So after this week, I’m actually feeling a little bit guilty.

But probably not for the reasons you’re thinking. No, I didn’t go on a major shopping spree. And yes, I did actually manage to balance my checkbook. I’ve even been keeping track of my purchases, but the thing is, since it’s winter break post-holidays and high school reunions, I’ve spent pretty much this entire week watching Netflix, reading The Hunger Games, and sleeping until noon. So I haven’t actually been spending all that much. And it’s made for a pretty easy week. I didn’t even have to buy the sequel to The Hunger Games because Amazon prime members can now borrow digital editions for the Kindle for free. (Have I mentioned how much I love Amazon lately?)

So tracking my expenses hasn’t been all that difficult. But something tells me that next week, when classes start up again, and I’m doubling my caffeine, going out with friends who are back in town, and walking by stores on my way to and from class, my tracking of expenses will become a bit more strenuous.

But for now, I just seem to have to resist the temptation to not go online shopping binges. This week has made me realize that it’s more of a habit than I thought it was.

Bored? Let me check out piperlime.com. Oh look, zappos.com sent me a promotional coupon. What’s that? A LOFT ad in the magazine? That top is cute! I wonder if it’s on sale. Oh, I wonder if there is a cheaper version somewhere else. What? They’re having a sale…like they have every week. Well, it’s smarter to buy during sales isn’t it? But wait — is that a preview of their new spring collection. Oh stripes! I like stripes! And floral prints. And hey, those wedges they suggest to go with it really do work perfectly….

And one hour later I’ve filled up three separate carts with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise. Now, normally this would be the time where I would sift through it, get rid of the doubles, and the extravagant pieces, and the one-time-wears and buy a few items I’d actually use. But this week, after doing that, I went back and actually looked at the purchases I had left. And no, I didn’t need any of them. So I emptied the cart and logged off, largely because I thought about how I would explain that purchase to you, my dear readers.

Not a monumental moment, but at least a step in the right direction, right? Right.

Jenn is a communications grad student and social media fanatic who spends her free time reading, writing, watching too much tv, and shopping for shoes she can’t afford. You can follow her on twitter @jenninzetta. 

Most of the time, I’d like to think I am a pretty diligent person. I know how to take control of a situation, to figure out the problem and fix it. And I know how to do all that in a neat, orderly, color coded and filed sort of way. I don’t ignore things and I don’t have other people handle my problems for me. I take control and I get things done…with one notable exception.

My finances.

Maybe it’s because I’m the daughter of an investment banker. Maybe it’s because I had a job that paid well throughout my college career. Maybe it’s because I’m more of a words person than a numbers person. Or maybe it’s because I just can’t resist the urge to splurge on a new pair of boots, but financial matters have never been my thing.

Now, I’m not in any crazy sort of debt (unless you count looming post-grad school loans). And it’s not that I spend my money that irresponsibility. I just spend without thinking. And I spend without needing. So I don’t always know where my money goes. I know I have it, and then I don’t, and I have a rough idea of where and when it disappeared, but I’d like to change that. I’d like to keep track of my money and my spending habits and also take control of them. I want to figure out which ones are good, and which ones are…not so good, which ones I should keep, and which ones I should cut out. And I’d like to do so before I move onto a job that doesn’t pay by the hour.

So I’m starting now. Right this moment. I made my last overpriced purchase a few days ago. I made my post-Christmas returns at the mall this morning. I’ve double-checked my online banking statement. I’ve downloaded the Mint app. I know exactly what money I have and where I have it. And I intend to keep it that way, keeping track of how much money I am spending each week, and what I’m spending it on.

This month I am taking control of my finances.

And if you’re up for it, I want you to join me. Because whether you’re in a position that requires you to keep track of your finances or not, it won’t hurt to know how and why you’re spending your money. Who knows? You might even learn a little bit about yourself in the process.

I’m going to start by balancing my checkbook.

Wish me luck.

Jenn is a communications grad student and social media fanatic who spends her free time reading, writing, watching too much tv, and shopping for shoes she can’t afford. You can follow her on twitter @jenninzetta. 

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It should be no surprise to my fellow college students that I’m broke. We all are. So it’s also no surprise that my boyfriend is too. But sometimes this little fact of life can get in the way of our relationship. It’s hard to have spectacular dates when your electric bill is past due, and you can’t really expect fancy anniversary presents when you’re digging into the couch cushions for gas money.

