I have sad news. If you get a great job after you graduate college, you’re still going to be poor. Ok, cue the sad trombone noise. I can’t believe I’m being this depressing on hump day!

But, I’m being serious and honest. Even if you get a entry level job out of college, money is low, low, low, low (and you won’t be buying boots wit dah fur, if you catch my drift). A few months after graduation, I got a fabulous job — the one I had dreamed about all throughout college. And it was the real thing! I had a salary, benefits, Monday-Friday gig and a huge smile plastered on my face. My paychecks were strong and lovely and I could officially afford my own apartment.

Get ready for another sad trombone noise.

Unfortunately, making enough money to make a small living after college was an incognito reality check for me. After spending my life living on an hourly wage or no wage at all, making that much money made me greedy and unrealistic. I started spending my paychecks freely. I shopped a lot (and not in the clearance rack) and when I started having to pay loans, I hardly had any money at all. I’d cringe whenever I filled up my gas tank, curse when I signed my rent check and had a bad mood if I ever had to pay extra for utilities on my apartment.

Basically, if you get that big girl job after college and start making real money, you don’t have any money at all. In fact, I should have had the mindset that I was more poor than before. Because I finally had the means to pay off the four years I spent sleeping and taking pop quizzes.

With all of the spending I was doing, while paying loans, while paying rent, while paying for my cell phone/groceries — saving money wasn’t even an option. At least it didn’t seem like it was. I could never catch up. I could never have more money in my bank account than I had the month before. Nothing was working. I couldn’t even swear off the mall and save some dough. Having money seemed impossible! What is this real world business? I can’t even go to Pottery Barn and buy fun stainless steel utensils for my kitchen!

Stop the sad trombone noises and see the glimmer of hope. I have some advice. As a warning though, you may need to swallow some pride. Because not having any money is a huge ego check and a sign you need to make some sacrifices to save the ching ching.

My first bit of advice? Move home for a year. YES, it seems embarrassing and awful. It seems like you would never have a social life again. But you will. And I’ve heard from many different people that not moving home at a young age was the worst decision of their life. Their life! Think about it. After college, all you need to do is catch up with your bills and how is one suppose to do that when they are writing a $700 rent check every month? Besides, it’s better to move home now than in your 30′s when you’re hundreds of dollars deep in credit card bills? Just sayin’.

My second bit of advice? Put aside envelopes for saving money. Label the envelopes: Coach purse, Spring Break, Car Insurance. Every paycheck, take out some cash and put $10 into each envelope. Then, instead of spending freely, you will know the means of money that are available to you for each perk. Credit card payments, no more!

Finally, live within your means and be realistic. The first three years of our careers are the hardest ever for money. Just because we have real jobs, doesn’t mean we can live like we’ve had real jobs for ten years. It’s all part of growing up.

So what have these ladies learned from the unfortunate demise of their no-budget lifestyle? Here are their top 10 tips for saving money, without skimping on style:

1. Shop at stores like the Goodwill, Plato’s Closet or Buffalo Exchange. Get the whole stigma of wearing someone else’s hand-me-downs out of your brain. These stores sell gently used name brand clothing at very affordable prices. If you’re patient and open-minded, you can find really great and unique things for your ever expanding wardrobe.

2. Only buy sale items!! You’d be shocked to see how fast most items make their way to the sale rack. At the end of the day you will be happy you waited it out a bit when you get that sweater at 50% off.

3. Map out your shopping trip in advance! Every girl loves a day of shopping just for fun, but this often leads to unnecessary and impulse purchases. Knowing what you need (which is different than want or even “oh my god, I want that SO BADLY!”) before you hit the mall is a great way to curb a wandering eye!

4. Buy clothes out of season. (Especially the basics that you know you’ll need every season: t-shirts, tanks, solid sweaters, winter boots.) They are usually on sale!

