Back to school specials are here! It’s that time of year, and parents are dreading how much money they will spend over the next couple of weeks. The average family will spend about $600 this year on back-to-school supplies and clothes for their kids.

That’s a big chunk of change, especially for a families struggling to make ends meet during rough economic times. Here are some tips to help save money on back to school shopping.

1. Don’t follow the supplies list strictly. Use your own logic and consult your kids about which supplies are most important. I remember being in grade school and hardly ever using about 25% of the stuff my mom bought me.

2. Recycle old supplies. Your kids might not have used some of their old supplies, and it could still be sitting in their backpack. Hole punchers, staplers, pencils, pens, and hardcover binders are all examples of supplies that can be easily reused.

3. Buy in bulk. If you are shopping for more than one child, try looking at Costco or Sam’s for bulk items like folders, pens, pencils, crayons, and note cards.

4. Don’t take your kids with you to shop, if possible. Get a babysitter, keep one parent at home, or drop them off at grandma’s. They will try to convince you to buy stuff they don’t need, and they are very brand conscious, but won’t care what brand it is after a couple of weeks at school.

5. Don’t buy your kid a whole new wardrobe. I think some parents get into the habit to buy their kids an entire new wardrobe when they go back to school.

Sure, if your kid hasn’t gotten new shoes in a while and is growing out of old ones, then take advantage of back-to-school sales. But if you just bought them new clothes in the spring or summer, let them pick out two new outfits and possibly a new pair of shoes. Anything more is overkill.

6. Take advantage of tax savings. If your state has a tax free week or if a business decides to pay the sales tax for you, make sure you shop at those times or at those businesses. I know that JC Penney had a promotion going on that they would discount your purchase by the amount of sales tax, so it was like you didn’t pay any sales tax.

7. Stay away from sales traps. Some sales are only sales to encourage you to spend more money than you normally would. “But 1, get one half off” can be dangerous, because it could force you to buy more and spend more than you expected.

Saving money is a lifestyle. If you train yourself to save money in all situations, it will begin to feel automatic. Back-to-school is one of those times of years that we just expect to spend a lot of money, and we might let our savings guard down a little bit. Consider some of these tips, and you’ll save enough money to throw towards all of the other expenses your kids will incur during the fall months.

I ran across an article on CNBC about the top 10 hidden costs associated with the holidays, and it struck a chord with me, because I often overlook these expenses during the holiday season. Here is the list from the article and my take on each of them.

1. Holiday meals/gifts for hosts/entertaining

My wife and I just bought a house, and we wanted to utilize the holidays as a way to show off our new pad. So, we planned a Christmas party, then agreed to have the family over for dinner on Christmas day, and then we invited friends to hang out at our place for New Year’s Eve. We sat down and planned out each of the events the other night, and the expenses associated with entertaining were something we did NOT plan for two months ago.

2. Holiday cards/wrapping paper

This is never a huge expense for us, because we buy wrapping paper from the dollar store, and we spend very little on holiday cards. For holiday cards, snap a photo of you and your family with your digital camera. Then, upload the photo onto the website of your choice that develops digital image files. Then, choose a Christmas background border, and you are done. We spent about 60 cents to a $1.00 per holiday card last year.

3. Holiday travel (airfare, hotel, gas)

Holiday travel is the worst. We try to avoid it if at all possible. The most we might travel on Christmas is a two hour drive to my hometown. I don’t consider this one a “hidden” expense, because most people plan for these expenses well in advance.

4. Holiday decorations

Ugh, this was another one that trapped us. We have a house now, and of course we want to decorate it like it’s Santa’s workshop. But, we resisted the temptation to go overboard, and we will be waiting until after Christmas to get all of our decorations at 50 to 75% off. We’re okay for waiting until NEXT year to make our house look like the North Pole.

5. Shipping/postage

This one catches many people off guard. When you are sitting down and coming up with a gift budget for each person on your list, make sure you include the cost to ship the gift. So, if you budget is $50, don’t buy a $50 gift and spend $15 to ship it. Multiply that by 10 more people on your list and you will be wondering where all of your money went.

6. Clothing/holiday party outfit

If you buy a new outfit specifically for a holiday party you’re cutting into your gift giving budget.