Sometimes this can get a bit stressful. No one likes the feeling of being in debt, it’s emotional, so naturally when the subject of money comes up in a relationship, it’s bound to start some fights. Matt and I have gotten into plenty and it’s mostly because he gets about 4 times the amount of financial aid that I do. How is it fair that we split things evenly if he’s got more to spend than me? And if he’s got more, why isn’t he offering to do more?

And so the fight begins.

The best thing that I’ve learned from those types of fights is that you should sit down, actually talk about your finances and try to find a balance. For me it was accepting the fact that I just don’t have as much money for Matt, and he agreed to divide up the expenses accordingly. I always hated asking Matt for money and it’s much easier now that we’ve sorted everything out and have an understanding.

As far as the dates go, Matt and I are always finding ways to have fun together without spending a whole lot of money. In fact, we’re going to a museum this weekend because we get in free for being students. As far as cheap dates go, here are a few things we’ve managed to come up with that don’t make us feel like we’re broke as a joke:

-Look into what your city has to offer for students. Always be looking for student discounts. My favorites are student nights at movie theaters and free passes to concerts and museums.

-Do some research into what your town has to offer parks-wise. I love heading to the park on a nice weekend, having a picnic and going kayaking, which together can be as cheap as $10.

-My best friend introduced me to Groupon.com. It’s seriously amazing. They have deals every day that are essentially gift certificates for a discount, but you can only get it if X amount of people buy it. I’ve found everything from $20 for $40 worth of food at local restaurants to $10 massages.

-This where on-campus events can be your friend. Check out cool clubs together, or go to events together. Matt and I always go to this thing at UT called 40 Acres Ffest, which is pretty much a fair that covers the main areas of campus that’s put on by all the student groups and ends with a free concert from some pretty well-known bands. Check out what your school has to offer and take advantage of it all!

With a little understanding of your financial situation and a pinch of research and creativity, it’s totally manageable to not let money affect your relationship. Just don’t be afraid to have the money talk with your significant other; and never be embarrassed to go on a “cheap” date. Sometimes they’re the most fun!

Anybody else have any ideas on the cheap?

Beautify. Nothing like cruising into a new semester of classes feeling like hot sh*t. Book your appointments early for those caterpillar eyebrows, exposed roots, and crusty feet.

Prepare for potential hanky-panky. (Yep, I did just call it hanky-panky.) Visit to the gyno? Check. Birth control stockpile? Check. Brazilian wax? Check. Stop trying to salvage period-stained panties — as my motto goes, new school year, new lacy underthings.

Buy new dorm / apartment / house décor! Draw some inspiration from Apartment Therapy and go to town. May we suggest wall decals, some choice picture frames and scented candles?

Pick up a new planner. Steal one from freshman orientation if you have to, and then neatly pencil in important dates (your boyfriend’s grandmother’s birthday, any club meeting with free food, the three-year anniversary to the day you got your v-card swiped, etc.) There’s nothing quite like touching a spankin’ new notebook — devoid of uncompleted to-do lists — for the very first time.

Evaluate your finances. If you’re anything like me, you’ve all but avoided checking your banking account for a summers’ worth of glorious sales, extravagant dining and uninhibited bar-hopping — but it is, my friends, something that must be done. Pay off your outstanding bills and determine your budget for the upcoming year so you know exactly how many hours you have to slave away at Applebee’s this fall.

Speaking of jobs… update your resume. ‘Cause let’s face it, you’re not going to even want to think about cleverly crafting bullet points about your summer of servitude well into Welcome Week. Or Rush Week. Or Recovery from Rush Week. Or any of the subsequent weeks after that, really. Get it out of the way now so the moment you encounter the perfect side-job to finance your weekend boozing, you’ll be ready-for-hire.

Do a massive overhaul of your wardrobe. Barring the sentimentally priceless — though really, it’s time to part with the chocolate-stained denim capris that remind you of your high school summer camp fling — donate or eBay the stuff you don’t wear. It goes without saying, but gauchos are not coming back in this lifetime. Head to American Apparel (or Targét — that’s how I roll) to stock up on your favorite basics. Reorganize your jewelry, and splurge on one pair of fabulous, fabulous heels.

