We’re all well aware of the friends every girl needs, but what about the friends nobody wants? Is there anything more annoying than having to avoid a friend that you hate? It’s like, “stop calling me every day and messaging me on Facebook all the time and showing up in my bedroom when I’m sleeping.”

No matter how mean you are or how many times you send out restraining orders, these are the friends that keep clawing their way back into our lives.

1. The Clinger
The clinger’s ability to latch on to you and never ever let go puts any reoccurring STD to shame. She’s running next to you at the gym, She’s ordering shots next to you a the bar, and she’s lathering right alongside you as your shower. Your subtle text messages, “do not come over tonight under any circumstances or I will spike your drink with laxatives” don’t seem to have any impact on her willingness to always be right by your side.

2. The Pauper
The pauper actually gets herself off on complaining about being poverty-stricken, despite being comfortably middle class. It’s hard to avoid her since she’s been sleeping on your couch for the past 6 months – it’s not like she afford rent on top of going out every night. She’ll not only make you feel guilty about doing any shopping outside of the dollar store, but she’ll also make you feel like a complete a-hole for hesitating when she asks you to pick-up her bar tab, buy her new notebooks for class, and get her a year-long Match.com membership.

3. The Millionaire
The millionaire not only grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth, but also 6 credit cards, and a bundle of foreign currency. She likes nothing more than to literally light a fire and burn money right in front of your eyes.  When she’s not using dollar bills to clean off her Blackberry screen, she’s explaining the (OMG so obvious) benefits of $150 white tank tops.

4. The Ego Maniac
The Ego Maniac booked such a long power trip that you’re not sure that she’ll make it back in time to start her year-long expedition riding on the world’s highest horse. She doesn’t brush her teeth or walk down the stairs without updating her Twitter to tell everyone how well she did it. Needless to say, She’s not at all interested in your life unless she can somehow figure out how spin the recent death of your grandmother into a story of how the Starbucks barista complimented her on her coffee ordering skills.

5. The Planner
The planner is the ringleader of incredible fun and unforgettable good times within your group of friends. Or so she thinks in her head as she manically pencils in lunch dates and Facebook chat sessions six months from now. Everyone else refers to her as the Nazi that made you sleep on the sidewalk for a week while you waited in line for concert tickets that didn’t even sell out.

6. The Complainer
The complainer alternates between wallowing around in self pity and sighing until someone finally asks what’s wrong. And something is always wrong. Her computer froze for 6 minutes at work or everyone keeps chanting Eeyore whenever she speaks or, God forbid, her shoelace came untied when she was walking.

7. The Klepto
Forget leaving your wallet with her while you go to the bathroom or letting her spend time alone in your apartment unsupervised. The klepto will shamelessly pocket everything that’s not permanently attached to you. It’s absolutely amazing you how many times one of your possessions go missing just as the klepto finds the exact same one-of-a-kind item at some store on that street by that corner in that place.

8. The Social Media Junkie
Any amount of time spent with the social media junkie is meticulously recorded on Twitter and Facebook. Jackie is meeting up with John. Jackie is asking John what is up. Jackie is wondering why John always has last minute work things whenever they’re supposed to hang out. Jackie is so alone.

9. The Flirt
Forget ever picking up any guys when you’re out with the flirt becaue she has an amazing abilty to entice every single guy she meets. She’s a pro at the seductive arm grab and the “throw your head back and laugh while making sure your hair stays in place.” She’ll shamelessly go after any guy you’re interested in just to prove she’s sexier than you — her boyfriend be damned.

Despite the end of the year being one of the busiest times, it is important to think about giving to others and taking time to make a help those in need. Here is a list of easy and simple ways to get involved in making a difference this season:

Adopt an Angel, Be a Santa
Consider adopting a needy person for the holiday season. Giving Trees are everywhere right now (from your local Wal-Mart to your mall’s JCPenney, and many colleges have them up in their common areas) allowing you to choose the name of a person in need and help them out. You don’t even need a lot of money to do it! Every name comes with a list of wants; you can purchase just one thing off of that list (usually something simple like shampoo or groceries), or gather a bunch of friends to go all out. Your $10 purchase will really make someone’s Christmas.

