"Tis the season to travel
Helpful tips for better traveling this holiday season
BY JADE HERBST
STAFF WRITER
JKH 185 @PSIIEDU
Over 2,000 commercial flights
will be cancelled this holiday
year and 1,000 will be delayed.
To avoid delays, fly around the
problem cities. Chicago is a main
hub for a lot of holiday flying, but
it will cost less and be less time
consuming if you fly a different
route to get to where you are going.
Simply avoid Chicago delays and
snowy blizzards of cancellations.
Another city to be cautious of
is the JFK New York Airport. JFK
is a huge international airport, but
beyond that, it's known for its
stormy weather. Be careful flying
into large northern cities, which
are prone to winter weather. A lot
of airlines offer cheaper flights
that have longer routes (via
Dallas, to Kansas, to Indianapolis,
Shopping smart, saving money
Alternatives to the college student's noodles and pizza diet
BY JOSSELINE CARBONARE
STAFF WRITER
JMC73O@PSU.EDU
No matter how much you love
Ramen noodles, pizza or Mac
and Cheese, you probably do
not want to be eating them for
the next few years. With gas and
grocery prices on the rise, it is
expensive and hard to find good
deals.
As a result, a good amount of
students end up living on Ramen
noodles, cold pizza from the
night before and potato chips
loaded with grease and fat. Here
are some alternatives to the
noodles-and-pizza diet.
Discount grocery stores. Do
you ever wonder what happens
to the slightly damaged cereal
boxes on grocery store shelves
that no one buys? Or where the
to Baltimore) but
it is sometimes
safer and takes
less time
When flying,
know the new
regulations. All
liquid items must
be in a sandwich
sized baggy and
cannot be over
3 milliliters.
Through security,
you will need to
take your shoes
off, and any coats
or over shirts you
are wearing. Dress
in light layers and
shoes that are easy
to take off quickly.
Security goes so
fast, you need to
be aware of what
you brought and
almost-expired in a month food
goes? Although the cereal is
safe inside the inner cardboard
liner, the slightly crumpled
boxes tend to end up getting
avoided and pushed to the back
of the shelf. Such stores are very
valuable to college students
and others on limited incomes
that like to eat well without
burning a hole the pocket.
Bonus cards will save you lots
of money. You get pre priced
discounts of specific food items,
coupons every time you shop,
and buy one get one free offers.
It's an excellent way to save, and
it's free!
Local restaurant student
discounts. Some local restaurants
give college student discounts
all the way up to 15 percent off!
If you want to have a date night
with your roommates, friend, or
When travleing by air, make sure to travel light.
significant other, it might be a
good idea to look into who gives
student discounts.
Food stamps. An article in
USA today stated that with the
high costs of living today, more
and more college students are
resorting to the food stamp
option.
Did you know that you
might be eligible for the U.S.
government's Food stamp
program? If you qualify, you
could get funds from the state to
help you pay your food bills.
Money is distributed on a card
that works like an ATM card,
and is accepted by most grocery
stores. You can look up your
eligibility at www.fns.usda.gov/
fsp, or call Pennsylvania's food
stamp information hotline at 1-
800-692-7462.
Bulk Food Shopping. A popular
Photo courtesy of blogsouthwest.com
way to save on food is to shop
at bulk buying stores such as a
Sam's Club or Costco. You can
find things such as cereal, frozen
vegetables, frozen chicken, eggs,
juices, pizza, snacks and water,
all in large quantities.
The downside of a bulk-buying
store is cost of membership. It
might be a good idea to split the
cost of membership with friends
or roommates. Once you have
bought all your food, you will
want to package frozen foods
in Ziploc bags and freeze them.
This helps you have longer
lasting food.
Dollar Stores. Many dollar
stores sell dry stock foods, and
some household items. Instead
of paying $3 at the grocery store,
spend $1 at the local Dollar
Tree.
Use Coupons. You know that
what you are leaving the area
with. Make sure you have your
ID, boarding pass, carry-on
luggage, one personal item, and
accessories. Flying can be very
fast and easy, but without prior
knowledge of what to expect
you could be held up for an extra
hour.
Arrive early to your airport of
departure, check in at the counter.
If you can travel light, I would
suggest not checking your bag,
simply to eliminate the baggage
fee of $25-50. Also, after Security,
I would advise checking in at your
gate to ensure your seat on the
plane. With so many flights being
cancelled or delayed, you want to
make sure you are guaranteed the
Please see
HOLIDAY TRAVEL
on page 13
annoying lady that you always
get stuck behind when you go to
the grocery store? The one who
has a stack of coupons that could
publish a book? That's the lady
that walks off saving the big
bucks! Coupons are free and all
you have to do is cut them, save
them and use them the next time
you go grocery shopping. You
would be surprised how much
money you save!
Coupons are easy to find as
well. Try the Sunday newspaper,
Clipper magazine, Web sites
of products and grocery store
flyers.
Free Samples. This isn't much
of a reliable shopping method,
but it can be pretty neat getting
free stuff! Search the Web sites
of products you use all the way
from foods to toiletries for free
sample offers.