Finance 101 For College Freshmen

(MarketWatch)  Sure, you aced the SATs. But if you're like most college freshman you probably can't balance a checkbook. To ensure that you're financial know-how keeps pace with your academic achievements, Kiplinger's Deputy Editor Janet Bodnar offers these five guidelines for managing your money:

Budget by semester:
Calculate all of your expenses, from food to books and supplies. Once you've outlined a budget, keep careful track of all of your payouts. This will give you a clear idea of how much mad money you have to play with and ensure that you won't spend the final days of the semester living on rice and beans.

Start saving:
If you don't already have a savings account, open one. Even if you don't have to contribute to your own expenses, it's important to get into the habit of saving for a rainy day. You don't have to save much. Just commit to putting away a portion of any earnings or gift money you receive.

Beware of credit cards:
Credit-card terms and conditions are so complicated that working adults even have a difficult time grappling with them. If you have a credit card, use it sparingly so you don't end up over your head. Remember: Those early missteps will stay on your credit report for years to come.

Learn to cook:
Preparing meals at home is one of the easiest ways to cut your spending, so learn to cook a few simple dishes that can sustain you throughout the semester. If you have roommates, you may want to consider buying food staples such as rice, cereal and pasta in bulk and splitting the costs.

Drive less:
Instead of hopping in the car when you need to get to class, try relying on public transportation or simply hoofing it. This will save you much-needed money on gas and parking.

By Marshall Loeb
© 2007 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved

[sharncedar]

I thought they were going to give students advice from the Fed and America''s biggest banks - borrow, borrow, borrow money an dspend like there is no tomorrow. Then say there is a crisis, at which point the government will step in and issue $100 billion in new currency to pay off your debts.

Maybe students are smarter than you give them credit - perhaps they are DOING WHAT YOU DO NOT WHAT YOU SAY.

This is the country whose banks loan money they don''t have to people who can never pay it back, all the while living in million-dollar penthouse suites and being serviced by young college interns. This is WHAT WE DO NOT WHAT WE SAY.

Until the bankers face real penalties for their behavior, which means capital penalties, something they can feel in their stiff necks, then don''t you dare tell students anything. Our own garbage is stinking up the place. Let''s take out the trash.

[dzfromsc]

All good suggestions but most college students CAN balance a checkbook. Where did you get your statistics from?

The reason we are/were all poor is that college tuition increases every year while the average college job pay does not. I have $30,000 of student loan debt and that''s with a scholarship for three years and working 40+ years the entire time. Budgeting can only get you so far. There are unforseen expenses, hikes in tuition, inflation, etc.
Don''t get me started on the price of books either. I did my best to get them used, online, or borrowed but sometimes you just can''t. And having a new edition every year, doesn''t help matters.
Instead of assuming that college freshmen are idiots, why don''t you write something useful.