7. Electricity for holiday lights

Most Christmas decorating veterans factor in their budget that their electric bill will be astronomical in January. The new LED lights provide some electricity savings, but the main thing is to not go overboard with your lights. Does your house really need to be seen from outer space? Be tasteful and purposeful with your light decorations. Your house will look better and you won’t annoy your neighbors so much.

8. Additional childcare/pet sitting

This is a big expense during the holidays that many people overlook. Factor in a couple hundreds dollars extra for childcare and pet boarding if you have children and dogs and/or cats.

9. Charitable contributions

Make sure you factor in your charitable giving into your budget. This would be anything above and beyond you already give throughout the year.

10. *BONUS* Gift for yourself – but only if you can afford it!

Gift for yourself? Please! You might be able to convince your spouse into buying a “family” gift, but it’s tough to justify a gift for yourself during the season of giving! Can you think of any other hidden expenses that you might incur throughout the holidays? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section. The holidays are all about planning, and if you don’t plan, you’ll start whipping out the plastic. Don’t let yourself have a credit card hangover in January. it’s not too late to plan for your upcoming expenses in the next two weeks.

Christmas shopping and budgeting can be stressful, especially when the economy is struggling.  Here are some tips on Christmas shopping and saving from last holiday season that definitely apply in today’s tough economy:

Christmas Deals

How to Double Your Savings on Christmas Shopping Deals – “Looking for some deals this Christmas? Understanding the strategy behind retailer’s sales can help you save twice as much!”

A Consumers Guide to Holiday Shopping on eBay – Along the same lines as eBay Christmas deals this has tips on buying gift cards, quick sales, customer service, return policy, and shipping on eBay over the holidays.

Christmas Savings

Saving Money on Christmas Pictures for Baby – “After lots of fun and lots of pictures we now have a charming holiday shot of his cute little face smiling up at the camera from under the Santa hat.”

Save Money with a Homemade Holiday this Christmas – Cookies, Christmas Cards, IOUs, Crafts, and Cocoa can all help you save money with a homemade Christmas.

Christmas Spending

Holiday Budgeting Tips from Ebenezer Scrooge – “Know being careful with your Christmas budget does not make you Scrooge. You do not have the money that Scrooge had stashed away; an affordable gift will not deny friends and family heat or make them work too hard. A true friend or loving family member should not want you to go into debt for what should be a Merry Christmas.”

What are You Teaching Your Children this Christmas? – “Since you believe in being wise with your money, there is no time like the present to begin instilling good financial sense in your children. Teach them that the depth of your love is not measure by the size of your wallet. Show them ways you can enjoy the holidays and give, without spending a cent.”

Merry Mob Madness Mentality – “Do not subscribe to the merry mob madness mentality. Do not let Christmas put you in the poorhouse, or cause you to lose all sense of emotional or financial reason.”

Here are some websites that I frequent to get great deals when shopping online.  You may want to check out these sites when doing your holiday shopping this year.

Ben’s Bargain’s - It’s a deal aggregator that scours the web for the best deals on electronics, appliances, and various other products.  Many of the items that they feature are perfect gifts for the holiday season.

Passwird –  It’s a lot like Ben’s Bargains and sometimes their deals overlap.  However, Ben’s Bargains focuses a little more on electronics while Passwird looks for deals in genres of consumer goods.

Deal Catcher – Deal Catcher helps you locate the best deals on the web, printable and online coupons, and short-term promotions.

Deal Info – Deal Info is another good deals and coupon aggregating site to find sweet deals online.

Black Friday – Want a leg up on the Black Friday doorbuster deals?  Check out this site for retailer black friday ads posted well before Thanksgiving day.

Amazon – With a daily deals page and a section for Black Friday deals, this massive site always has bargains to be found.

eBay – Don’t like having to wait for the whole auction process?  eBay is changing it’s model to one of fixed pricing so you won’t have to hassle with bidding and waiting. You  can still find some real bargains there, just use these tips for Christmas deals on eBay to take advantage of things like free shipping.

Retailers will likely be slashing prices to encourage sales in this weak economy so go online to find some great deals and avoid the traffic this holiday shopping season.  Here are some tips on how to save money on shipping when purchasing online. Just make sure you don’t wait too long, or your item might not ship before Christmas.

Have you ever wanted to quickly check your account balance? Do you often find yourself wondering if you have enough money to buy something in your clothes budget? Would you like to quickly look at your most recent bank transactions?