Ring The Bell
You know those red kettles outside of grocery stores and on nearly every street corner in big cities, often accompanied by a Santa ringing a hand-bell? They are sponsored by the Salvation Army and have been around since 1891, providing homeless and needy with nice sit-down meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When walking out of the mall this holiday season, drop some of your spare change into those kettles, because any amount of change will be put to towards hot holiday meals for those in need.

Give an Unwrapped Toy
Toys for Tots simply asks for a donation of an unwrapped toy. This program, sponsored by the United States Marines, has been around since 1947, and all it calls for is you to drop off an unwrapped gift at any of its toy collecting sights. Need to find a donation spot? Click here!

Get Bakin’
Are you good at making gingerbread houses or baking cookies? Put your domestic skills to good use and make a local nursing home a batch of your favorite cookies or drop off a gingerbread house. Since the holiday season is often considered to be a time for presents, children are often the main focus – but it is important to not leave anyone out. Many elderly living in nursing homes are left by their families during the holiday season, and dropping off something to brighten their day would mean a lot. Contact your local area nursing homes and assisted living centers to see how you can help.

Drive Yourself Crazy
Your college is probably having some kind of drive.  In fact, if your college is like mine, you probably have two or three drives going on at once, so pick one drive that you most want to participate in and go all out. Get together with your friends for a stitch n’ bitch and knit the night away – someone out there could really use a homemade scarf. Not into knitting? Go collect cans with your best friends. Pick a neighborhood and politely go from door to door asking if there are any spare cans the family would like to donate this holiday season. Many people will be glad you stopped by, because through your good deed, they will feel like they did something good themselves! Don’t have time to participate? Donate an hour of your time to help sort all the collected items from whatever drive you want. The club or organization will greatly appreciate the help, too.

Eat-Out
As the holidays approach and the semester comes to a close, how many end-of-the-semester Christmas get-togethers are you going to have? You’re going to need a reservation for that big group of friends, and booking through Open Table is the best way to do that.  Open Table has pledged a full meal to domestic hunger-relief organizations (such as America’s Second Harvest) for every dining reservation made through the website. With nearly 49.1 million Americans living in food insecure households (meaning the availability of food and access to it) in 2008, just your reservation alone can provide someone a meal. To make reservations with Open Table, click here!

Give the Gift of Activism
Not sure what to get a friend, but know they are passionate about something? Consider making a donation in their name. For example, my sister is studying abroad in South Africa for the next year and she is particularly moved by the townships outside of Capetown, so I am making a donation in her name to an organization that provides South African township children with the opportunity to go to college (These Numbers Have Faces). Is your friend really heated over the Health Care reform and Stupack amendment issue? Maybe you can donate some money to Planned Parenthood to keep fighting the good fight. Wish you had time throughout the year to work in an animal shelter but don’t? Send $20 into the ASPCA!

Want more information or other ways to get involved, check out these websites:
Feeding America
The Salvation Army
Goodwill
Toys for Tots
List of Nonprofit Organizations
Volunteer Match

1) Because NYU costs $50,000 a year to attend, and
2) Because NYU hates poor people.

And by “poor people,” I mean anyone who may need a little financial aid.

The New York Post reports that admissions counselors at NYU recently gave a big “Eff You” to 1,700 potential students whose financial aid packages may not have been enough to cover their yearly tuition. Why did they call? Well,  NYU claims the calls were to help those students out, but the real message: find another school.

Even more upsetting? Students who would be the first in their families to go to college were more likely to make it onto this phone tree.

So much for being open, diverse and a school of liberal thought. NYU cares more about the ching ching than the molding of young, brilliant minds.

Oh, NYU; have we learned nothing from Pretty Woman?
Big mistake. Huge.

You could be turning away the next Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin, or CollegeCandy editor!

If I were on that call list, I’d take my money and go elsewhere.
I’m not spending 4 years where I’m not wanted!

Ok, before everyone gets up in arms about every generalization I just made, let me clarify: 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. Starving college students of the world, I bring you Money Matters: a Guide to Handling Your Income (or Lack Thereof).]