Catch up on old seasons of your favorite trashy television. This is obviously the most crucial on the list. Between TiVo and internet video, there are no excuses to be made anymore — because God forbid you watch the Gossip Girl premiere without having seen the one where Serena dies. What? Yeah, see?

If I thought I was shocked when I was suddenly barred from my own home, I was even more surprised when I learned the ropes of actually going to small claims court. Why does this lesson fit into Money Matters? Because you actually have to spend quite a bit of money if you want to get what is owed to you in the long run.

In order to file your claim, you will need any articles of evidence pertaining to your case. Any contracts, agreements, or legal statements should be compiled and photocopied. Then you will have to pay a fee just to have your case processed. For me, I had to pay to get several of my documents photocopied, and then cut a check for $100 to the court just to proceed. $100 when I was already out over a grand. Still, at that point, it had become a pride issue, and I wasn’t going to let this snake take advantage of one more poor, naive girl.

Depending on the rules of your particular state, you may also have to pay for an officer to personally deliver the small claims summons to the other party. The problem with that is that the officer can only try the house so many times before all of your paperwork is returned to you, with a stamp that reads “Undeliverable.” So I had to try again. After the second set of docs was returned, I found my villain’s work address (ironically, he was a bank teller) and the po-po brought his small claims summons to the bank where he worked.

Once the opposing party has received their summons, a date will be set, and you will arrive in small claims court, where the judge will listen to both parties and set a declaration. If one party does not show up (in my case, the defense was absent), the present party will automatically win. The downside? Just because I automatically won my case, there is actually nothing that the court can do to retrieve your money.

When the verdict is passed, the court will add all fees that you have spent on the case to the opposing party’s debt to you– in my case, it was decided that I was owed my claim PLUS $100. Whatsmore, with every passing year, a certain interest rate will be tacked on as well. For me, it’s 11% interest.

The d-bag who wronged me now has a lein out on his name, which means that his credit is ruined, and, in some way that I don’t quite understand, he can’t sell anything of immense value (e.g. his car) until the debt is paid off. But I have not received compensation to this day, since I have stated that the court can’t actually force the guilty party to make a payment. For the record, as far as I know, the sketchball married some girl in order to put most of his things in her name, and the amount of money he owes me has doubled.

I think it’s ironic that in order to fight for the money that is owed you, you have to spend quite a bit AND can’t always get what is owed to you, even if you win. That’s why it’s important not to go Judge Judy just because you’re pissed at someone who owes you a few bucks. In my case, it was worth it, because I faught the bastard, and won, but it might not be the smartest bet every time.

Tip 1: Search/Clip Coupons

I ordered my dad $30 worth of merchandise from Land’s End the other day and almost had a heart attack when I saw that the shipping was $8. Let’s get real here—it does not cost $8 to send two turtlenecks via 7-day delivery. In my incensed state of rage, I went to Google and typed in “land’s end coupons”—and lo and behold, a page with a free shipping code on it popped up.

Deals like that are only a few clicks away, so make sure to search every time you buy something online. If you prefer to do your shopping in the flesh, cough up a few quarters for the Sunday paper and comb all the ads. You can clip coupons from there and learn about the hot sales going on near you. It takes extra time, but you’ll make up for it in extra money.

Tip 2: Buy Used

It’s not always the best idea to give a gift that someone has already broken in (like undies), so use your discretion here. But for certain items and certain people, it’s a great bet. If you have a friend who has been dying to read a specific book, she probably won’t care if you picked it up at the used bookstore for $5 rather than paying the $25 price tag for the brand-new copy at Barnes & Noble.

This tip can also be used toward stylish purchases. If you know somebody who loves to dress uniquely, spend an afternoon hitting all the thrift stores in town and get them a few choice items that you know they’d love. An even better idea is to take them along with you and offer to buy them a full outfit of their choice—that way, you can be sure they like what they’re getting.

Tip 3: Think Practical

Yes, we all love unwrapping luxurious items when the holidays roll around. But wouldn’t it be nice to get something you actually need for a change? Sure, your automatic thought for a Mom Gift might be that nice cashmere-blend sweater you spied a few weeks ago, but before you part with too much of your hard-earned cash, stop and think. What could Mom really use? Maybe she’s always holding her place in books with old receipts and folded napkins, and you think she could make good use of a bookmark. Or maybe she’s always complaining about how food sticks to the bottom of her frying pan.