Your cell phone is now the place to do all of these! With the help of many new personal finance mobile application, you can virtually carry your financial statements and budget in your pocket. There are numerous mobile applications from third party companies that you can download if you have a nice, new iPhone or similar type of smart phone. We’ll look at some of the better ones as well as what the popular online personal finance applications offer by way of mobile applications.

Best Third Party Mobile Applications

For the iPhone: Balance by Connor Wakamo, Free – This is a one account bank register manager that allows you to keep track of all of the transactions you make through out your day on your checking account. I picked this one, because based on the reviews I read, it’s the most simple to use and it serves the purpose of acting as your checkbook register when you use your debit card.

If you are like me, it’s easy to get in trouble with a debit card. It’s so easy to swipe it and forget to write down the amount you spent. If you’re doing a lot of shopping during one day, it’s easy to overdraft and not even realize it. This application will help you keep track of everything, and it is very easy to export the date as a .csv file, email it to yourself, and import it to your home computer finance software.

For the Blackberry: Bankarama, cost $18.95 – This one costs some money, but it has great reviews for use with your Blackberry Pearl, Curve, or 8300. You can set it up for multiple accounts, and it easily allows you to track debit card transactions on your checking account. You’ll have an up-to-date balance for your checking account wherever you go.

For the Palm: inExpense, $14.95 – If you have a smart phone that runs the Palm OS, then inExpense is the personal finance application for you. It’s $15 bucks, but money well spent. This one has the most features compared to the two above, but it’s a little more complicated to use. It does have one-hand navigation, so you don’t need to use a stylus. It will generate reports, sync with your desktop computer, you can back up the information, and protect your personal information with a password feature.

Wesabe Mobile, With Wesabe mobile, members can:

• View a single list of all their bank and credit card balances anytime they want.

• See any transactions that have posted to their accounts. Just as the iPhone’s email application lets users view as many emails as they’d like, i.wesabe.com allows members to see as many transactions as they want.

• Enter cash purchases they’ve made while shopping.

Mint.com & Cell Phones

Mint is working on this, and I suspect that they will be rolling out a sweet application for the iPhone very soon. There has been a ton of feedback of iPhone users wanting to see one, but it’s not there yet. For now, you’ll have to go to your web browser and access the web application.

Mobile Money

So, personal finance has gone mobile, but have you gone with it? I sometimes think that we’d be far better off without so many computer applications in our life. There is an application for everything, and it gets overwhelming when you think about it. However, these personal finance applications are very useful just for the fact that they make it very easy to record and store your debit and cash transactions. Try them out and let us know what you think.

You can learn more about mobile shopping and mobile banking as part of the Mobile Money Guide.

Save up to 25% on mobile apps at Handango, click here and use coupon code SAVE20NOW at checkout.

Do you often wonder where you money goes? Do you struggle to save money after all of your bills are paid? The problem is your budget, or lack of a budget. Less than 5% of the households in the United States keep a consistent household budget, and that is why 95% of the nation struggles with money. The word “budget” has a negative connotation to many people. You don’t want to be constrained by a budget, and you think it will run your life. It could do that, but if you budget correctly, it will actually free you from living paycheck to paycheck.

The Basics of Budgeting for Married Couples

• Start doing it the moment you get married. The more you wait to start a budget, the less likely that it will become a habit in your household.
• Create a budget together. One of you might like maintaining and forming the budget than the other, but you BOTH need to be present to contribute to the budgeting plan for that month or period of time.
• Choose how you will keep your budget organized. You can use a pencil and paper, Microsoft Excel, Quickbooks, MS Money, or you can use an online application such as Mint.com.
• Write down all of your monthly recurring bills such as utilities, mortgage, cable, debt payments, and insurance. Then, estimate your other monthly expenses that tend to fluctuate such as food, gas, entertainment, clothing, and car maintenance.
• Continue to tweak your variable expense allowances over the next three months.

Budgets are not perfect, and they can make life a little frustrating at first. It’s no different than starting an exercise regime. Your body will resist the exercise at first, because it’s not used to doing it, but it will get easier the more you do it. Budgeting is the same way. Here are some common budgeting struggles that newlyweds often face:

One spouse is on board to budget, but the other is not. Talk through it, and try to figure out the root of the issue. Do you share the same goals with money? If you can’t come to a resolution, then seek out marriage counseling. You can’t have one spouse following a budget while the other spends whatever they want. It won’t work.