This week, I’d like to introduce you to a splendid gem called Free Student Checking. Now, normally, banks will hold your money for you, but they like to find sneaky ways to make a few bucks back themselves. Some checking accounts, for example, have a minimum balance that you always have to have in your account. If your balance goes below that minimum, you get a fine.

Yeah, that’s right. You have to PAY your BANK for being too poor to have any money in the account that consists entirely of your own money that you started out with in the first place. I understand credit card late fees– with credit, you’re spending money you don’t necessarily have– but a fine on your own money? That’s bullsh*t.

Luckily, the banks have caught on to the fact that college kids won’t open accounts if they know they won’t be able to keep up with the minimum account balance… and the fact that once we’ve graduated and become successful career men and women, they can switch us to premium accounts and fine the ever-loving sh*t out of us.

Free student checking comes with a variety of perks. First of all, it’s free. No interest, no fines (unless you overdraw), no minimum balance, and they usually only require about $50 or so to open them. So, just put off buying one textbook for about a day and you’ll have the money to open a checking account and become a real grown up, personalized checks and all.

Before you hop over to the first bank in sight, however, it’s wise to do some research. Because college students should ALWAYS be on their toes for a bargain, whether it’s free food sponsored by the PanHellenic Society, Penny Night at the Pub, or a free toaster with every new bank account.

Seriously, though, shop around. Some banks will give you MONEY just to sign with them. I got $50 last summer for opening a new direct deposit account with M&T Bank, for example, and when I used Wachovia in the past, they were always advertising bonuses for students who got friends to open checking accounts as well. Search for banks in your area on Google Maps and see if there are any perks for opening a new account.

Then, proceed to step two:

Check out the long-term benefits of the account. Remember, you and your new bank are going to have at least a four or five-year relationship, and you want the relationship to be as much a one way street as it can be (in your favor, of course).

Currently, Bank of America has an online student checking offer, which includes a “Stuff Happens” card, good for a one-time fee refund (read: if you overdraw once, you can waive the pricey fine); a free check card (read: debit card); free online banking with unlimited bill pay (read: no fees for paying bills online); and an easy way for your parents to deposit money into your account (read: you can still beg for cash).

Wachovia’s Free Student Checking also offers one-time overdraft protection, but also includes a free savings account, for those of you motivated scholars who actually hope to put some cash away for a rainy day. AND Wachovia’s plan includes a “Way 2 Save” program, which encourages students to make debit card purchases and pay bills online, allowing you to accrue cash-value points for every check, purchase, and payment, in addition to a rebate on the money you’ve saved in your account each year. Talk about rewarding responsibility!

Other perks include Key Bank‘s ATM fee reimbursement plan, Washington Mutual‘s reward-earning debit card, and Meta Bank‘s checks with your school logo on ‘em (for you spirited savers out there)!

The bottom line is, you’re going to have to start managing your money eventually, so you may as well take advantage of the student-friendly perks of free checking accounts. Along the way, you’ll learn to balance your checkbook, make financial transactions, and become more aware of how much you’re earning and spending. Even if you take advantage of the “no minimum balance” advantage and constantly flirt with overdrawing your account, at least you’re getting started.

By the end of this series, you might even have enough to call “savings.”

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Craigslist, there is an individual site for most major cities across the US (and around the world, for that matter), e.g. losangeles.craigslist.org, boston.craigslist.org, and so on. Craigslist is basically a bunch of classified ads, and there’s a huge section of both “jobs” and “gigs” just waiting for you to stumble upon. So whether you want to splurge on a shopping spree, get your grandmother a birthday present, or actually buy your books this semester, look on Craigslist. I recommend browsing the categories “ETC” and “Event,” though if you have a particular talent or skill, you may want to look under “Creative,” “Labor,” or “Writing.”

Here are some of my favorite past Craigslist gigs:

1. Mock Juror

Listed under: Event

Paid: $60 for less than 4 hours

Perks: A 15-minute break, free coffee, soft drinks, and snacks, and cash payment.

