Today we’re going to talk about how-to get a better education that your university is giving you – for free!

I’m a journalism major, halfway through my junior year at the University of Colorado at Boulder. But I’m interested in small businesses and tech startups. Whoops. Too late to turn back now. After college I have no intention of going into journalism. I’m either starting another business of my own or working for a startup somewhere.

In all of this mess though, I have an advantage: I’m still doing what I’m passionate about, regardless of my degree.

Getting your undergraduate degree is a synch. It’s not about learning, what you know or what you’ll take in. It’s about playing each teacher’s game, giving them back the information they want and then dumping it out of your brain as soon as you’re done with it. Your undergraduate degree has more to do with your organizational skills than it does your retention skills. Besides, you won’t use much of what you learned in school in the real world.

So while you’re paying to go to school, go get an education.

You may be like me, passionate about an area outside of your degree. Or you may be perfectly happy and excited about the area that your studies pertain to. Either is fine, neither will hinder you from getting what I’ll call in this post a “better” education.

Professors are overrated. Find professionals.

Let’s say you’re interested in marketing. What’s going to get you farther: textbook terms that you spit back on a test or sitting down and picking the brain of someone who’s actually doing marketing?

Experiential learning, asking good questions and taking notes for yourself will get you infinitely farther than copying down some slides as your professor lectures.

Not only will you remember what you learned in the meeting with your professional of choice, you’ll also have the opportunity to ask him or her questions about specific areas that you’re interested in that may be outside the scope of your classes.

Get out in the community

Join a professional group or attend meetups pertaining to the passion that you want to turn into a profession. Meetup.com (http://www.meetup.com/) hosts thousands of meetups all over the world. They’re are a great way to find people doing what you want to be doing.

Build that network early. Let them know that, regardless of what you’re studying, you’re passionate as hell and you’re going to make exactly what you want come to life.

Use the student advantage

You may not be able to flaunt a job title or a company you work for while you interact with professionals who are older and more experienced than you, but you can leverage the fact that you’re still in school.

People will be impressed that you’re trying to get involved even before you’re out of school. Most college kids wait for the email from career services with job offers. Most wait for a lucky break.

Leverage the fact that you’re a student learning early and open doors for yourself. It’ll earn you much respect and you’ll be way ahead of the game.

Get an internship

Again, there’s no better way to learn and retain than by doing. Make mistakes. Get your hands dirty. Start that résumé.

Use your network and your passion to work you way into the industry and learn from the people who are going to actually teach you. There’s much less knowledge dumping when you’re applying everything you learn.

Conclusion

Find mentors and learn from them every chance you can. Degrees are overrated. Passion is underrated. Don’t wait for life to come to you and start it all even before you think of buying the cap and gown.

Related links:

1. Video: Accelerated Learning: How To Find and Take Advantage of Smart People (running time: 5 minutes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqb-ihJ45A8

2.  I’m a scrapper (and so can you!) http://www.thestartupstudent.com/post/1009884822/scrapping

Zack Shapiro is The Startup Student, a student entrepreneur in Boulder, Colorado. He is the founder of 59thirty, an iPhone development company. You can find Zack on his blog at The Startup Student or on Twitter @ZackShapiro.

You know you’re supposed to plan for your retirement.  With social security on the road to bankruptcy, those who are paying into the system now will likely never enjoy the benefits of their investment.  There are all kinds of options to save money for your golden years, from CDs to IRAs to stocks and bonds to actual savings accounts, but the best way to ensure that your time as a senior citizen is spent in relative comfort is to contribute heavily to the 401K plan offered by your place of employment (especially if they submit a certain percentage of matched funds).  And while the plan is generally the same for every person (put money in throughout your occupational tender, withdraw it upon maturation, usually at the age of 59 ½ or above), there may come a time when you are either tempted to withdraw funds early or you feel that you have no choice but to take money from your 401K.  Unfortunately, this course of action could come with some hefty drawbacks.  Here are a few things you should know before you decide to approach the teller window bearing a withdrawal slip.

