When you’re a college student, there’s so much to learn and to explore. It’s always great to have some extra funds for concerts, school activities and going out with your friends. But, so often, any extra funds go towards education. While education is primary, you’d still love to find a way to save some money.

When I was in college, I spent a great deal of money on textbooks that I often didn’t even look at after the semester was over. I really wish that CampusBookRentals was around then because I would have really taken advantage of this option!

Let me just add that if you do decide to purchase the book after your semester, you have that choice as well.

Are you or your kids in College this Fall? Here are some of the awesome perks from CampusBookRentals:

You can save a whopping 40-90% off of bookstore prices.

You get free shipping both ways so it really couldn’t be easier or cheaper (You get a prepaid return envelope).

They have flexible renting periods and friendly customer service.

You can highlight in the textbooks! (Yes, you can underline, make notes, whatever you like!)

CampusBookRentals is one of the pioneers of the textbook rental movement which began in the summer of 2007, so they really do know their business. 

Since then, they’ve rented over 1,000,000 textbooks at over 5500 campuses nationwide.

They’ve been mentioned in the New York Times, CNN, the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek and have the largest selection in the nation.

In addition, CampusBookRentals now has a new program, RentBack.

RentBack is a new initiative that lets students rent the textbooks they own – to other students… which is pretty incredible because it makes them 2-4x more money compared to what they’d make through buyback options! (selling their books back at the end of the semester)

You can check it out in this brief video!

And, here is one of my favorite parts: CampusBookRentals  has  teamed up with Operation Smile, a wonderful organization that performs life-changing cleft lip surgeries on children whose families could not otherwise afford it. For every book rented, they donate a portion of those proceeds to Operation Smile.  Saving money and helping others at the same time, what could be more ideal?

Connect with CampusBookRentals:
Website
Facebook
Twitter 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, however all opinions are completely mine.

It seems like the Internet has been around forever, but, it’s a relatively new medium in the grand scope of communications. Yet, it is such a huge factor in how we interact with one another these days.

The first thing I do when I wake up is check my email. So much of our lives these days is about sharing online and there are so many different ways. Twitter and Facebook already seem second-nature.

Social Bookmarking is a great way to find, keep track of and share information that we perceive as interesting or newsworthy with our friends, family and the general world.

Blog This by Cami Checketts

 Will protecting children throughout the world cost Natasha her own family?

Devastated by the loss of her brother, Natasha Senecot works to expose the dangers of Matthew Chrysler’s violent video games, succeeding in bankrupting and humiliating him. Chrysler retaliates and sends a hit man after her. Natasha is forced to fake her own death to protect her children. But after witnessing another tragedy, Natasha must come out of hiding. In a race against time, Natasha must expose Matthew Chrysler before his assassin shatters her world and those she loves.

Praise for Blog This “From the very first chapter, Blog This grabs your gut and your heart with surprising action and touching moments. Cami Checketts blends suspense, humor, and good clean romance into a story that will stick with you.” ~Daniel Coleman, Author of Gifts and Consequences

“LOVED it. LOVED it. LOVED it. Have read all of Cami’s books but Blog This is on the top of my list. Read it twice and enjoyed it just as much as the first time I read it. Just when you think you know what is going to happen you’re led into a different direction. Had a hard time putting the book down and was anxious to see how it was going to end.” ~Elsa Akinason

Author Cami Checketts

Cami Checketts is married and the proud mother of four future WWF champions. Sometimes between being a human horse, cleaning up magic potions, and reading Bernstein Bears, she gets the chance to write fiction. Cami graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Exercise Science.

BookBlast Giveaway $100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

 Ends 10/31/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  a Rafflecopter giveaway

About The Glister Journals series:

The Glister Journals series is told from the perspective of a normal but not average teenage girl. It is not obvious, but Allison has a mild pervasive developmental disorder (autism spectrum). She thinks and experiences things a little differently from most of the other kids. In the past it has caused her to be alienated at best and bullied at worst. After the family moves, she becomes involved with a group of teens that open up new worlds to her.

The four book series follows her through high school but is equally about her friends who have their own problems, fears, and aspects of their lives they’d rather keep quiet. There is action—mostly in the form of equestrian and extreme sports—and though there are only hints of it in Bronze, there is a love story which will play a more prominent part as the series progresses. The main story is about assumptions, acceptance, love, and friendship, though there are other themes running throughout the series.

 

Author B.B. Shepherd

A graduate of Cal Poly with graduate work at Chapman and U C Santa Cruz, B. B. Shepherd has lived most of her life in California and loves the diverse beauty of its many landscapes. Music, horses, literature, and art have been her passions as long as she can remember. She enjoys road trips, almost all horse sports and extreme sports (as a spectator), and is addicted to research. As a writer, Shepherd enjoys exploring emotions and motivations: why do people do what they do?