It doesn’t always make for an exciting gift, but thinking practically can help someone out far more in the long run than thinking luxuriously—and it’s probably also cheaper than springing for the cashmere-blend sweater.

[Image courtesy of ahckd.com.]

If you disagree with everything I just said, you probably don’t need this column. But if you’re nodding along because you’re officially an adult and still don’t know how to manage your money, then you might want to pay attention every week, because I’m going to (try to) get you through this, and make you a successful saver and a wise spender.]

Congratulations! You’ve got a job! You can start making money… and the government can start taking money from you!

On your first day at a new job, you’re going to get slapped with a stack of paperwork: company handbook, sexual harrassment awareness statement, and, of course, the W2 form. How many of you have snuck into the bathroom to call your parents and ask them WTF to write in this form? Yeah, me too. Here is everything you need to know:

The W2 determines how much money in taxes will be taken out of your paycheck. Typically, dependents have the most taken out, independents are somewhere in the middle, and people who have dependents have the least. Usually, college students are either “dependents” or sole “independents.” If your parents claim you as their dependent, they are basically telling the gov’t that they support you; therefore, the gov’t sees your wages as extra cash, and will take more money from you. If you are independent with no one to provide you, the tax form says (in layman’s terms) that you are responsible for living expenses (rent, utilities, tuition, etc), but don’t have to spend your money on anything else.

If you are claiming yourself as a dependent, you fill out zero’s all across the board. You don’t even have to worry about any of the other confusing boxes or lines, and you don’t have to add anything up in the ‘totals’ column. The zero means that you are providing for zero people, including yourself. If you are an independent, you claim ’1′ because you are providing for one person: yourself.

At the end of the year, when you fill out your taxes, you will declare roughly how much you spend in a year, and the government compares it to the amount of money they took out of your paychecks. If they took out too much, guess what! You get a big, fat tax return. If you made considerably more than you had to spend, they might slap you with bill to give them even more of your money.

What does this mean in the long run? A little tip: if you provide for yourself, and you fill out zeros on your W2 (like a dependent), the government will take a large sum of your hard-earned money every week. But on the bright side, when you do your tax forms, you can change your standing to “1″ and say that you had to provide for someone, all while they were robbing you of your income. Usually, this will result in a nice big tax return in February.

That’s a decent chunk of change to put towards spring break.

If you disagree with everything I just said, you probably don’t need this column. But if you’re nodding along because you’re officially an adult and still don’t know how to manage your money, then you might want to pay attention every week, because I’m going to (try to) get you through this, and make you a successful saver and a wise spender.]

Everytime you whip out the plastic at the grocery store, liquor store, or gas station, the cashier asks automatically, “Credit or Debit?” It’s a simple enough question, though to many, it may be redundant. I mean, who cares what type of card it is as long as it buys you a pack of smokes, a 30-pack, or a week’s worth of Ramen Noodles?

There are a lot of pros and cons to using both credit cards and debit cards, and many people adamantly side with one form of plastic or another, much like people adamantly side with either Obama or McCain. Personally, I’m a debit kind of girl. My brother, on the other hand, swears by credit. What gives?

A debit card is like your plastic checkbook. You might not need cash in your hand, but you need to have the funds in your bank account to make a purchase. A credit card, however, lets you splurge now and pay later– even in small monthly increments. In this case, the credit card may SEEM like it has its advantages, because you can pay for your spring break trip now, and spend the next three months waiting tables to pay for it.

But beware: the reason I personally prefer to use my debit card is because it prevents me from racking up thousands of dollars in CC charges, since it doesn’t feel like I’m spending MY money. For me, I’d rather balance my checking account daily, and say, “Ok, that’s $20 here and $40 there,” and always know what I have left. A credit card bill, to me, is like a tacky Christmas gift from your wacky aunt; you never think it’s going to be THAT bad, but when the big day rolls around… gag. I always think I’m on top of the world with a few hundred dollars locked away in the bank… then I get a 2K credit card bill, and it’s like I’ve been robbed at the end of each billing cycle.

Another thing to be wary of when using your credit card is the interest rate. Sure, there’s no hurry to pay off the last five bar tabs you’ve racked up on credit… but the longer you wait, the more you’re spending on nothing at all. The appeal of many credit cards is gimmicks like “No Interest for Six Months,” which is fine and dandy for six months… and then suddenly, you’re paying off the minimum balance each month and see the current balance rise nonetheless.