1. Taxation.  Although the money you contributed to your 401K was taken from your paycheck pre-tax, that doesn’t mean you can get it out the same way.  These funds are considered tax deferred, which means the IRS wants their share as soon as the money leaves the protective umbrella of the account.  So in preparation for tax time, you may want to take enough money to cover the bump in “income” you might have for the year.
2. Penalties.  A 401K is a long-term account and as such, it comes with certain restrictions, one of them being the date of maturation.  If you pull funds early, you will be penalized, to the tune of at least 10% (this is across the board, although you may have further penalties).  So if you take $50,000, for example; in addition to the percentage you will owe in income tax, you will also lose a minimum of $5,000 right off the top.  Ouch.
3. Exemptions.  Luckily, there are ways to get cash from your retirement account without facing penalties (although income tax cannot be escaped).  Early job separation (age 55 plus), medical bills (that total more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income), and death (pertaining to payments to beneficiaries), are just a few valid reasons for withdrawal without penalty.
4. Loans.  Some plans come with an option to take a loan against your 401K (it is, after all, your money).  The problem is, this type of account is not exactly set up, legally speaking, to release assets before maturation.  However, if your company had the foresight to pay a little extra for this feature, you may withdraw funds for any reason (unless your company has their own policies in place on the matter).
5. Payback.  While there are no legal restrictions pertaining to reasons for taking loans on your account, the only way it can be considered a legal loan is if you pay interest, which is generally lower than you would owe to, say, a lending institution.

This was a guest post from Leon Harris, who writes for a Canadian financial blog with an emphasis on careers, real estate, politics, and banking.

Back to school is almost here and today I wanted to introduce a new series to you guys– How-to Become a Financial Stud In College.

What’s this all about? It’s going to be a series of articles published every few days here to help college students get on top of their finances so that they can have their money in order. Let’s stress about planning our Friday nights, not our finances. I’m not going to teach you how to be financially literate or anything boring like that! I just want you guys to take care of your financial stuff so that you can focus on what really matters to you in life (academics or predrinking on the weekend).

Who’s the series for? College students that want to get their stuff together when it comes money! Let’s not waste any more time with the introductions and get right into the first part of the becoming a financial stud in college series…

Part 1: Set everything up aka get your financial shit in order!

You need to become accountable for your finances (as much as possible, nobody’s perfect!). Before you can start to worry about making more money, optimizing your spending, or consolidating student debt, you need to have everything financial in order.

Credit cards.

How could you possibly discuss finances in college without mentioning credit cards? At this point (where credit cards come into play) some college students will have acquired their own credit card or been given one by their parents for emergency situations. Regardless of how you obtained it, a credit card is in your possession. My opinion on credit cards becomes irrelevant at this point. I can however share thoughts on how you can make a credit card work for you. Below are a few tips to get your financial house in order when it comes to credit cards:

• Keep the smallest limit. When you first get a credit card, you should keep your credit limit as low as possible until you gain complete control of your spending. For the first year my credit card limit was at $500 until I was ready to increase it.
• Check your bill every month. I highly recommend going over every credit card bill to ensure that everything is on par. Not only do you want to ensure that you’re not being ripped off, but it’s important to see where and how you’re using your credit card.
• Pay your bill on time. This goes without saying. Paying on time saves you money because you really don’t want to start paying those high interest rates.
• Increase credit limit as your spending improves. Once you find yourself paying off your credit card on time, you might be ready to amp up your limit and focus on building up your credit.

Online banking.

Most of us either have an online banking account or an account with a brick-and-mortar bank that offers online banking. A few things to watch out for as you strive to setup your online banking account:

1. Look for easy-to-use customer interface. I love my ING Direct banking account because of how idiot proof that it is (perfect for me!). Everything is so easy. I can create sub-accounts in seconds. I can also transfer money in and out in no time. Customer experience is extremely important when it comes to managing your money online.
2. Don’t stress about interest rates always. I keep on getting emails from various online savings accounts informing me of interest decreases. It sucks but what can you really do? Interest rates are low across the board. Instead of switching bank accounts every time that rates are low, I suggest you focus on finding a bank account that you trust and one that provides exceptional customer service.

Automated payments.

