CL’s Halloween Safety Tips

With the excitement of Halloween comes along horrors- not just in the ghost and ghoul form.  The days leading up to, and including, Halloween can get crazy with all the costumes and parties.  CL is here to help you to be a smart and safe co-ed on campus during these festivities.

Keep your money and identification on you at all times.  Even if you trust the people you are at the party with, they may have invited friends for the Halloween weekend that you do not know.  Wear a wristlet or a small messenger bag so you don’t have to worry about misplacing it.  You can even decorate your bag and try to work it into your costume!

Don’t leave candles unattended.  Sometimes we decorate with holiday themed candles or glowing lanterns.  Or we may have a carved pumpkin lit up by a candle. No matter the case, never leave the candle unattended.  When getting dressed in your costumes and getting ready to leave make sure you remember to blow out the candle.  If there is going to be a crowd at your house, put out the candles beforehand so they don’t get knocked over.  Unattended candles can definitely lead to an unwelcomed spooky Halloween.

Stay off the roads.  Halloween at college often results to excessive drinking.  Be aware of people partaking in reckless activities, especially drunk driving.  Try not to be in the roads, whether you are driving or walking, at night.

Make sure your costume is practical and functional.  If you are going to be outside make sure you are dressed warmly.  The party isn’t going to be as fun if you are cold!  Wear flats if you are not used to wearing heels.  Try not to wear long dresses that people may step on in a crowd.  Incorporate bright colors into your costume so people can see you in the dark.

Inspect your treats.  We have heard this safety rule every year since we were children.  Throw away candy that looks like it was tampered with.

Know who you are talking to.  With people wearing masks and costumes in a crowded, dim-lit party identifications could be lost.  Make sure you know who you are with, what they are wearing and how to find them.  Don’t wind up trusting someone you don’t know!

Don’t eat too much candy! Okay, so it isn’t a real danger, but it is definitely a precaution to take for Halloween.  Enjoy your sweets, but don’t overload.

Following these precautions and being safe allows savvy co-eds to have fun on Halloween with minimum worries.  Taking these simple steps will help eliminate unwanted Halloween scares!

 

Nicole is a CL intern who goes to Marist College.  She is a Communications major with a concentration in Journalism and PR.  Nicole is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, Marist Ambassadors, and Communication Arts Society.  She enjoys running and hanging out with her sorority sisters and friends.

A Classy Co-Ed’s Guide to Avoiding Roommate Drama

We’ve all seen and heard horror stories about college roommates. Whether you’re moving in with your best friend or a girl you’ve just met over Facebook, living in such close proximity to another person is, without a doubt, fertile ground for trouble.  In order to avoid serious conflict it’s important to set ground rules from day one. (Yes, even if you think there is no possible way you could disagree with your best friend). Talking through potential concerns will make you feel a lot more secure, but it’s even more beneficial to get your agreement in writing.

Consider the following when writing a roommate contract:

Class Schedule. Make a copy of your class schedule so that your roommate knows when to expect you and when you’ll be out. This makes it easier to coordinate bathroom use, alarm clocks and meal times.

Study habits. Do you expect your room to be a sanctuary for study or do you intend to hit the books in the library? Let your roommate know what time you typically study as well as when your exams or important assignment are due.

Quiet hours and sleep schedules. Everyone deserves at least 7-8 hours a day for sleep (although in college, it tends to be a lot less). Also be aware that most people like to spend alone time in their room. It’s usually the only escape from hectic campus life. Be respectful while your roommate is sleeping by promptly turning off your alarm clock in the morning, limiting visitors late at night and using a personal desk lamp to get ready.

Friends and family visitors. There is nothing worse than an un-invited guest, especially if they are loud, messy or demanding. Establish an appropriate timeline to ask permission for a guest to stay and plan how/where they plan to sleep. Although it may be awkward, it’s smart to talk through the issue of romantic guests as well. If it makes you uncomfortable if they spend the night, don’t be afraid to let your roommate know ahead of time. It’s just as much your room as it is theirs.

Cleaning common areas as well as individual areas. Make a cleaning schedule for basic communal duties such as taking out the trash, washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom, washing windows and vacuuming. It’s important that you share responsibility for the general up-keep of the room. Also let your roommate know what you expect in terms of keeping your own areas clean. If it’s hard for you to focus with clothes strewn everywhere and pillows and blankets on the floor, it’s okay to ask them to tidy up a little bit.

Food, shopping and meal responsibilities. Before a single box of food hits the pantry, set ground rules on what’s okay to share and what you would like to keep for yourself. Expensive and specialty items can be marked with your name, but other items may be easier to share (such as milk, eggs, etc.). Create a shopping schedule to organize who will buy certain items. If you are responsible for cooking your own meals, it might be nice to assign dinner to someone each day. That way, everyone does a little cooking and gets a chance to try new food!

Pet peeves and individual preferences. Let your roommate know what bothers you. You would much rather be open and honest with her now so that she doesn’t drive you crazy down the road.

Sharing clothes, furniture, food and appliances. For best friends, sharing clothes and personal items may be no big deal, but for some, sneaking a roommate’s shampoo may not be okay. Establish what is okay to share and what needs special permission.

