Beef Up

Love beef so much you want to work with it? Holy cow do we have the scholarship for you. Each year the CME Group and National Cattlemen’s Foundation give away ten $1500 scholarships for outstanding students pursuing careers in the beef industry. Get more info at: www.nationalcattlemensfoundation.org

Sticky Situation

Nowadays anything can be high couture, including duct tape. The Duck Brand ‘Stuck at Prom’ Scholarship Contest awards scholarships to students who create the most creative prom outfits using duct tape. All you have to do is make it, wear it and send a pic to: duckbrand.com/promotions/stuck-at-prom

Hole In One

Remember all that time you spent being a caddy? You do? Great, then you can pay for college with the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship. This grant not only covers tuition and housing in the Evans Scholarship House, but may be renewable for up to four years. So if you carry clubs and make the grade apply here: www.wgaesf.org

Sweet Tooth

Not everyone can land a sugar daddy but the next best thing is to be awarded a National Candy Technologist Scholarship. Every year $5000 go to the college sophomore, junior or senior who has a passion for candy and all things sweet. Take a lick at winning this scholarship here: www.aactcandy.org

The Tall End Of The Stick

College is where people go to find themselves and grow. But, for those of you who did your growing in high school, maybe try and snag one of the Tall Club’s International Student Scholarships for $1000. Each year, these scholarships are awarded to women over 5’10” and men over 6’2” with good academic records. If you’re tall enough to ride this scholarship ride visit: tall.org

Tornado Of Emotions

Inside each and every one of us there’s a warm, fuzzy center exploding with “happy birthdays,” “get wells” and “thank yous.” The Gallery Collection’s Create-a-Greeting Card scholarship contest asks you to harness all those sweet nothings for your chance to win $10,000 for the best greeting card. Submit yours at: www.gallerycollection.com

What A Quack

Some people have a special gift that they use to control the minds of ducks across the world. These people are duck callers and can win up to a $2000 scholarship from the chick and sophie major memorial duck calling contest. Get more info here: stuttgartarkansas.org

Go-Go-Groceries

You’ve been giving money to grocery stores your whole life, now it’s their turn to pay. The annual asparagus club scholarship awards up to $3000 to any student looking to pursue a career in the grocery industry. Check it out here: www.nationalgrocers.org

In The Know

Sometimes applying for scholarships can be even more time consuming than applying for school itself. For those of us who don’t have the time to write essays or make video bios of ourselves there’s the common knowledge challenges. These challenges award scholarships of up to $3000 just cause you know stuff about stuff. Take the test at: www.cksf.org

Cling To Klingon

While the Kor Memorial Scholarship doesn’t require applicants to be fluent in Klingon, this scholarship does encourage creative and innovative applications. With $500 at stake each year, you better put your gibberish where your mouth is. Dah apply: www.kli.org/scholarship/

Travel Tuesdays

Most people buy airplane tickets on Fridays and Saturdays because that’s when they get paid, but most people are getting ripped off. Practice a little patience and wait until Tuesday for the best and lowest cost flights around.

Thrift Stalking

You can’t always afford to buy new clothes all the time, but you can afford clothes that are new to you. But just hitting up the thrift store isn’t enough, you need to get the inside information. All stores get weekly merchandise deliveries, it’s up to you to find out what day of the week that is to get your hands on the cream of the crop.

Join The Club

Everything out there has a club or rewards program, whether it’s for the groceries you buy, the miles you fly, or your monthly cleaning supply and toiletry runs. These programs are great because you can make money by doing something you’re really good at, which is spending it.

The Big No-No

Don’t ever put a credit card into an atm, ever! When you borrow against a card not only do get charged a much higher interest rate but the card companies will pay all other charges first, so you’ll be paying off that cash advance for years to come.

Count On Coupons

Right before making any online purchase you should search the name of the retailer followed by the words “coupon code.” You could get a code for everything from free shipping to 15% off your entire order.

Take A Look

Many believe that what they don’t know doesn’t hurt them. But what if what you don’t know is that some 55 year-old guy 8 states away is now going by your name? Make it a habit to check your bank account at least every other day, so you can keep track of your identity and spending.

