Listen into my audio story

Sometimes it's hard for students to scrounge up that couple dollars for a cab ride on the weekends. Imagine how hard it is for them to come up with next month's rent. My audio story delves into the struggles students face when living in places of their own. Mainly, my story tries to focus on their financial responsibilities. I asked students how they manage monthly expenses as well asked about their likes and dislikes about apartment living. I wanted to know what kinds of things students look at when deciding on places to live. These things include: amenities, location, additional charges for parking, and of course rent payments. Mainly,I wanted my audio story to give insight into how students manage their finances, expecially when they have a big financial obligation like housing.

Here is a link to my homepage where you can listen to the story: "Aparment living: just not a walk in the park"

"Buying" into my feature story

Shopping plays a big role in almost everyone's life. Whether we realize it or not, most of our money is spent on clothing. My feature story, "Dress to the 9s for Less," cirlces around the concept of thrifty shopping. The main goal was to get readers to take notice of the smarter ways to shop. I want people to look outside the pricey retail stores and to be aware of the more reasonably priced clothes shopping options that exist. In order to do this, I narrowed my search down to two stores that I thought to give consumers the most "bang for their buck." I began my research at Gabriel Brothers, which is a large store that sells lower priced brand-name clothing. The second was Plato's Closet, a consignment shop that allows its customers to sell their clothes for cash while also finding bargains on a large collection of items. I hope the story made readers realize great finds can be found outside the walls of the mall.

Click this link to read the story: "Dress to the 9s for Less"

Audio Clip Ideas

Ideas for my audio clip have come slowly to me. I have not yet finalized the topic on which my audio clip will focus on. I have had a few ideas brewing but, I'm not totally convinced they are what I'm looking for.

My first story idea is to see ways students are saving money with housing. Are they choosing apartments that come furnished to save money on furniture? How are they managing their monthly payments? How do they purchase groceries? I would explore all of these aspects and get a better understanding of how students are living on their own, while still managing to save a pretty penny.

Another story idea I had in mind was student jobs. What kinds of things are students doing to save money? Where are they getting their spending money from? What kinds of things do they spend their funds on? This would give other students an understanding of how to better manage their money.

Summary and broadcast leads

Example #1- Baltimore Sun

Print Lead: The vice president of Baltimore's NAAP chapter said yesterday during a rally for taxicab drivers that his reputation has been damaged after police arrested him, claiming to have found drugs in his car.

Broadcast Lead: Baltimore's NAACP chapter president claims that he was targeted after police found marijuana and heroin in his vehicle.

Example #2-Baltimore Sun

Print Lead: "Police have released the name of a 33-year-old woman who was killed in a fiery crash that injured her young daughter in Glen Burnie this morning, authorities said."

Broadcast Lead: The name of a 33-year old women was released, who was killed in a fiery crash that injured her daughter in Gken Burnie.

Example #3-Washington Post

Print Lead: "President Obama today launched a drive to curb wasteful spending on government contracts, introducing reforms that he said would save American taxpayers up to $40 billion a year and help usher in a new era of fiscal responsibility. "

Broadcast Lead: $40 billion in tax dollars will be saved by American taxpayers with Obama's plan towards financial responsibility.

Pros and cons to being thrifty

In the article Dangers of Being Thrifty, the writer distinguishes how being thrifty can be a downfall. Bick talk about how her views of saving and spending money changed from when she was an avergae university student to when she married and became a part of a single-income family. As a stay- at -home mother, she says there are dangers to becoming penny-pinching. According to Bick, one danger is becoming obsessed with the economy. Her arguement is that money saving methods are not necessarily the best time-saving techniques. She also adds that frugality can cause her to try every money-saving tip that comes her way. The main idea of the article is that trying to save money can become just as much as a chore as making it.
Clearly not everyone agrees with this view on being thrifty. Most people see it as a beneficial and rewarding thing. I can understand how Bick argues that being thirfty can be time consuming.

Bick says, "If I focus too much on money—whether making it or saving it—I have less time to volunteer at a crisis center or to write letters to someone in prison."

I think this is a comical way of saying, being thirfty can take away from doing other things. As opposed to just going to the store and picking up what you need from the shelf, sitting and searching through endless coupons can be the less favorable option. However, I am always a fan of saving money, even if it does take a little bit of my time. I see that taking the time to find the best price for something can be satisfying. I would add the oppposing opinion to this article to make the reader see both sides.