Hey guys! so I have been trying my best to bring you as much content as I possibly can, I am so excited to have a little more time to myself to concentrate on my blog. if you want more content from me I have been posting more often on Instagram as well as on my podcast so please don't forget to check out those other platforms as well for more content from me.
So most of us are going through self-quarantine and as a college student starting on Monday things have to go back to normal because the spring break is over and school resumes. tell me about it what a spring break. I had two weeks of spring break but I already feel like the semester is over and I should just pack up my books. But that is not the case I have to get ready for the next half of the semester and adjust to having my classes fully online. Some tips and tricks for staying motivated and studying during this time of self-quarantine are as follow;
Create a schedule:
Creating a schedule is one way to stay motivated. Having a clear vision about your day helps you get in the mood and it also helps you see what you have to do and that will push you to keep on track. with creating a schedule you could do it any way you want. you could make it as detailed as you want using the bullet journal method, a calendar or just by jotting it down on a sticky note, again it's up to you how you want to tackle this.
Clean your environment:
Yes I said it clean your space. a clean space is a clean mind at least I believe so. I don't know about you guys but for me if my space is dirty or just messy I find that I am very lazy and also very distracted. taking even if it 10 minutes to tidy up your space will do you some good. in that regard making up your bed also is a good way to get motivated. I am the type of person that when my bed is made up I really don't want to climb into it until its time to go to bed. so doing the small things all help in the long run.
Exercise:
yes I know that there is a lot of stress on exercising during this period but actually it is very true. when you stay home all day you get weak and lazy and just don't feel yourself. exercise releases endorphins and also just makes your mind sharp and you are ready to tackle the day.
Eat:
It is important to eat when staying at home and working from home or studying from home. again I don't know about you but when I am at home I tend to have very bad eating habits. I tend to eat late or not at all which brings down my energy and messes with my mojo so eating regularly and on time will really help you stay motivated.
Keep your schedule as simple and as normal as it was:
keeping your schedule simple is very important. I have the tendency to over cramp things in a short time. It can be very overwhelming when you have too many things to do and it can end up being too much and in the end you end up not doing anything.
Hey guys! so I have been trying my best to bring you as much content as I possibly can, I am so excited to have a little more time to myself to concentrate on my blog. if you want more content from me I have been posting more often on Instagram as well as on my podcast so please don't forget to check out those other platforms as well for more content from me.
So most of us are going through self-quarantine and as a college student starting on Monday things have to go back to normal because the spring break is over and school resumes. tell me about it what a spring break. I had two weeks of spring break but I already feel like the semester is over and I should just pack up my books. But that is not the case I have to get ready for the next half of the semester and adjust to having my classes fully online. Some tips and tricks for staying motivated and studying during this time of self-quarantine are as follow;
Create a schedule:
Creating a schedule is one way to stay motivated. Having a clear vision about your day helps you get in the mood and it also helps you see what you have to do and that will push you to keep on track. with creating a schedule you could do it any way you want. you could make it as detailed as you want using the bullet journal method, a calendar or just by jotting it down on a sticky note, again it's up to you how you want to tackle this.
Clean your environment:
Yes I said it clean your space. a clean space is a clean mind at least I believe so. I don't know about you guys but for me if my space is dirty or just messy I find that I am very lazy and also very distracted. taking even if it 10 minutes to tidy up your space will do you some good. in that regard making up your bed also is a good way to get motivated. I am the type of person that when my bed is made up I really don't want to climb into it until its time to go to bed. so doing the small things all help in the long run.
Exercise:
yes I know that there is a lot of stress on exercising during this period but actually it is very true. when you stay home all day you get weak and lazy and just don't feel yourself. exercise releases endorphins and also just makes your mind sharp and you are ready to tackle the day.
Eat:
It is important to eat when staying at home and working from home or studying from home. again I don't know about you but when I am at home I tend to have very bad eating habits. I tend to eat late or not at all which brings down my energy and messes with my mojo so eating regularly and on time will really help you stay motivated.