It’s Ok To Be Broke

Unless they’re the heir to some kind of oil empire, most people go broke at some point in their life and that’s ok. So don’t be afraid to skip on a night out or shopping spree, there’ll be plenty of other chances and paychecks.

Go Old School

There used to be a time when people only spent the money they had in their pockets and when that ran out they stopped buying stuff. Return to that time by putting away all your cards and giving yourself a weekly cash budget. When the cash is gone, so is your ability to spend.

Find The Free

The internet is full of all sorts of free stuff that you can take advantage of. All you have to do is search the word free + stuff you need + your city and that’s it. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying free haircuts in Minneapolis and free cooking classes in Gainesville.

By The Hour

Making money is often the only cool part of a job. Anytime you’re about to splurge, compare the cost of the item and how many hours of work it will take to make the same amount of money. If it’s not worth the work, it’s not worth buying.

Make ‘Em Laugh

Up and coming comedians can be found on stages all over the country spewing their jokes at anyone who’ll listen. Why not make that anyone you and your date? On top of it all, you’ll also know whether the two of you share a sense of humor.

Sunset Surprise

Nothing says “hey I’m doing this because I’m super-duper romantic and not because I’m broke” than laying out a blanket and carrying a baguette. Tip, if you’re going to plan a sunset picnic, make sure you can see the sunset.

Keep It Classic

You know who was always dating on the cheap? People in TV shows from the 50s. Pick your TV date and recreate it, ‘cause nothing’s cheaper than driving around, sharing a shake and making out under the water tower.

Dominate The Dollar Menu

If you and your date are up for some cheap thrills, throw the names of local fast food chains into a hat then pull out 5 names. Go from restaurant to restaurant and buy one item off the dollar menu then have a meal that defines guilty pleasure.

Puppy Love

This date is all about word choice. You’re not going on a free volunteer date at the dog shelter, you’re going to a totally awesome puppy party.

Get Serial

Thanks to the world of on-demand and DVDs it’s never been easier to get hooked on TV. Pick the right TV series and your date might still be there in the morning, or at least until the final episode is done.

Tourist Trap

Every town is filled with free stuff for tourists to do. Guess what, you can do them too. Find the best, free tourist destinations in your town and go there on dates. If you play your cards right, you could even seem more cultured than you are.

Road Rally

You can travel 50 miles from your home and see all sorts of new sights. Each date pick a different direction to travel in and really get to know your neighbors to the North, South, East and West.

The Granny Way

Grandmas really know what’s up when it comes to amusing themselves for hours on end without spending lots of cash. Head out to your local bingo night and not only will you have tons of fun, but you might make some cash for the following date.

Potluck For Two

Everyone knows eating out can get expensive, but cooking an elaborate meal can be Anxiety City for most people. Make things easy on everyone with a potluck. Just pick a meeting place and each person shows up with a dish worthy of a date.

I Got 99 Problems and A Loan is One

Find out how to make paying for college feel more manageable with DoSomething.org’s Mind on My Money, Money on My Mind workshop series. The first workshop is about student loans, and your options for paying them off. It’s also about Jay-Z. Kind of. “Money Ain’t A Thing” is a song Jay-Z made with Jermaine Dupri in 1998. Except those guys had it wrong: Money is a thang. Especially when paying for college.

The Blueprint

The Blueprint isn’t a Jay-Z song, but is the name of his sixth studio album. When preparing for college, you too will need a blueprint for budgeting and paying off your loans. DoSomething.org’s student debt workshop will help you learn how to keep track of expenses, cut costs and plan for how you’ll pay for school.

It’s A Hard Knock Life (Trying to Pay for College):

It is indeed a hard knock life, as Jay-Z said in a 1999 song. Especially when you’re trying to pay for college. But the more you know, the easier it will be to save yourself some money - and some stress, too. Do this workshop with your friends and you could win a $7,500 scholarship from H&R Block Dollars & Sense. Interested? Click here to get started on DoSomething.org.