I had to fill out a couple of surveys to qualify, but this gig was open to all ages, races, genders, and occupations. I had to go to a hotel meeting room and listen to the facts of a real case that hadn’t gone to trial yet. Then, all the participants had to discuss what they thought of the case, such as whether the prosecutors should clarify any of their evidence, or if the defense had any decent, er, defense.

2. Market Research Participant

Listed under: ETC

Paid: $75-$125 for about 2 hours

Perks: Cash payment, free snacks and soft drinks, and opportunities to join a market research database for later studies

I’ve done market research studies for people with no health insurance, bargain shoppers, and soda drinkers. Usually, you sit in a room with some other people (again, from all walks of life), and share your thoughts regarding the subject. “Yes, I would get health insurance if it was cheaper.” “I don’t shop at that discount store because it’s trashy.” Then you get paid. The only study that was different was the soda study, in which I had to press a button when I saw a certain word appear on a screen, and then watch some advertisements for said soda product. But hey, that one paid well, and there’s no harm in pressing a button for a couple of hours.

3. Door Hanger Distributor

Listed under: Event

Paid: $200 for a day’s work

Perks: $25 gas stipend

I can’t really call this one of my “favorites,” but it was the most profitable. Basically, I had to walk around for several hours and hang door hanger advertisements for a local ice cream shop on peoples’ front doors. It sounds easy enough, and I got to burn calories while jamming out with my i-Pod, but at the end of the day, I thought my legs were going to fall off. A few hours into the gig, I was cursing myself for responding to the ad, but a week later, when I was up $225, I forgot about my aching knees and the weird sunburn I got after missing a patch of skin on my back.

4. Freelance Writer

Listed under: Writing

Paid: $10-$50 per piece

Perks: Can become a routine gig, and it’s a job that can be added to your resume

I’ve written for various C-list posters, from a telemarketing script to restaurant reviews. Some jobs pay via Paypal, which is cool, because instead of blowing the money right away, I let it accumulate, and then transfer a couple hundred bucks to my bank account and go on a shopping spree. The most profitable freelance gig I’ve done earned me $50 for a 100-word anecdote. Not too shabby. If you’re into writing, I suggest looking at multiple Craigslist sites, especially the larger hubs in America like New York or LA, because you can usually telecommute and work these gigs from home, at all hours of the night.

I’ve found that an avid Craigslist whore like myself can earn a pretty chunk of change by doing odd jobs. Sure, they aren’t the most glamorous tasks, but you can make your own schedule, and usually average over $10 an hour for your work. Plus, you don’t have to deal with a shitty boss, and once the job is done, you’re done with the company altogether. Be weary of what posts your respond to, however — I don’t recommend responding to “Will Pay a Hot Girl to Escort Me to a Company Party,” and if you find a market research post that requires you to fill out a survey, or follow a link to qualify, it’s probably a scam. The good news is, the more comfortable you get with Craigslist, the quicker you’ll be able to find a job that suits you, and you’ll be able to weed out the whack job posters from the legitimate opportunities.

[What's the best job you ever landed off of Craigslist?]

Everyone thinks living in a small New England town — especially a small New England town by the water — would be the best thing ever. It would be so safe and homey, everyone thinks, so quiet and rustic, no stress! Just miles and miles of cute little houses and a cute little pier to launch cute little boats from.

Let me tell you something – that thought process is sh*t.

Everyone is up in arms about these Gloucester girls who made a pregnancy pact, and no one can understand why anyone would just throw their life away by having a baby before they can even legally buy cigarettes. But I understand. I totally understand. It makes sense. You know why? Because not every small New England town is picturesque and middle class. Some of them are cramped, poor, lonley, and boring as f*ck.

How am I such an expert? I grew up in one. Not the kind that’s stitched onto potholders and immortalized in cute Cape Cod beach shops — the kind where front lawns are strewn with old car parts, you can hear your neighbor’s drunken fist fights from your living room, and schools barely manage to give out textbooks printed before 1983. A town kind of like Gloucester, Massachusetts.