You need to pay your bills, on time, every time! I personally set up all of my fixed monthly payments (cell phone, gym, online stuff) to be automatically charged to my credit card every month. A few tips in regards to automated payments:

• Still check your payments. Just because your payments have become automated, this is no excuse for not tracking them. A few months ago my gym over charged my a bit too much. Thankfully I checked my credit card statement on time and was able to notify them right away. Then last month I was charged more money again. Unfortunately, this time the extra charge was due to a new tax in Ontario. Oh well.
• Cut when necessary. It really isn’t that hard to cut an automated payment. If you’re tired of that subscription or no longer use the gym anymore then don’t hesitate to cut it out. I’m not suggesting that you cut everything fun out of your budget, but it’s advisable to cut when you don’t feel it anymore (just like with dating).

Keep track of expenses vs income.

How much you earn is just as important as how much you save. Actually, you can argue that how much you save is even more important because what’s a $60K salary worth after college if you squander all of the money away?

Use technology or keep it simple. I tried doing the whole Excel thing to keep track of my finances but it just never worked. I found the best results in the past with the classic budget– paper and pen. Recently though I’ve been using the My Budget app for my iPhone. I don’t track every purchase but I keep track on my relevant major expenses so that I can plan ahead and be ready for the down turns.

Do NOT count every penny. I’m going to tell you right now not to count every damn penny! When I talk about tracking your money, I think it’s important that you keep track of your major fixed & variable expenses, and the money coming in so that you can be realistic with your spending. A final note: it’s crucial that you set aside some money for care free spending. I always have a small amount of money each month that I let myself spend on anything that I want to (from clothing to eating pizza at night).

Don’t worry you don’t have to set up all of your financial stuff at once. This is just simply the first aspect of becoming a financial stud. Stay tuned for part 2 of the How-t0 become a financial stud series.

This is a guest post by the Coupon Sherpa, a source of reliable online, printable and grocery coupons. You can download the free Coupon Sherpa iPhone app with in-store mobile coupons, or check out more great tips from the Ask Coupon Sherpa blog.

That first year of college is difficult, both emotionally and financially. College is a time when kids learn both from mistakes and accomplishments.

Take for instance my own initiation into “man’s financial inhumanity to man.” My very first roommate ran off with three months rent, half my Salvation Army-salvaged clothes, and our new kitten. (She would have recycled my boyfriend but he politely declined.)

It was a lousy way to learn, but from then on I always asked for receipts and references.

Here are 11 lessons that should help you avoid learning the hard way.

1. Dining Hall Vs. In-Room Dining

Most institutions of higher learning require freshmen live in dorms, but they don’t have to eat all meals in the dining hall. Ditch the expensive 3-meal-a-day plans and opt instead for a small refrigerator and microwave in your dorm room. Rather than add more trash to the ecosystem, recycle old appliances by checking out Craigslist or Freecycle.com. (You could also outfit the rest of your dorm with furniture, bedding and decorations from these websites.)

2. Don’t Dump The Diet

You may be away from your parents’ watchful eyes, but your body will know if you start stuffing it with nothing but pizza. It’s a myth you have to spend a fortune to eat right. There are plenty of grocery coupons for healthy foods that will make your mom proud.

3. Forget Fine Dining (or Fast Food)

Food seems to be something of a theme here, as it is with students, but let’s talk about eating out before we move on. My co-worker saved an average of $50 per month by not eating out. That includes everything from pizza to dinner at the beer joint. If you really hanker after a meal away from the dorm, take advantage of a two-for-one coupon and ask a friend.

4. Hunt Down and Trap Financial Aid

Don’t stop looking for more financial aid just because you’ve started college. There are plenty more tuition and fees in your future, so keep hunting. There’s no need to go it alone, but don’t start with the Financial Aid office. They’re the accounting end of the transaction and aren’t interested in hooking you up with any advice.

Start with your student adviser. If he or she is useless (and some are), ask to switch advisers to a professor with whom you’ve made an in-class connection. Most schools have a scholarship and grant office dedicated to helping students. If you’re an open-option student with an undeclared major, there should be a central student advisory office on campus. Hunt down the best adviser in that office and stick like glue to them. They’ll help you ferret out the money.

5. Discount Gift Cards Aren’t Just For Gifts

Did you know you don’t have to pay face value for gift cards? If you’re shopping online, you don’t need the actual gift card. Just plug in the gift-card code when you reach the merchant’s check-out page. Discount gift cards also work great for making sure your kid sticks to their budget. Just purchase gift cards to your favorite grocery store, gas station, or book store to ensure you know where your money is being spent.

