Staying Home
In this section, we're not actually encouraging you to stay at home all the time; in fact, even Internet addicts like ourselves like to get out once or twice a month to see if the sun is still there, if we're bombing a new country yet, if Red Sox fans are already whining again, etc.

Rather, this is just where we put all the stuff related to the things everyone does at home. You know, watching TV and movies, playing games, hanging pictures and posters, eating breakfast, and all that. That's right, Intellistudent is always monitoring you, even at home. You are never alone. Ever. We're watching you right now.


STAYING HOME

Online Music Services

Yeah, about those peer-to-peer networks... probably not the best idea anymore, since Kid Rock and Dr. Dre and Moby and Madonna have taken to suing college students for illegal downloading. Ideally, you could send them a resounding "go to hell" by never giving them another cent of your hard-earned cash.

But we understand -- sometimes a brother just has to hear "La Isla Bonita" without fear of The Man locking him up. In that case, we offer a variety of inexpensive, completely legal options for downloading your favorite music.

Online DVD Rental

If you're in college and still running down to Blockbuster or Hollywood or Movie Gallery or Joe's Backdoor Private Pleasure DVD Emporium to get your movies, then something has to give, my friend. Not only are you spending way too much time with that creepy video-store clerk, but you're wasting all that time with the back-and-forth driving. Not to mention the fact that you're DRUNK and you can't be out driving! Another DUI is your third-strike, and you can't hack prison. You're too weak. Too frail. Too pretty.

Thankfully, Netflix and a host of others have solved this dilemma for you. College is all about learning to be efficient, and you shouldn't be going any farther than your mailbox to pick up a movie.

CD & DVD Clubs

Wikipedia says, "a compact disc (or CD) is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. It is the standard playback format for commercial audio recordings today." Intellistudent says, "Someone needs to find a better hobby than entering stuff everyone already knows into Wikipedia."

If you'd like to get 10 of these optical discs used to store digital data -- in this case, full of music by bands you like -- for about a penny, then this is your section. You can also do the same for DVDs. Did you know that "the official DVD specification is maintained by the DVD Forum"? Wikipedia knew.

TVs & Stereo Systems

Have your neighbors been screaming at you to quiet down, slashing your tires or leaving dead rodents on your doorstep? If not, then you clearly need a better TV, or at least better speakers.

In this section, we give you a few options on how to get TVs, surround sound, and stereo systems at the cheapest possible price by ordering online. This allows you to receive said property without leaving your couch. It also keeps the guys at your local electronics store from swiping your customer information and passing it on to their unemployed pothead older brothers so they can burglarize your house, pawn the stuff and kick back a cut of the proceeds to little bro. We're just saying, this stuff happens.

Gaming (PS2, Xbox360, Nintendo, PC)

OK, gamers -- do you buy your games or rent them? Renting from an online service is cheaper -- you can keep them as long as you like and then send them back once you're done pretending to be Tiger Woods or Donovan McNabb or whatever your poison is. If you insist on buying them, though, doing so online is a smart move -- you pay less, and you don't have to stand in the electronics department at Wal-Mart for 40 minutes waiting for the only guy who can unlock the game cabinet to finish his dinner break.

Unless, of course, your game of choice is Everquest. In that case, drop the lapis lazuli and your mud-covered tunic and write your wife a letter telling her you want her to move back in and make another go of it.

Dorm Decor

Are not the dormitories of American universities equipped with the finest and most comfortable furnishings available on the market today, that help you completely relax, rest and refresh yourself every night for a fresh new day of intellectual engagement? Does your skin ever touch down on anything but the finest linens on the most comfortable bedding? Aerodynamic work chairs and ergonomically optimized work spaces are the norm, are they not?

Actually, if memory serves, dorm rooms (and most first apartments) fall somewhere between Ann Frank's closet and Abu Ghraib in terms of comfort and accommodations. After that, you're on your own for fixing the place up. The Dorm Decor section can lead you toward a brighter, more comfortable sock-drawer of an existence.

Art & Posters

Admit it -- about two days after you got to college, you ran into that one really person on your floor who has his/her dorm room totally tricked out with posters or art or Absolut Vodka ads or whatever, and you thought to yourself -- I want that. Or something like it. At least something to cover the unwelcoming Soviet-era lead paint in your room that continuosly reminds you that you're a warehoused commodity stacked on top of one another like chickens waiting for the slaughter.

Snap out of it. The Art & Posters section has everything you might want to give your four walls a little style and chase away those all-work-and-no-play-makes-jack-a-dull-boy blues. That's how it works here at Intellistudents. You got a problem, we solve it. You open your mouth, we give you the communion wafer. Amen.

Saving on Groceries

Want to save on groceries? Here's a start: Stop eating so damned much! The Freshman 15 enter the body through the mouth, people.

We know, we know -- you still have to buy food, whether it's at the grocery store or Arby's or an unlicensed food cart selling unspecified-meat tacos outside a tequila bar on South Padre Island. There are ways to cut your food bill. Here's how.

"Staying Home" Articles

No, these are not articles about why you should stay home and not go out into the dangerous nightlife. Rather, it's a collection of articles about how to save money on things that you already do at home -- watch movies, play games, lay around on furniture, eat pint after pint of Ben and Jerry's, etc..

It may be difficult to make money by sitting at home on your butt, but you can, in fact, save money this way. And you can start with these articles.