And while my friends in high school didn’t make pacts to all get pregnant at the same time (we were too lazy for that), I knew lots of girls who had babies in their arms before they had diplomas. Why? Some of them were just plain stupid and couldn’t wrap their head around the fact that sperm can get you pregnantt, but others…others simply wanted something to give their life meaning.

When you live in a podunk town where everybody’s dad is either a fisherman or a permanent lackey for some bigwig who lives in Sweden, and the nearest mall or movie theater is 30 minutes away, — there isn’t much money or action to go around. Nothing really happens. Over and over again. Sure, you grow taller, grow hungrier, and have to buy bigger bras, but the passage of time in these small towns is so nondescript that sometimes you feel like you might go crazy. The world seems so big on your television screen — and yet, none of the stuff you see on your rabbit-eared TV will ever be within your grasp.

So you have a baby. Because it’s the one thing that you can make happen. It’s the one thing you have complete power over. The one thing no one can take away from you. Mothers are revered and honored and people give up their seats for them. People notice you when you’re a mom. They don’t notice some 15-year-old walking 2 miles down the road to her jack-sh*t job, but they do notice a young mother who needs help getting her baby carriage onto the bus.

I’m sure reports will come out stating the “real” reasons why all these girls decided to have babies together, but just in case it doesn’t, just know that when your future is bleak and lonely, your past is forgettable, and your present if full of mind-numbing boredom, having a baby — someone that will actually need and care about you — isn’t really all that horrible of an idea.

I’m not condoning it. These girls are probably nowhere near mature enough to handle a child. But I understand it. I completely understand it.

In the article, we learn that some cities are better for individuals to work in than others (cost of living, housing, relation to career, etc.). New York City, where I have lived since the tender age of 17, gets slammed.

Yes, it’s an expensive city to live in, but what I think this article completely leaves out is lifestyle. New York, for instance, offers a way of living that no other city can offer. And I’m sure any defender of any place they love would say the same. It’s important to be in a place that makes you happy, that keeps you fulfilled, if you want to do well at work. A fulfilled worker is a happy worker. Right?

Or wrong? I don’t know.

Today (at least in our society), job often comes before all else. It’s what we ask each other first at parties–”What do you do?” is supposed to tell us all we need to know.

And yet, most of the functioning 20-something set I know are unhappy in their jobs. Most of them don’t consider their current job to be their ultimate career.

In this era of jobhopping and identity searching, should we really choose our home based on our jobs? Shouldn’t we live in places that suit us as people and are near or with people with love and then find the right job?

What do you think? Would you relocate for a job?

Me, I’m sticking it out in NYC. Even if it means living in a shoebox and eating ramen the rest of my life.

[Image courtesy of blog.miragestudio7.com]

In fact, that money is spent on clothes, nights out, and my astronomical rent (woo, New York City!) so fast that a budget is almost a laughable concept.

I’m willing to bet (I spend my money on gambling too, apparently) that you just may be in the same financial boat, which is why College Candy is here to help your broke ass out.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that budgeting your money isn’t so bad because–gasp!–it is now possible to manage your finances the same way we all manage our friends! How, you ask?

Social networking! It seems to be the only way we know how to do anything anymore. But, it’s so obvious! You gotta love it.

Financial social networking sites like Wesabe.com and Geezeo.com are here to save the day…and your pocketbook!

It works like traditional money managing software like Quicken or Money, but here’s the catch…your peers can offer feedback on just how well you are spending your paycheck. They can offer tips and tricks that may increase your savings or slash your debt. (Can they leave drunken wall posts too?)

The idea seems too good to be true! We all can use a (free) financial advisor and this offers us thousands! And I could use all the help I can get. Down and out college student? Don’t pretend your wallet couldn’t use a little boost or that you “don’t get it”. You use Facebook, right? Then get your poor butt in gear and start getting responsible!

And for all you worry worts out there, the networks are on lockdown. They work like standard banking sites, which means your personal info isn’t going to get in the grubby little hands of identity theives.

Your only worry now?

Who’s more trustworthy? A virtual stranger telling you to go for that loan or your own Prada-obsessed brain itching for a fashion fix?