Conflict resolution. You’re probably going to fight at some point. It’s extremely difficult to live with someone for that long without butting heads eventually. Before you throw a huge temper tantrum that the entire hall can hear, take some time to digest the situation. Consider your roommate’s point of view before shutting her out. Remember that learning to live with someone is a huge step in maturity. Sometimes, you just have to put your differences aside and live with what life hands you.

Meaghan O’Connor is a Writer/Social Media intern at College Lifestyles (TM) and is a Communications/International Relations major at the University of Michigan. She is a proud member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority and is known for her big heart and big dreams.

How to Reduce Your Food Bill: part 2

Grocery Store Tricks & How You Can Fight Back

The grocery store has several tricks to get you, the consumer, to buy more things and stay in the store longer. But you don’t want to spend more money than you have to, so what’s a girl to do? Here I have a list of gimmicks/tricks the store uses. By learning about these tricks, you can become an informed consumer and make better choices.

Many of the tricks involve one concept: convenience vs. cash. Are you willing to pay more for that special basil pasta sauce, or can you make it at home and save money? You could buy that Lean Cuisine for $2.50 or you could make an equal (or better!) meal at home by purchasing the raw ingredients. Is the time that it takes to prepare a meal worth the added cost for the convenience item? Your call!

1. List. List. Did I say list?!?! Stick to it, don’t fall astray! If you derail from it, you will have unnecessary spending and impulse buying.
2. Notice how they place certain items at the checkout? This is when you are more susceptible to an impulse buy because you have to wait your turn at the checkout. Don’t succumb. Have patience, young super saver. Fight the urge.
3. Look at the unit price. Might need to yank out your reading glasses, because the unit price is the itty bitty tiny writing on the price label. It is the cost per ounce of the product. The heavier the volume/weight of the container, the lower the unit price*. But please see #4 below to clarify the asterisk…
4. Buying in bulk ≠ always saving money. Didn’t your mother ever tell you to not use qualifiers (always, never)? You will not save money by buying bulk. Check the unit price on the small and large container. Sometimes the small containers cost as much as the larg container in terms of unit price. Personally, I am tempted to eat more if I have a gi-normous container versus a smaller one, so I would rather purchase the smaller one, finish it, and then come back to the store to purchase a second.
5. Buy things that are not pre-prepared. Raw items are usually cheaper than the pre-prepared ones. This means you purchase all ingredients: the spices, the oil, the chicken. Think rotisserie chicken vs. raw chicken or sushi at H-E-B versus making it yourself. Think of all the knowledge you will gain by cutting that pineapple yourself instead of buying it pre-cut. Now think dollar signs and money saving. Cha-ching!
6. Don’t purchase something until you run out of it. A “no duh” statement, but true.
7. A little hint for next week’s blog: COUPONS. Stick it to the (grocery store) man by saving money!
8. Stores put the most popular items at eye level. This means that the cheaper items are above or way below eye level. Notice how bright and colorful they are, then see #9…
9. Store brands. Store brand quality is comparable to some name brands. Especially true for canned products (but make sure to wash off the sodium before eating!).
10. Watch for “dump carts.” These are “sale” items all thrown into a basket and give the false appearance of a sale. Truth: the items may be regular price.
11. Watch for “end of aisle” sales. Same Truth: the items may be regular price. The flashy colors are to grab your attention and your money.
12. Get a smaller basket. Not only will you purchase less, but also you can people-weave to get out of the store faster.
13. Shop no more than once a week. More shopping = more spending.
14. Don’t rush, but don’t linger either. The longer you are in there, the higher the probability of buying extra stuff.
15. Arrange your list in the flow of the store. You will get in/out faster. It takes less than 5 minutes to do this and you will eventually get in the habit of doing it.
16. Watch out for the “discontinued” gimmick. Yeah, your favorite deodorant may be discontinued, but you don’t have to buy 5 sticks at the “discounted” price.
17. The aromatic smells. Yes, it’s true! Most stores will put the bakery very close to the entrance of the store. Why? To reel you in with the wholesome smell of baked bread, slow you down, and keep you in the store.
18. Organic items are more expensive. Up to TWO TIMES more expensive as regular products. If you’re on a budget, normal produce will do just fine.
19. Watch out for FIFO. No, that’s not fee fi foo fum. It means First In First Out. Grocery stores put items with sooner expiration dates closer to the front of the display. So check your yogurt, meat, bread, etc. to see if what you are purchasing expires in a few days. If it does, then you will throw it away, which means that you will come back to the store and buy even more. See the trend? This happened to me once…but never again!

It is completely ok to buy convenience items, don’t get me wrong. For example, if frozen broccoli is the only way you will ever eat broccoli, then by all means, eat it! But, if you are on a budget, think how long it takes to wash raw broccoli, then chop it, then cook it…we are probably talking about less than 10 minutes. Betcha it takes that long to defrost/cook it in the microwave! You will also get more nutrients out of fresh broccoli than frozen (less sodium, more Vitamin C, etc).

Tune in next week for part 3: COUPONS!

Christine is a Nutrition Science student at Baylor University. She loves black beans, the elliptical machine, and a little kick of caffeine.