Financial Guide

BY: MARIYA DEKHTYAR

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BOSTON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Pursuit of ThriftinessA Financial Guide for Boston University Students

Disclaimer: This guide is not sponsored by Boston University. Approval for this guide distribution and actual distribution does not imply endorsement.

This guide was created by a student for students. The purpose of this guide is to provide advice and recommendations to incoming Boston University students on how to enjoy Boston on a budget. Inside is information on textbooks, affordable restaurants and dishes, free events, student discounts, and Boston University’s fi-nancial aid office. Undergraduate education is comprised of expe-riences both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to nights of studying, I hope you will take the opportunity to explore the City, immerse in other cultures, and learn the history of Bos-ton.

SAVING ON TEXTBOOKS

If you just received a list of textbooks you need to purchase, you may wish to consider researching for the best price utilizing the following websites:

1. chegg.com 2. bigwords.com3.Abebooks.com4.DealOz.com5. amazon.com6. csbookexchange.com (a convenience website, created by a fellow BU

student, to buy and sell books)

Utilizing each of the five websites can increase the likelihood of finding the best deals available. The websites are user friendly, requiring only the ISBN or the title of the textbook to search. Bigwords.com and DealOz.com are particularly informative for searching because they list all of the availabilities on the web and will direct you to the site where you can purchase the best deal. On these two sites, you can sort the books by price. They also include information on the expected shipping and handling fee.

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

Textbooks

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FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

Textbooks

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For those classes where books from the school’s copy center are required, Facebook has several pages where students can exchange textbooks. The following are some pages to consider joining:

Textbook Exchange

Free & For Sale

BU Textbooks Buying/Selling Central

Your Official Class of ...Page

SAVING ON COURSE PACKETSTIPS WHEN BUYING AND SELLING ON FACEBOOK:

1.Make sure to email your professor or inquire on the first day of class whether the older edition of the textbook is still applicable.

2.If an older edition is no longer applicable and you purchased your textbook from the copy center, you may wish to keep the receipt to recall the price when you resell at the end of the semester.

3. Don’t overpay for a book that includes a software package. Most software packages can only be used by one student. Before buying a textbook without a reusable student access code, contact the publisher for the additional price of the software.

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

Eating Out10 Under $10

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1.MorcillaBISqPrice: $9

2. Super BurritoAnna’s TaqueriaPrice: $6.25

3. Mighty Rib MeltRoxy’s Gourmet Grilled CheesePrice: $7*food truck on campus

4. Chicken Basil BurgerThelonious MonkfishPrice: $8

5. Suckling Pig BaoShojoPrice: $9

6.New England Classic Clam Chowder

Boston Chowda Co.Price: $4.99- $8.49

7. Tandoori ChickenBoston Indian KitchenPrice: $7.50

8. ShawarmaBoston ShawarmaPrice: $7.50 $7.00 v

9. Thai Red Curry with ChickenGinger ExchangePrice: $8.98

10.Signature BowlsWhole Heart ProvisionsPrice: $8.50 v v

V=VegetarianVV=Vegan

Anna’s Tacqueria

Shojo

Whole Heart Provisions

Boston Chowda Co.

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

Restaurants and Cafes

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Punjab Palace109 Brighton Avenue

Allston, MA 02134 617-254- 1500

Sakanaya Sushi75 Linden St.

Allston, MA 02134617-254-0009

Whole Heart Provisions

487 Cambridge StreetAllston, MA 02134

617-202-5041

Anna’s Taqueria

446 Harvard StreetBrookline, MA 02446

617-277-7111

Galleria Umberto289 Hanover St

Boston, MA 02113617-227-5709

Super 88 Food Court

1095 Commonwealth Ave

Boston, MA 02134

Totto Ramen169 Brighton Ave.Allston, MA 02134

617-202-5075

The Avenue1249 Commonwealth

Ave. Boston, MA 02134

617-903-3110

Le’s Vietnamese

Cuisine

137 Brighton Ave.Allston, MA 02134

617-783-2340

SoulFire BBQ182 Harvard Ave

Allston, MA 02134617-787-3003

Campus Food Truck Schedule:

Food truck schedule can be found @ City of Boston

Website

Off the Menu Fun:

@ Anna’s TaqueriaThe Cubio Challenge-4

pound burrito

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

Entertainment

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The Boston Freedom

Trail

(View the Free Trail Map at: https://www.thefreedomtrail.org)

Faneuil Hall Street Performers

(Take the C or D Inbound Green line to Government Center)

And for those sce-

nic Facebook posts...