Keep your schedule as simple and as normal as it was:
keeping your schedule simple is very important. I have the tendency to over cramp things in a short time. It can be very overwhelming when you have too many things to do and it can end up being too much and in the end you end up not doing anything.
So this is a different post than i normally do but i feel like this is important and i am very very passionate on the topic. As an international student myself I know how it feels in this time of confusion. It is very scary when you live in a different country and in my case a different continent and don't have the option of going home. also a lot of international students don't have family in their host countries and don't have the option of going there and with campuses closing and closing their on campus housing it can be a scary thing. also since most of us work part time and don't have any benefits and don't get assistance from the federal government if you don't have family or guardians or any other source of income then it is difficult. also remember that international students can't work in the US without permission and mostly can only work on campus and with campuses being closed you can only imagine.
in this post i hope you can understand how difficult it is to be an international student and i hope we all can show compassion for one another. also to everyone who is going through this tough time i hope we all can be safe and can overcome this obstacle together because we all need our lives to get back to normal. it has been a crazy couple of days and i hope we all come out of this ok. on the bright side we all have some time to ourselves and i believe we can take it negative experience and turn it into a positive experience. i am hoping that we can use this time wisely. as a student i have a lot of studying to do and i will definitely be posting a lot of content on my social media about school work on my instagram and i hope you follow me on there.
to everyone i wish you all a happy spring break and i hope we all stay safe and in the end we all can get through this together.
So this is a different post than i normally do but i feel like this is important and i am very very passionate on the topic. As an international student myself I know how it feels in this time of confusion. It is very scary when you live in a different country and in my case a different continent and don't have the option of going home. also a lot of international students don't have family in their host countries and don't have the option of going there and with campuses closing and closing their on campus housing it can be a scary thing. also since most of us work part time and don't have any benefits and don't get assistance from the federal government if you don't have family or guardians or any other source of income then it is difficult. also remember that international students can't work in the US without permission and mostly can only work on campus and with campuses being closed you can only imagine.
in this post i hope you can understand how difficult it is to be an international student and i hope we all can show compassion for one another. also to everyone who is going through this tough time i hope we all can be safe and can overcome this obstacle together because we all need our lives to get back to normal. it has been a crazy couple of days and i hope we all come out of this ok. on the bright side we all have some time to ourselves and i believe we can take it negative experience and turn it into a positive experience. i am hoping that we can use this time wisely. as a student i have a lot of studying to do and i will definitely be posting a lot of content on my social media about school work on my instagram and i hope you follow me on there.
to everyone i wish you all a happy spring break and i hope we all stay safe and in the end we all can get through this together.
Who actually should file taxes in the united states. Its very important to know whether or not you need to file taxes in the US. one way to know whether or not you need to file taxes is by checking the IRS website. This is because they always have the right and updated information. If for some reason you don't want to check the website which again you should, definitely ask the international student office at your school. Listen they are there to help you its better to know and file your taxes than to owe the IRS money.
According to the IRS website filling is required for "non resident alien students and scholars" that have
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on UnsplashAnother big difference when you are an international student is that you don't fill the regular 1040 we fill the Form 1040NR-EZ if you have a job and also a Form 8843. You also cannot use turbo tax to file your taxes, I know its tempting to do so i will strongly advise you not to as many international students are advised not to do so. One advise I have for international students is to know how to file your own tax. Take a class online or something, now I will admit am a little biased and i know how to file my personal tax. If you need help and you cannot understand all the instructions and you don't want to pay a CPA, make sure you ask the international student office at your school. I don't know about other schools but in my school there are sessions that are held and help is given to us, try and ask to see if that type of help is available for you.