6. Work It Out

Avoid the temptation of overloading your class schedule or you’ll have no time for work…or play. With any luck, you can combine the two. I worked at the college newspaper and had a blast while honing my craft. A friend works at a local eco-thrift store, which has the extra benefit of keeping him supplied with everything he needs except groceries.

Sure there are plenty of crappy jobs, as well, but they’ll ensure you graduate with less of a debt and help pay for those extras that keep you sane, like an occasional movie or road trip.

On-campus work study jobs also are great, if you qualify financially. Just make sure you begin to apply in March or April for the following September as these positions go fast.

7. Ditch the Campus Bookstore

Upperclassmen should be required to teach Textbook Buying 101 to incoming freshmen. There are just too many better ways to buy textbooks than getting soaked at the campus bookstore. For more details, check out Your Complete Guide to Cheap College Textbooks.

8. Buy Supplies During Sales Tax Relief Holidays

One weekend a year, usually in early August, many states offer a sales-tax holiday, during which consumers can buy a wide variety of back-to-school supplies without paying any or little sales tax. The definition of “supplies” varies, ranging from pencils and backpacks to clothing and computers.

9. Coupons Are EVERYWHERE!

Local businesses are trying to buy your loyalty in the first few weeks of school so you’ll find truckloads of coupons all over campus. Look next to newspaper racks, in the newspapers and magazines, on counters, in dorms and every other nook and cranny. Ask your resident assistant if they have any coupon books or giveaways for local shops.

10. Don’t Get a Pet

Lonely students often find solace in pets, only to discover four-legged friends are expensive. Sadly, living in a college town, I’ve seen far too many abandoned dogs and cats wandering the streets after the students leave town in the spring. Dorms don’t accept pets and next year you’ll find your rental choices severely curtailed by Rex. Let’s not even talk about the massive security deposit landlords like to charge pet owners.

11. Take Advantage of Campus Freebies

Free! One of the loveliest words in the English language. And it’s so eco-friendly.

Over here there’s exactly one more week left before the fall college semester begins. In other places in the world you might be starting earlier or a later. Either way college is almost here. This is why I’ll be featuring articles strictly for college students. Also in order to offer more value to my readers I’m going to be posting articles aimed at college students from a few unique guest writers. On top of this I’ll be starting a new series on money management for college students. Enjoy!

Studenomics around the web:

Read This Before You Spend The Big Bucks @ Frugal Dad
4 Common Places College Graduates Can Store Their Money @ Good Financial Cents

A few links:

Eating Tips For a Killer Memory @ College Candy
Our New School Year Begins @ Being Frugal
Ways To Get Textbooks For Less @ Free From Broke
How-to Get a Raise… After a Raise @ The Financial Blogger
From Paying Interest To Earning It @ Frugal Dad
How-to Become a Successful Consultant @ Brip Blap

Carnivals:

Carnival of Personal Finance @ Provident Planning
Carnival of Debt Reduction @ Reduce Debt Faster

Personal finance tips are just like personal fitness tips. There are many great tips out there. Unfortunately, many DUMB money management and personal fitness tips get carried out and treated as fact over the years. Writing about personal finance has put me in a position where my ears are always open for money-related topics. The last few weeks I’ve heard some horrible money “saving” (not even sure what word to use) strategies. I wanted to point out a few dumb money saving tips and explain why they don’t work:

Buying a home just for tax breaks.

If you’re in the market for a new home, then the various available tax breaks should be just an added bonus. Even perhaps an incentive to make up your mind when being indecisive about the timing when the timing involved is only a few months orso. However, tax breaks should not be the sole reason for why you buy a home. Tax breaks should be the smallest consideration. Investing a  heavy amount of your savings, along with tying yourself up with a huge mortgage– all for a few tax breaks is simply just a dumb money management strategy.

Financing a car to build credit.