Neither one of you has the will power to follow the budget. Seek out another couple to keep you accountable. Ask friends of yours to keep you accountable with your budget. They can call you once a week to see how it is going. If you have someone else asking you about it, it will help you follow the budget better, because you’ll feel embarassed if you keep telling them that you busted the budget.

You get easily frustrated that the budget isn’t working. You will not get immediate results with a new budget. It takes three or four months to tweak the budget and start seeing results. Once you get it right, you’ll quickly see how much more money you have at the end of the month.

Here are a couple of free excel files to help you track your plan to get out of debt and create a budget.

• Budget Worksheet
• Debt Elimination Plan

Remember, budgeting is a way of life. You must develop the habit of budgeting, or you’ll drop it like any other fad. Once you see the results and the immediate income boost by spending your money on paper before you spend it, you’ll get excited. So, get excited, and start your budget today.

If you’re facing the challenge of decorating your dorm room on a shoestring budget, then here are some ideas that might help.

Get things for free if you can – If you need a coffee pot, a bookcase, or some plastic storage bins, ask your friends and family for them first. You may be surprised by what they will be willing to give you to help you along your way. If they do give you necessary items for free, remember to drop them a quick thank you note or email to show that you appreciated the gift.

Check out the local thrift stores – You can get lamps, pictures, and sometimes gently used furniture very cheaply. You would be shocked at a lot of the fun retro items you will find there – especially the lamps!

The average cost is around $3 – $5 per item. Furniture usually runs $15 to $25 dollars. Remember that you are only going to use these things for a little while, and you will not be nearly as angry if your roommate comes in drunk and knocks over a $2 lamp, or throws up on a $15 chair.

Make it yourself – There is nothing cooler than quirky, hand-made items in a dorm room. If you are crafty, you can check out your local home depot for cinder blocks, particle board, cheap paint, a hammer, and some nails. The possibilities really are endless.

Drop in on the Dollar Store – Organizers, mirrors, school supplies, bath items, and even toothpaste are all cheap and readily available at your local dollar store. Definitely visit Dollar General, Big Lots, Everything’s a Dollar, etc. before you hit the bigger departments stores. Take a list with you, and cross off everything you can as cheaply as you can – your wallet will thank you!

Wait to buy larger items until you meet your roommate – Why pay full price for that mini-fridge all by yourself? What if they bring one too? Instead, get to know them a bit, talk about what you would both like to have in your room, wait for a sale, and split the cost.

Consider creative ways to decorate – Get together with your roommate and buy some colored chalk. You can do murals on the walls together (chalk washes off easily), and have “the room” that everyone talks about. Whatever you do, avoid laminating your posters. When I went to college, I thought laminating my posters would be cheaper than framing them. It was not! Total cost to laminate 6 posters: $80. Total cost for used frames at Goodwill: $12.

Check your local newspaper and Craigslist – You can usually find some excellent deals on just about everything in the classified sections of your newspaper, or online at Craigslist.org. You can pick up curtains, a desk, possibly even a computer this way.

The Last Step: Hit Walmart, Target and K-Mart – Once you buy everything you can at a discount, then check out the superstores. They still have good deals on items. You can even do a little pre-shopping online to see what they have, and how much it costs. Spending 30 minutes surfing the web to compare deals will save you a lot of money, (and gas!) because you won’t have to run from store to store looking for a specific item.

As you head off to college, remember that many of these first items may get torn up, used up, or just not fit your style anymore after about a year. Even though you might be tempted to buy a $200 desk, or a $350 comforter set, it’s probably better to err on the side of caution. I honestly don’t think I still own even one item that I decorated my dorm room with in college. So, why not pay less for items that will probably turn out to be temporary in the long run?

College is all about figuring out where you are going in life. Give yourself the freedom to change your style any time you want to – without feeling guilty over the price of re-decorating.

Check back tomorrow for a review of the best banks for college students where we’ll cover accounts like ING Electric Orange checking and Washington Mutual checking.

These ideas on thrifty dorm room decor, furniture, and accessories are part of the College Student Money Guide.

Live Search Cash Back is a new Microsoft initiative that is supposed to provide a rebate to consumers for items found via the Microsoft Live search functionality and purchased online.