According to the IRS website filling is required for "non resident alien students and scholars" that have
- A taxable scholarship, fellowship
- Income that is partially or totally exempt from tax
- Any other income that is taxable under the Internal Revenue Code
They also go ahead to say that filing is not required from "non resident alien students and scholars" who have income only from
- Foreign sources
- Interest income
- Investment that generates portfolio interest
- A tax free scholarship or entity
- Any other non taxable income
Again for more information be sure to check on the website which i will link in this post. Now once you find out that you have to file your taxes you have to make sure you have the right documents. As international students that work on campus make sure you have your W-2 form and also make sure to find out whether or not you also have to file state tax because in my state you have to file that differently so make sure you find out.
You could also use Sprintax. This is a nonresident federal and state tax return. It is basically like turbo tax (it is actually a tax partner of turbo tax) but there is a fee. It costs $37.95 for federal tax and $29.95 for state tax. For the state tax you could go to their offices and ask for help because in my city they help international student file state tax for free. Again make sure you are asking questions. Be sure to ask Accounting professors if you have a good relationship with them because chances are most of them are CPA's.
A word of advise make sure that if you know how to file your own tax that you are careful when helping others because it literally can turn and bite you in the butt. If you owe money to the IRS by any chance make sure you file your taxes and try to look in to the payment plans they have that suit you because if you don't there are so many penalty fees you could end up paying. FILE YOUR TAX BY APRIL 15 preferably before.
This is it for this post, I really hope this is helpful to you. Let me know in the comments.
Who actually should file taxes in the united states. Its very important to know whether or not you need to file taxes in the US. one way to know whether or not you need to file taxes is by checking the IRS website. This is because they always have the right and updated information. If for some reason you don't want to check the website which again you should, definitely ask the international student office at your school. Listen they are there to help you its better to know and file your taxes than to owe the IRS money.
According to the IRS website filling is required for "non resident alien students and scholars" that have
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on UnsplashAnother big difference when you are an international student is that you don't fill the regular 1040 we fill the Form 1040NR-EZ if you have a job and also a Form 8843. You also cannot use turbo tax to file your taxes, I know its tempting to do so i will strongly advise you not to as many international students are advised not to do so. One advise I have for international students is to know how to file your own tax. Take a class online or something, now I will admit am a little biased and i know how to file my personal tax. If you need help and you cannot understand all the instructions and you don't want to pay a CPA, make sure you ask the international student office at your school. I don't know about other schools but in my school there are sessions that are held and help is given to us, try and ask to see if that type of help is available for you.
According to the IRS website filling is required for "non resident alien students and scholars" that have
- A taxable scholarship, fellowship
- Income that is partially or totally exempt from tax
- Any other income that is taxable under the Internal Revenue Code
They also go ahead to say that filing is not required from "non resident alien students and scholars" who have income only from
- Foreign sources
- Interest income
- Investment that generates portfolio interest
- A tax free scholarship or entity
- Any other non taxable income
Again for more information be sure to check on the website which i will link in this post. Now once you find out that you have to file your taxes you have to make sure you have the right documents. As international students that work on campus make sure you have your W-2 form and also make sure to find out whether or not you also have to file state tax because in my state you have to file that differently so make sure you find out.
You could also use Sprintax. This is a nonresident federal and state tax return. It is basically like turbo tax (it is actually a tax partner of turbo tax) but there is a fee. It costs $37.95 for federal tax and $29.95 for state tax. For the state tax you could go to their offices and ask for help because in my city they help international student file state tax for free. Again make sure you are asking questions. Be sure to ask Accounting professors if you have a good relationship with them because chances are most of them are CPA's.
A word of advise make sure that if you know how to file your own tax that you are careful when helping others because it literally can turn and bite you in the butt. If you owe money to the IRS by any chance make sure you file your taxes and try to look in to the payment plans they have that suit you because if you don't there are so many penalty fees you could end up paying. FILE YOUR TAX BY APRIL 15 preferably before.
This is it for this post, I really hope this is helpful to you. Let me know in the comments.
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