8 Back-To-School Tips with Jiffy Lube® + Giveaway

Aug 22

With back-to-school season in full swing, one of the most overlooked preparations for the new academic year is keeping your car in check.

This post was created in partnership with Jiffy Lube®. All opinions, images, and ideas are my own.

As a former student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I remember how often I would drive my car to pick up supplies around campus, to the nearest grocery store for food shopping, or even to the gym for a late afternoon workout session. Basically, I utilize my car on a daily basis without even thinking twice about it. I'm a firm believer that it's important to keep your vehicle in tip-top shape because the right car maintenance can save you time and money in the long run. With that being said, I've partnered with Jiffy Lube® to share 8 back-to-school tips for college students to keep in mind for the new school year ahead.
Since being a college student is tough as is, with long nights of studying and trying to keep everything "budget-friendly," I thought it would be a great idea to share tips that would contribute towards maintaining a college budget, including how to keep your car in great condition. Jiffy Lube® offers expert automotive maintenance services that are quick and convenient, helping drivers maintain their vehicles' value and longevity. In other words, Jiffy Lube® saves you the time and money with their expertise service.
Here are my 8 BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIPS. Scroll down for more.
Jiffy Lube® is graciously offering a $100 gift card for any service to a Gracefullee Made reader. Scroll down to enter at the bottom of the post.

1. Do NOT procrastinate.

If there's anything college students love to do, it's procrastinating. I'm guilty of it as well. However, ordering textbooks too late or having to drive to the nearest Walmart for school supplies can cost you your time and money. It's best to order textbooks needed for classes prior to the first day of class. I like to have my notebooks, course syllabi, and necessary information printed and looked over before I go to the lecture class. This gives you a better understanding of not only the course and the professor's teaching style, but also the type of workload to expect for the rest of the semester.

2. Buy / rent used textbooks or digital textbooks.

On the topic of buying textbooks, save yourself the money and buy / rent used textbooks or E-books. I always rented my textbooks in college because 1) it saves money, 2) you can choose how long you want the rental and return it whenever you're done, and 3) you don't have to worry about having to sell it to another student because let's face it... we're all busy and nobody has time for that.

3. Keep up with car maintenance.

Like I mentioned before, we tend to overlook other important aspects of our lives when it comes to saving time and money. Make sure you're keeping up with oil changes and tire rotations and basic maintenances, in order to extend the life of your car. This can save you lots of money because you don't have to worry about all the maintenance fees or car troubles in the future. Check out the nearest Jiffy Lube® location near you, and take your vehicle in for basic check-up.

4. Write it down.

If you don't have a planner or an agenda of any sort, you're doing college wrong.

Having a planner is essential to an organized, structured college life. I'm the type of person who writes everything down. I know better than to trust that I'll remember everything in my head. Make sure you write down your schedule, appointments, events ahead of time, so you can map out what to expect in the coming days or weeks.

5. Keep your vehicle prepared with the necessary information.

Since I'm constantly running around and tackling lots of errands on a daily basis, I opt for ways to make life easier to handle. I like to store all my driver registration information, cards, contacts, or anything needed for a car service, in the glove compartment of my car. That way, I don't have to worry about frantically searching for it nor do I have to worry about losing it, when it comes to having that car service provided for me.

6. Stock up on the right kind of foods.

I like to think of the new school year as something along the lines of... "new year, new me." I gravitate towards healthy options more often than not, but it's amazing how restoring your body with the proper foods, such as vegetables, fruit, protein, water, etc., can transform your body significantly. You feel more energized, your skin looks and feels more replenished, and your body will even thank you for feeding it with the proper nutritions.

7. Find a study group or partner.

As much as I dread group projects, I do like the concept of studying with a group or partner. Speaking from personal experience, I realized that flipping through flashcards or talking out loud with a partner was one of the most effective ways to study for finals. I always thought of it to be distracting, but if you and your partner are serious about working together, it's something I would definitely recommend. Not only are you helping out your classmate(s), but you'll remember when you're taking your final, that specific moment where you were struggling to memorize something and your partner told you an acronym that helped him or her, and you'll smile to yourself and make a mental note to thank your partner for it. True story.

8. Get. Some. Sleep.

I for one, use the line, "sleep is for the weak," more times than I can care to remember.

However, we all need it. It's an essential part of restoring our body and we cannot function properly without the adequate amount of sleep. I know there will be countless nights of cramming for a late assignment or studying for a final, but if you can get just a couple of hours of sleep in, you won't regret it the next day. Now that I'm out of college, I feel like I'm finally playing "catch-up" on all the nights I spent not sleeping.

Update: it's great.