On the other hand, debit cards can smack you with hidden fees as well. Debit cards come in handy when you need cash- via ATMs or cash-back with purchase, but you’re bound to be paying a fee on your purchases, or on your withdrawals from foreign ATMs. You know how you have to accept the $2.00 charge when using a foreign ATM? These days, a lot of banks charge an additional service charge for using another bank’s withdrawal services. LAME.

Another thing I do hate about debit cards is that sometimes it can take a few days for your purchases to go through to your account. That means that if you went shopping yesterday, and check your account today, you might think you have more money than you do. Bars and restaurants can sometimes cause trouble because it takes longer for the tip to go through than the food/beverage purchase. This is rather inconvenient, and unless you balance your debit card account like you do your checkbook, it can be easy to overdraw or bounce a check if you aren’t aware of the charges that have yet to go through. Which brings me to another flaw of the debit card system…

If you overdraw or bounce a check, you will pay very, very dearly. I don’t balance my purchases like a checkbook, but I do check my balance every day. So, when my balance seemed to stay the same for a few days, I figured all of my purchases had gone through (I’d gotten pretty wasted the week before and didn’t know how much I spent at the bar, so I had to wait for the bad news). I went on spending again, and the day before my direct deposit went through, I discovered that not only had I overdrawn, but that I was being fined nearly $20 for EACH individual purchase that was over my limit. WTF? If you’re above your limit with a credit card it gets declined, but I guess banks just want to trick you into thinking you’ve got the funds if your card is approved, so that they can collect on your own irresponsible stupidity.

Now that I’ve given you the lecture on responsibility, let’s get to the perks. The reason we all want a credit card: the bonus points! Just about every major corporation has its own credit card these days, and for every dollar you spend, you get some sort of reward (Starbucks cards, 10% off at Target, airline miles, etc.). Some banks have recently started rewarding their clients with cashback points on debit purchases, too, but this is a relatively low-paying perk, at least in the realm of Poor Studentsville. My debit purchases are never as outlandish as my credit purchases, so I’ve only been getting petty change rewards so far.

If you think you can handle a credit card, and not run your financial reputation into the ground, maybe a credit card’s for you. However, if you like to only spend what you’ve got, stick with debit. It’s still a good idea to have both forms of plastic, but I don’t recommend filling every slot in your wallet with a different credit card. That’s just asking for trouble, especially when you’re on a budget, like many of us are.

If you want to find the perfect credit card, and really weigh all of the perks that come along with plastic, check out CreditCards.com. You can search and cross-reference a plethora of cards, until you find one that will reward you well. Happy spending, kids!

Balancing a budget is the kind of thing that everyone hates, but we all know it’s necessary. Especially now. While the economy crumbles around us. And our money disappears.

Unless you are truly loaded and/or naturally meticulous, you could probably use a few tips to help you get your stash of cash in order. So read on:

1. Save your receipts.

That’s right… all of them. This might sound unnecessary, but it’s really important. If your bank statement comes and you find something on it that isn’t right, you’ll need those receipts to prove your point and get your money back. After your statement comes, you probably won’t need the receipts anymore, so you can get rid of them then.

2. Write stuff down in your checkbook.

Every time you make a purchase with a check or your debit card, write it down! That means you’ll have to keep your checkbook with you almost all the time, which can be annoying, but it’s worth it. (Not only does this protect you later, but it also forces you to pay attention to your spending!) Keep a separate list of your credit purchases. Write down the date of each expense and its exact amount. Then…

3. Go over your bank and credit statements.

As soon as you get those statements, bust out the checkbook and your credit list and compare each transaction, cent for cent. If there are any discrepancies, consult your pile of receipts (which you could neatly store in a box by date… but OK, that’s not entirely necessary). Talk to your bank or credit company about incorrect charges. Finally…

4. Balance.

Make sure the final amount on your statement is the same as the amount you’ve calculated that you have in your account. If there’s a difference of more than a few dollars, it means that either your math or something else is screwed up. You can find out what that something might be by re-doing the math and looking for the exact place in the list of transactions where the difference occurred.

Do all that and you have a balanced monthly budget, an understanding of where all that money is going and a place to start when attempting to cut some corners.

Easy as pie.

[Image courtesy of easyauctionrichesrevealed.com.]