1. Acorn Street(Take the green line to Park

Street)

2. Fitzgerald Green-way

USS Constitution

Charlestown Navy Yard#22

Charlestown, MA 02129

(Free of charge)

Boston Commons and Public Garden

(Take the Inbound Green Line to Park Street)

The Arnold Arboretum125 Arborway

Boston, MA 02130(Free guided tours from April

through end of October)

Museum of Fine Arts465 Huntington Ave,

Boston, MA 02115(Free with a BU ID)

Massachusetts His-torical Society

1154 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02215

(Library opened to the public)

State House Tour

24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133

(Free of charge tours weekdays from 10am to 3:30pm)

Institution of Con-temporary Art

25 Harbor Shore DriveBoston, MA 02210(Free admissions Thurs-

day 5pm-9pm)

https://www.thefreedomtrail.orghttps://www.thefreedomtrail.org

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

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1.Isabella Gardner Stewart Museum• Free for Boston University Students. If you want to bring a

guest, the following are discounts that would apply:• Free admission on visitor’s birthday• Free for life, if visitor’s name is Isabella• $2 off for those wearing Red Sox’s apparel• Free admission for Thursday evening with university ID

2. Harvard Museum of Natural History• $10 for students• Free for Massachusetts residents every Sunday morning

(year round) from 9am-noon, and on Wednesdays (Septem-ber through May only) from 3pm-5pm.

3.MIT Museum• Free admission on the last Sunday of each month• $5 discount tickets with University ID

4.Capitol Theater, Arlington• All shows before 6pm are $7 • Movie pass is $30 a month for unlimited movies

5.Brattle Theater• Student discount with ID

6.The Boston Poetry Slam, Cantab Lounge (+21)• Wednesday @ 8pm• $3 cover charge

Savings on Entertainment

Isabella Gardner Stewart Museum

MIT Museum

Capitol Theater

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

Popular Start of the Year-Free Events

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1.College Night at the Museum of Science• Free exhibits as well as Theater of Electricity • Includes free Duck Tour• WHEN: End of September

2. MixFest• Free annual concert event• WHEN: September

3.MFA College Night: Throwback Thursday• Portraits through the centuries • Music and food• WHEN: October

4.College Fest at Fenway Park• Music and giveaways• WHEN: September

5.Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival• Music, food, drinks, and gifts• Different theme each year• WHEN: September Theater of Electricity

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

Discounts with Student ID

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• 15% off Ann Taylor full-price purchases

• 15% off Banana Republic full-price purchases

• $200 off an Apple Mac

• 10% off Microsoft products

• Six-month free trial of Amazon Prime

• Spotify premium discount price

• 20-30% off on FedEx shipping

• $9 standing-room Boston Red Sox tickets

• Discount price tickets for Boston Bruins game

• $4 off Skywalk Observatory at the top of Prudential Tower

• Half-price admission to Boston Frog Pond skating from mid-November to mid-March

• Regal Theater and AMC Theater

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

5 Apps that Save Money

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• 1. OverDrive• Utilizing your library card (does not have to be a Boston

Public Library Card), you can access all of the library’s electronic books for free

2. Mint• Track financial activities• Bill reminders that allow you to pay right away or re-

schedule

3. Unsplurge • Set your goals to save for certain items• Motivates you to save for your goal• Informs you of progress

4. Hotel Tonight• Book last minute deals on hotels • Can set notifications to be informed on price drops

5. Hopper-Airfare Predictions• Save preferred dates and destination for trip and watch

price drops• Color coded calendar that shows which days have the

lowest fare

FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR BU STUDENTS

Financial Aid Office1.CashCourse

By registering to CashCourse you will be able to take advan-tage of tools such as The Financial Expert Wall, Financial Cal-culators, and Coursework. Financial Expert Wall has answers to frequently asked questions by students about finances. Fi-nancial Calculators section will allow you to calculate how much you need to save for emergencies and how soon you can pay off your loans. And even when you can become a million-aire! The Coursework section has lessons on paying back loans, employee benefits, and credit savviness.

2.Fastweb

Fastweb is similar to CashCourse. Like CashCourse, the pro-gram offers information on loans. Additionally, there is a deal & promotion section, scholarship opportunities section, and frequently asked questions about FAFSA.

3.Workshops

Throughout the year, the Financial Aid Office also hosts work-shops on credit reporting, paychecks, student loan repayment, and summer employment. You can view the upcoming work-shop schedule at: https://www.bu.edu/smartmoney101/workshops/upcoming-workshops/

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For those class where books from the school’s copy center is required, Facebook has several pages where students can exchange textbooks. The following are some pages to consider joining:

Textbook Exchange

Free & For Sale

Bu Textbooks Buying/Selling Central

Here are some tips when buying and selling on Facebook:

1.Before buying textbooks from another student makes sure to email your professor or inquire on the first day of class whether the older edition of the textbook is still

Top Three Hits of the Financial Aid Office

Cash Course

Workshop

Fastweb

BU Financial Assistance881 Commonwealth Ave5th Floor617-353-2965finaid@bu.edu

https://www.bu.edu/smartmoney101/workshops/upcoming-workshops/https://www.bu.edu/smartmoney101/workshops/upcoming-workshops/https://www.bu.edu/smartmoney101/workshops/upcoming-workshops/https://www.bu.edu/smartmoney101/workshops/upcoming-workshops/mailto:finaid@bu.edumailto:finaid@bu.edu