A friend of mine recently purchased a brand new car with very little money down. His theory is that he’ll make his monthly payments on time and build his credit along the way. There are many complex strategies that the supposedly financial savvy individuals have concocted here. Unfortunately, financing a new car when you have no money as a means to build your credit is simply just a justification of your purchase. Us young people love our cars. We love to upgrade them and modify them as we go along. That’s cool. But buying a car that you can’t afford and thinking that it will build your credit is a horrible idea.

Saving money by not investing in yourself.

A friend recently proclaimed to me how he just saved thousands of dollars. I was ecstatic to hear how he did this. He then informed me that he decided not to follow through with plans to enroll in college. By not enrolling in the specific college program he saved himself a decent chunk of change. This may seem like a good idea at face value, but what did he really accomplish? He chose not to invest in himself, which ultimately might mean that he won’t increase his income as much as he would like to. Not investing in yourself is always a dumb money saving idea.

Chasing interest rates.

Small deviations in interest rates will not make you rich. Especially if you only have a tiny amount of savings to begin with. It’s also no secret that interest rates suck at the moment and are down across the board. Switching from a bank account that pays .25% higher than your current savings account is really not worth it in the long run. The extra interest earned will be very minimal and you’re leaving the relationship that you may have built with your bank. Plus what will happen when your previous bank increases its interest rates, will you run back?

What dumb money strategies would you like to expose? Do you agree or disagree with any of the strategies mentioned above?

This guest post was written by Go Banking Rates, bringing you informative personal finance content and helpful tools, as well as the best interest rates on financial services nationwide. Follow them on Twitter at @GoBankingRates.

Going to college is an important phase in a young person’s life that comes with a great sense of independence, but also much more responsibility. So it’s no surprise that one of the most common times for someone getting their first credit card is during these formative years.

For many cash-strapped fledgling adults, a credit card can be their best friend. It helps resolve financial sticky situations and provides a good starting point in developing the all-mighty credit score. You can use it to buy books, food and even clothes to impress new friends. More importantly, it provides a nice safety net in case of any emergencies.

However, just like any new friend in college, a credit card could also potentially be a bad influence if not watched carefully. If you think procrastinating on studying for finals or writing that term paper is a bad idea, it’s exponentially worse when you’re catching up on credit card debt.

It All Adds Up

Like your class workload, debt can pile up too–and fast. Let’s say, for example, you need a new $100 textbook for class. No problem, just put it on your credit card. You’ll pay it off when you get the money. Then, maybe you need a new outfit for that party on Thursday.

That $50? Charge it to the plastic. What about the smaller expenses? Gas, food, fun, etc. Card, card, card. Out of sight, out of mind. There’s $20 here, $10 there, and so forth. Before you know it, you’ve racked up $300 in debt in a month. Still, $300 seems manageable. But what about next month? And the month after that? That’s $900 in debt before the first semester’s even over!

Don’t Pay To Delay

What’s worse, you get docked for points for not paying off your debt in full after the first 30 days. Many people put off paying down their debt by just making the minimum payments each month, which is usually a set amount or a percentage of the principal owed, whichever is higher of the two. That’s how credit cards make money; they charge interest on the debt you’re floating. Floating debt is essentially money owed. Typically, credit cards give their customers a grace period of 20-30 days. After that, they begin calculating interest after every 30-day billing period.

Let’s say you signed up for a credit card that charges you a 15 percent APR, with monthly minimum payments of $10 or 3 percent, whichever is higher. While only paying $10 a month doesn’t sound too bad, over time, if you opt to slowly chip away at that debt instead of paying it off in full, it will cost you.

In The Long Run

So back to that $300 from your first month. If you choose to take the scenic route, it’d take you over three years to pay off that debt and would cost you an additional $78. That’s almost another text book! It gets worse the higher the principle gets.

For example, let’s bump up the debt to $600. It’d take you almost six and a half years to pay off and would actually cost you almost an additional $300 just in interest alone to float that debt. That’s half the money of what you originally bought with the principle.

So how do you avoid paying more for what you buy? It’s simple. Keep a close watch on how you spend your money and the debt you’re accumulating. More importantly, try not to float debt past 30 days unless it absolutely cannot be avoided. If you don’t, your tuition might not be the most expensive education you’ll be paying for come graduation.

