]
Money, Money, Money
Michelle Balaun2020-08-18T12:41:56-04:00When Will Financial Aid Disburse? Or, Show Me The Money! The time has come to pay for your college costs and panic sets in. I have three kids and each e [...]
Parking at UNF
Michelle Balaun2020-05-29T16:03:40-04:00Get the Last Spot! When getting ready to send your student off to UNF, the decision of should they bring their car to school, and then what to do with i [...]
Technology Needs for UNF Students
Michelle Balaun2020-08-18T13:58:19-04:00Here is What You Get For Free! HaveUHeard that Microsoft Office 365 is free for all enrolled UNF students? And it’s free for up to five devices. That is [...]
Restaurants
Michelle Balaun2020-06-24T12:32:48-04:00Great Places to Eat! Like any college town, there are literally hundreds of dining options from fast food to fast-casual, from family-style to fine dini [...]
Being Thrifty
Michelle Balaun2020-07-17T14:34:34-04:00When You Need to Stay on Budget, Be Thrifty! Being a college student, it can be stressful to be thrifty and stay on budget throughout the semester. Ther [...]
Are Your Student’s Valuables Safe?
Michelle Balaun2020-04-30T14:53:21-04:00Keep Them Safe As we were preparing my daughter for college, one of the most popular subjects discussed on my UNF parent's Facebook page was safety. I’ [...]
Just Desserts!
Michelle Balaun2020-04-30T14:44:53-04:00Who Wants Dessert, Is My Favorite Sentence! Seriously?! My favorite meal of the day is dessert. When my kids were little, many times I would give them [...]
It’s All about the Delivery and Ease
Michelle Balaun2020-09-15T13:03:53-04:00There’s a knock at the door! Taking time away from studying can be the difference between dinner or a bag of chips and a soda. Sometimes it pays to turn [...]
Roommates and Residential Life
Michelle Balaun2020-05-18T19:56:10-04:00First Time Living With Someone You’re Not Related To! For many students entering college, this may be their first time away from home for an extended pe [...]
Beauty and The Beast
Michelle Balaun2021-06-10T14:52:00-04:00Is That How Your Favorite Fairy Tale Begins? When planning for school, we often think of all the essentials, dorm room decorations, meal plans, registra [...]
Finding A Roommate at UNF
Michelle Balaun2020-05-12T12:05:29-04:00First time living with someone you’re not related to! When I went to school, there was no way to find out who my roommate was until the day I got to sch [...]
Working While In College
Michelle Balaun2020-11-10T13:37:38-05:00Who doesn’t need extra money... Some students are working to supplement the allowance that their parents are giving them each week or month and some stu [...]
Sick at School
Michelle Balaun2020-09-20T13:24:38-04:00Mom…I'm sick? When my kids were growing up, I always hated when they said: “I don’t feel well.” Having my daughter 4 hours away and hearing those words [...]
Sorting Out College Life, Laundry and Beyond
Michelle Balaun2020-05-12T12:03:42-04:00Your guide to washing, drying and never losing our favorite pair of socks! I was never the mom who made her kids do their own laundry, although they kne [...]