The word on the street says this is Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Google in the online search market.  The concept is that in return for being listed in Microsoft’s search results, merchants have to offer cash back to consumers instead of paying Microsoft for placement.  Microsoft doesn’t make any money off of the transaction but their hope is that more users will start using Live Search instead of competitors such as Google.

Shopping Comparison Features
 Always looking to save a few bucks, I poked around the Live Search cash back interface to see if it would be useful for me.  I’m in the market for some new jogging shoes so I typed in “nike mens running shoes”. Unfortunately, the search interface is lacking basic functionality that all Web users have come to expect.  For example:

• You can’t order search results by price, seller reputation, or product rating
• You can’t specify a price range for the product
• Default 16 items shown per page. You can’t opt to see more items on one page
• You can’t choose whether to see a list vs more detailed view of results

Retailer Options
Once I scrolled through 16 pages of results to find the lowest price shoe, it only showed me results from two different online stores.  I guess one of the drawbacks of only including retailers that offer cash back is that your comparison is limited to the number of retailers that participate in the program.  How do I know that there aren’t other merchants that offer the same shoe online for a lower price?  They may not offer cash back but the shoe may be cheaper in the first place, saving the hassle of the rebate all together.

Rebate Hassles
Once I chose the store with the lowest price and best rebate I clicked through the “Go To Store” button.  I was taken to the merchant page where I could complete the transaction.  You aren’t given the discounted price at checkout, first the retailer has to report the sale to Microsoft.  Here’s the description of the cash back process from Microsoft’s terms & conditions:

“Within seven days after a qualifying purchase is reported to us, we will list the purchase in your account with a status of “pending.” The purchase will stay in pending status for a period of 60 days to account for returns, refunds, fraud and other processing issues. After this point, if the purchase is eligible for awards, it will be marked as “available” in your account and the associated awards will be eligible for redemption as described below. You must ensure that we properly post awards to your account. If you believe that you have earned awards that are not posted to your account, we will not consider posting them to your account unless you contact us within six months after the date of the associated purchase. We may require reasonable documentation to support your claim.”

Sounds more like hassling with a rebate than a cash back program to me.  The money may show up in your account but if it doesn’t you have to do the work of following up for months afterwards to make sure you get your cash back.  Similar to a rebate, you’re paying tax on the full purchase price, even though you might get cash back down the road.  I say might because Microsoft has a list of reasons that disqualify you from cash back:

“You will not earn cash back awards on purchases where (a) you open the store’s web site in a different web browser; (b) your browser is not configured to accept cookies; (c) the purchase is not completed in the same web browsing session (not to exceed 24 hours) initiated by clicking on the eligible advertisement or listing; (d) the order is later cancelled or the goods or services are later returned; (e) the store does not report the purchase to Microsoft; (f) the goods or services are acquired for resale or other business purposes; or (g) you also use a separate discount or coupon.”

A little bit further in the terms and conditions there is more language that could foreshadow difficulty claiming cash back.

“There may be additional limitations on purchases on certain merchant sites, and those limitations will be disclosed on the merchant site. Your participation in the Live Search cashback service on such merchant sites will be subject to these terms and conditions as well as any additional ones disclosed on the merchant site. In the event of a conflict between any of these terms and conditions and those disclosed on the merchant site, the ones disclosed on the merchant site will apply and control.”

Live Search Summary
The limited shopping comparison features, limited retailer options, and the whole lengthy rebate process are enough to discourage me from trying the Live Search Cashback for now.   The final deciding factor for me is that you have to sign up for a Windows Live ID in order to participate in the cashback program.  I have enough user id’s already, I don’t need anymore. 

For now I’ll continue to use Google web search and Google product search when I’m shopping for items online.  I’ll just keep my eyes open for deals and sales and get my discounts that way rather than go through the whole Live Search cashback ordeal.  Hopefully, Microsoft will enhance their search functionality, add more retailers, and make the cashback process less worrisome. Until then, I’ll rely on Google’s expertise to help me find the best deals.

What college student do you know that isn’t cheap?  When you’re in school every penny counts and you learn to manage your money on a very tight budget. Saving money simply becomes second nature to you. I was so cheap in college I used to:

-Wear every last piece of clothing to delay paying for the laundry

-Ride my bike everywhere so I wouldn’t have to pay for gas

-Keep the heat turned as low as possible

-Eat breakfast in the dark to save on the electric bill

-Use water on my cereal so I wouldn’t have to buy milk

–Buy the cheapest beer possible, no matter the taste

-Eat the cheapest food possible, rice & beans almost every night

Any of those sound familiar?  I’m sure you could give many more examples of ways students save money.   The question is, now that you’re finished with school do you still have to live like a broke college student?