About the Author: Kara Taylor writes for Campus Explorer. Campus Explorer believes that given the proper tools, anyone shopping for college education can find the right fit. Campus Explorer is the place to start that great adventure. Campus Explorer is the place to find the information you need on earning an online degree from a school like Strayer University.

We all love systems and step by step guides on how to get things done. Money management is no different. Many systems are created to help us better manage our money. What do I mean by systems? Let’s take a look at some financial systems that we tend to follow:

• Budgets with exact percentages.
• Arbitrary numbers for an emergency fund.
• How-to guides for making quick money.

Some of these structured financial systems are effective for SOME people. Not for me and likely not for many of you. Systems also go much further than just personal finance. We all love to debate the minutiae when it comes to personal fitness. Fitness magazines make a fortune from offering the newest workout plan that comes with “instant results.” All of these new “ground-breaking” workouts only offer a different routine or a minor change. The fundamentals will always be the same. There are many stock market books out there that offer to teach you exactly how to make lots of money through day trading. Yet it’s funny how we never seem to meet anyone that has gotten into a Jersey Shore physique in 3 weeks or retired at age 25 from day trading.

I just wanted to say screw systems. Instead of over complicating your finances, you should consider following a few personal finance basics to ensure that you get ahead:

Pay yourself first.

Your personal savings should always come first. Instead of waiting to pay the bills and other areas, you need to take care of your savings first. No system out there can help you if you don’t make a concentrated effort to pay yourself first with every paycheck. By taking care of your savings first, you allow yourself to space to spend the rest of your income stress-free.

Spend wisely.

You don’t have to be cheap by any means. It’s highly advisable that you gain as much control over your spending as possible. Spending wisely isn’t about being a miser that spends no money at all. It’s about planning out your purchases in advance and consciously spending your money. I’m all for spending money on things that matter for me and saving by cutting back on pointless purchases. If you figure out how to spend your money wisely, you won’t have to stress about the “newest” way to save $5.

Control your debt.

There will be times where debt is a must (home purchase, car, leverage, etc.), so I won’t blindly suggest that you don’t acquire any debt at all. With that being said, it’s important that you control the amount of consumer debt that you acquire. A credit card can be a powerful tool in your financial toolbox– if you know your limits. If you don’t know your limits, a credit card can hurt your credit score and put you into massive amounts of debt.

Invest what you can.

The money that you have left over in your bank accounts can be used for investment purposes. This doesn’t have to be complex. You can try something very conservative by searching for the best online banking account. If you’re willing to take on more risk then you can look into real estate investment options and stock trading. Either way it’s difficult to find structured investing advice that fits our unique needs. We all have different financial situations.

Enjoy life a little.

It’s not all about saving every penny. Some people view money management as a boring process that brings down the quality of one’s life. In my opinion, improving my money management has allowed me to enjoy my life more. Once you’re happy with your savings and the progress that you’ve made with managing your money, there’s nothing wrong with planning a trip or going out with friends and family.

There you have it– highly unstructured personal finance advice that can really put you ahead. What do you think about highly structured personal finance advice? What money management tips have worked best for you?

August 23rd. A joyous day for parents that are looking forward to having an empty home once again. A not so-joyous day for us that want the summer to go on forever. I could complain, but the reality is that the summer needs to end eventually. So I pose this questions to you guys:

How do you plan on ending your summer? What do you want to get done in the next few weeks?

On a personal level I plan on enjoying my time with friends and family that will soon be gone far away. On a professional level I plan on revealing some cool stuff on the blog in the next few weeks. Its been a fun summer but it’s time to focus more on Studenomics and the loyal readers that have been supporting us since the beginning.

Time to list articles that caught my attention the past week or so…

It’s Time To Start Thinking About School
What Is A Secured Credit Card?
Free Credit Score: How To Get FICO and Other Credit Scores
Making an Offer on a Home: How to Negotiate a Deal
Get The Most Out Of Your Credit Cards
How Credit Unions Differ from Banks
Calculating Net Worth: Should Home Values Be Included?
Should You Consider Upgrading to a Larger Home?.
How To Get Free Credit Monitoring
Frugal Travel to New York City: My $400 3-Night Trip
Home Mortgage Rates – 6 Key Factors
J.D. Power 2010 Credit Card Satisfaction Survey–Guess Who’s #1