She also likes trying to find the funny side of things. She admits to being a hopeless romantic and often gets in trouble for her sense of humor. Bronze is her debut novel, the first in a series of four called The Glister Journals. She currently works full time as a music professional and educator, and lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her youngest daughter and a very silly cat.

$100 BookBlast Giveaway

$100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 10/18/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you.

The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

blogskinny.com

I would definitely put myself in this category. If I’m asked to post about something that I am opposed to, I turn it down, because I like the idea of blogging with integrity. This is not to say that a blogger cannot make a mistake and find out later down the line that the brand actually is not reputable.

For example, I write about and use natural products whenever I can find them. For that reason, it just doesn’t make sense for me to write about bathroom or rug cleaners that are mostly toxic, or snacks where you have to read through a long list of chemical ingredients just to find something natural hidden in there.

I am in quite a few blogger networks which also makes it easier to find the “rotten apples”, so to speak. If something about a brand is disreputable, whether it be how they market or produce their products, we, as bloggers, will share this with our colleagues. The opposite also holds true with wonderful finds.



 

Sometimes I think I didn’t get the shopping gene, the one that makes you want to run to every sale and shop at every opportunity. I find this is true mostly when shopping for myself. I hate to go from store to store, and, although I find it somewhat easy to pick up casual clothes when needed, whenever I need a dress I just simply can’t find the right one. Very frustrating!

Recently I was invited to a dinner party and wanted to wear a dress that would express my personality and flatter me, so I began doing research online. I’m much happier shopping online from the comfort of my home where I find that the whole day hasn’t somehow magically disappeared like it does at the shopping mall.

I didn’t want to break the bank or freak out at the prices, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that DressFirst, a leading wedding dress company, has introduced a great collection of cocktail dresses that are affordable and fashionable. They are constantly releasing new designs that incorporate personality, quality and style. Just what I was looking for.

Here are a few that I am looking at:

This Sheath V-neck Short/Mini Tulle Charmeuse Cocktail Dress With Lace Beading comes in a variety of sizes and more colors than one usually finds.

I also love this next Sheath dress and feel that it makes a statement (and it’s on sale for $130.99).

Sheath, One-Shoulder Short Mini-Chiffon Cocktail Dress with Ruffle Beading

DressFirst features various collections of wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses, and evening dresses along with matching accessories and shoes. I plan to share this with quite a few friends who are looking for high quality and the latest styles at affordable prices for themselves and their daughters.

This is one of my favorite jewelry sets at a very reasonable price ($24.69):

So, let me re-evaluate here. It’s not really the shopping I dislike. It’s the dragging myself from store to store and not finding anything, then coming home only to collapse in exhaustion. And after that, it’s time to come up with something for dinner. Not fun!

With DressFirst, I’m happy at home, excited about what I’ve found for that special occasion and still full of energy to enjoy the day.

Maybe I do have that shopping gene after all, because I’m thrilled when I find something just right for myself, family or friends. I think I’ve just been dragged around in too many futile pursuits!

My DVR is seriously pissed off at me. I’ve been so busy the past month that I haven’t been paying attention to it and now it’s full, bloated and surly!

How in the world will I be able to record the new and returning Fall shows: The Voice, Survivor: Blood & Water, The Amazing Race, Revenge, Parenthood, The Blacklist and more. I suppose I could just give up TV, but, then again, no.

What are you looking forward to watching this Fall? And do you find you have the time or is your DVR full as well?

One of my dreams has always been to be a graphic designer for t-shirts. I’ve bought some of my favorite and most cherished designs online for myself, family and friends.

In my journeys online, I’ve recently discovered Teespring. Teespring is a very cool crowdfunding platform for groups, communities and causes to design and sell custom apparel. The seller keeps the profit from the shirt so you can use Teespring as a fundraising tool or to earn some extra money.

Anyone can engage with the site and design a shirt to sell via Facebook, Twitter or anyplace else online.

I have a very cool Facebook group with friends I’ve known for years. We are like family. It would be a blast to design a shirt for our group.

Basically, Teespring does most of the heavy lifting for you! The best part is that the shirts don’t print and ship until a date determined by the seller. This ensures that you have to pay nothing upfront, have basically no risk and don’t have to deal with the right number of shirts to order.

You can have some fun and check out the designer if you go to teespring.com/design. You can upload your own art or work with their extensive library of over 10,000 pieces of art and more than 50 fonts.

The following are some awesome examples of what people have done on Teespring:

A couple sold this “Love makes a family shirt” to raise money to adopt.

Here’s another one which included children’s and toddler’s shirts to help raise money for an 11-year-old to sing in a children’s choir in Hungary. 

And, since I live in the Boston area, this shirt is particularly dear to my heart and raised over 85k for Boston relief.

Why not have shirts that mean something to you personally and that you can be proud to sell and wear? I’m looking forward to designing a shirt and fulfilling one of my dreams. What might Teespring do for you?

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post, however all the opinions herein are strictly my own.