The ABC’s of 529 Savings Plans USF
Michelle Balaun2020-06-14T15:14:21-04:00What 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. I made a decision [...]
First Time Student Loan Borrower?
Michelle Balaun2020-07-09T12:18:56-04:00You'll Need to Do This. What is an Entrance Counseling? In July of 2016, the U.S. Department of Education made it a requirement that, in order to have s [...]
Off-Campus Living and How to Manage
Michelle Balaun2023-05-08T16:37:35-04:00The Next Step to Off-Campus Living! Prepare yourself as you read this: breathe. Just when you think your student has figured out how to navigate the cam [...]
Dance Marathon aka Bulls For Kids
Michelle Balaun2020-10-23T13:55:41-04:00Dance Marathon aka Bulls For Kids One of the most popular fundraising events in colleges across the country is a dance marathon. Dance marathons are st [...]
Budget 101
Michelle Balaun2020-06-01T11:10:51-04:00Budget 101 I’m going to start with the dreaded comment starting “when I was in college, we didn’t have…” (insert teenager eye-roll here). But, all of us [...]
Banks & Credit Unions
Michelle Balaun2020-06-24T16:05:39-04:00Places that Handle Money We all know that banks are where we store the cash. Leaving for college comes with so many new things, but handling their own m [...]
Computer and Phone Repair
Michelle Balaun2020-09-20T12:29:14-04:00Computer and Phone Repair One of my pet peeves with my kids is how frivolously they take care of their electronics, especially their phones. As teenager [...]
Get on the Bus
Michelle Balaun2020-01-10T12:13:12-05:00A Guide to USF’s Bus System Getting to and from campus can be stressful-worrying about arriving to class on time with morning and evening traffic is tou [...]
Money, Money, Money
Michelle Balaun2020-08-20T14:38:29-04:00When Will Financial Aid Disburse? The time has come to pay for your college costs and money panic sets in. I remember receiving my tuition statement fo [...]
Supervise an Easy Budget for Your College Student
Michelle Balaun2020-10-21T14:53:19-04:00This is a budget lesson that will serve you in the future! When we attended orientation with our daughter, we were inundated with information from FAFSA [...]
Auxiliary Fees for Online Classes
Michelle Balaun2020-09-30T12:13:58-04:00Who Pays for This? **Due to the unprecedented Spring 2020, situations and circumstances continue to evolve daily. Please start all your planning for any [...]
Searching for Scholarships
Michelle Balaun2020-08-20T13:58:37-04:00Congratulations on Your Child Being Accepted! Now that that’s settled, the idea of actually paying for college looms. Hopefully, you have prepared in s [...]
Bright Futures – Shining Bright
Michelle Balaun2020-07-01T12:40:44-04:00The 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 [...]
Thrift Shops for the Thrifty Near USF!
Michelle Balaun2020-06-29T09:23:51-04:00When You Need to Be Thrifty and Stay on Budget Thrifting isn’t just a hot trend right now, it’s an amazing way to stay in style while saving money. Bein [...]
Grocery Stores
Michelle Balaun2020-01-12T16:41:04-05:00Grocery Stores A Kids Gotta Eat On-campus or off, meal plan or not, your child will need to get groceries at some point and time. USF has many shopping [...]
Get Involved
Michelle Balaun2020-08-10T15:14:47-04:00Get Involved USF is huge! With over 37,000 undergraduates across over 1500 acres, it can sometimes be hard to not feel overwhelmed by the size of the sc [...]
Books, Books, Books
Michelle Balaun2020-08-21T15:47:16-04:00Books, Books, Books Now that our sons and daughters have moved in, begun exploring, meeting friends, the reality begins. This means that they are now s [...]
The Best Apps for USF Students
Michelle Balaun2020-11-10T13:40:43-05:00The Best Apps for USF Students I always feel old when I say, ‘back in my day’, but the truth is that back in my day, we lived in a world without apps, c [...]
Favorite Apartment Rentals
Michelle Balaun2023-05-08T16:39:30-04:00Favorite Apartment Rentals Not Your Momma’s Apartment Just when you think you have your student all settled in the dorms, chances are you will be hit wi [...]
Eating on a Budget at USF, Ways To Make It Fun.
Michelle Balaun2020-01-10T14:48:20-05:00Eating on a Budget One of the not-so-fun things parents do is to teach their children to budget, about money and how to handle it. We’ve all heard it; [...]
Dropping A Class
Michelle Balaun2020-09-20T15:04:22-04:00Dropping The Subject I clearly remember my days at USF and having to make a hard decision about dropping a class. Back then, it seemed as if the world w [...]
I’m Not Your Maid: Cleaning Services
Michelle Balaun2020-09-04T15:11:51-04:00Maybe It's Not A Luxury, But A Necessity? Does everyone need a maid? Ok, let me start by saying that yes, my children know how to clean their rooms and [...]