Making Money
Once you start your first job you may feel like you’re rolling in the dough.  You go from making zero money to earning a regular income every payday.  Although it may not be much, it’s a lot more money than you’re used to having.  As my parents used to say, your money may be “burning a hole in your pocket”.  You’ve been scraping by for years and now you may be eager to buy the things you’ve needed or wanted but couldn’t afford.  Before you go out and blow your new income on a shopping spree think about the following story.

Starving for Money
A man is rescued from a desert island after four years of surviving on nothing but coconuts and fish.  He’s taken to an all you can eat buffet and gorges himself on the food he’s dreamed about for the last 48 months. His body goes into shock at the massive amount of food he’s taken in. He becomes very ill, his bodily systems shut down, and he almost dies from the health repercussions.

See any parallel there between that guy and a new college graduate who finally earns money after 4 years of being broke and goes on a spending spree?  Of course you won’t die from overspending but you can literally kill your financial future for years to come if you go on a buying binge.

One of the greatest assets you have as a recent college graduate for building your financial future is the value of compound growth over the next several decades.  How you choose to spend, save, and budget your money now can determine whether you struggle with money for the rest of your life or have the financial freedom that many people only dream about.

Your Financial Future
If you’re a single adult earning a salary your options for building wealth are pretty promising. You don’t have to support anyone else. Your money doesn’t have to pay for diapers, engagement rings, or your spouse’s credit card bills.  You don’t have to discuss with anyone how you’re going to spend your money or why. 

Your money is all yours to do what you wish, just don’t blow it.  You likely won’t always have this kind of financial freedom so spend your money wisely now.  Here are some tips on how you can maximize the amount of money you keep in your pocket.

Avoid buying that brand new, flashy car.  If you believe it is a good investment, realize that just driving it off the car lot decreases it’s value tremendously.  Additionally, use an auto loan calculator to show you just how much you are paying for the car with interest included.

Avoid expensive rent.  Do you need to live downtown in that luxury apartment?  The fact is, that’s cash you are spending that you may not need to.  Look for a lower end apartment that fits your needs and pocket the rest of your money.

Do think about cheap real estate options.  With the real estate market so affordable right now, chances are good you’ll be well on your way to making a sizable investment long term if you buy now.

Look for a roommate.  Sharing the expenses of owning a home or renting an apartment is a great way to save plenty of money.

Avoid credit card debt.  While credit cards can be a good financial tool if used properly, they can also get you into a lot of trouble financially if you abuse them.  In a later article we’ll cover some of the best credit cards for college graduates.

Managing Your Money
In addition to saving money on your biggest expenses like cars and rent and avoiding credit card bills, there are a few other key points to managing your money.  You’ll want to simplify things by following a system to plan and track your spending. You’ll also want to protect yourself also unforeseen events with an emergency fund and insurance.  Here are some details on these money tips:

Create a monthly budget and stick to it.  Figure out how much you’d like to spend, how much you need to spend, then find a happy medium.  Be realistic, don’t create a budget you won’t follow. Use your mobile device to record your spending and use software like Quicken, or even a simple spreadsheet, to track and analyze it.  Watch out for things like eating out, bar tabs, and buying gadgets those add up faster than you realize.

Build an emergency fund available to you in an easy to access savings account.  Use these funds instead of a credit card when you need money. Open an online savings account with ING Direct or Washington Mutual.  Setup a direct deposit to start building up your fund right away.

Use online banking to stay on top of all of your balances and to know where your money is really being spent.  You can download your transactions into your financial software to make tracking your spending easier.

Buy health insurance to protect you from catastrophic expenses and medical debt in the event of a major health issue.  Make sure you have adequate auto insurance to cover your liability in the event of an accident.

College Graduate Finances
Leaving university for a job in the real world is a pretty exciting time.  The money that comes with a job is nice after being a poor student for years.  If you can combine the frugal tricks and habits you learned in college with the spending, saving, and budgeting tips we’ve covered you’ll be able to have fun with your newfound cash and still build a financial future for yourself.

For more financial advice for college graduates see the articles below:

• Paying off student loans
• Investing tips
• Buying health insurance