5. Turn your old jeans into shorts for the summer season.  Hey, it worked for Jessica Simpson!

6.Turn in used clothing for money at consignment stores and places like the Goodwill or Buffalo Exchange. Beyond shopping at those stores, sell at them! They’ll either give you cash back on the spot or you can opt for a higher exchange rate for store credit. There isn’t a better deal out there.

7. Share clothing with family. Note: this is different than simply stealing from your mom’s closet when you’re home from college for a weekend. In our family, we share our clothing. And not only with each other, but our two younger sisters and our step-mom. It allows for more options, and hey, 5 closets are better than 1! If you don’t have siblings, just share with your friends. You’ll get double, triple or quadruple the wardrobe without spending a dime.

8. Leggings are good for any season and cheap! To make your summer clothes work year round, put leggings underneath shorts or a dress and viola, your summer clothes just turned into a winter outfit!

9. Set a budget monthly to avoid overspending on clothes. Yes, budgets are boring but they are also the best way to keep you honest….and out of debt. They are also the best way to get you really thinking about your shopping so you prioritize what you need, REALLY want and just sorta buy because it’s cute and you’re bored at the mall.

10. Avoid credit cards. And only bring enough cash with you to get what you need.  You can’t spend cash on random things if you don’t have it!

[If you haven't seen the show yet, check out the season finale on December 18th. Not only will you learn some money saving tips, but it will make you appreciate everything you have!]

This week I was perusing USA Today (trying to find the crossword puzzle) and stumbled upon an article that struck me as, frankly, a bit terrifying. The article screamed HUGE DEBT, NO SAVINGS in my face, warning all of us in “Gen-Y” (that group of seventeen – twenty-somethings) that we’re the only generation unlikely to out-succeed our parents financially. Harrowing stuff, especially since we seem to be in a generation of “buy now, pay later.” And when we do buy,  we want the newest and shiniest and don’t settle for less than designer brands…. Not exactly recession-friendly behavior.

The article had me thinking about my own spending habits and the habits of my peers. I certainly have gotten my act together over the past year but still struggle with the little things. I write checks and forget about them until they hit my account. I have days where I spend ten dollars on Starbucks. And then other days when I spend $20. I went through a period where I didn’t pay off my credit card balance every month (never. again.). We all struggle with the economy and our own personal finances. Here are the top 10 ways to be a savvy spender and super recessionista.

10. Keep track of your spending.
Do you know how much you spent all day yesterday, to the dime? Well, you should. Keeping on top of every little expense can save you cash in the future and keep you mindful of where your cashflow is going.

9. If you can’t indulge, don’t indulge.
I’m not saying to give up every indulgence, but if you’re about to spend $200 on a dress that you don’t have, then either wait for it to go on sale or just walk away. The dress will always be there, so wait til the cash is.

8. PAY IT OFF.
If my dad is reading this right now, he’s falling out of his office chair laughing hysterically. It took me a year to pay off my credit card balance and you know what? The only way I could do it was to mail my credit card home and never, ever have it on hand. I’m sure there are people out there who can manage their money and understand that when you receive a credit card bill, you must pay it off every month. I was not one of those people. Fees, charges and overdrafts all affect your credit score and your finances. If you can’t handle it, don’t have it. If you can, pay it off every. single. month.

7. Write down your debt in a place you’ll see it
Paint it on your wall. Write it on your fridge. If you owe 50k in student loans, THINK ABOUT IT every time you spend money. Sure, buying shots for all your friends might seem like a great idea at the time, but that seventy dollars could be going to your loan payments. Do you really want to worry about student loans when you’re ready to take out a mortgage on a house?

6. Cut back on the frills
I love caramel frappucinos, fancy make-up and high-end jeans. But, if I skip the Starbucks and hit the office coffee machine, ditch Sephora for CVS and pass up Saks for the Gap, even just for a month, I’ll save over $400 a month. Trust me, no frapp is yummier than that.

5. Plan, plan, plan
Okay, so you want to go on vacation in two months? Plan all your expenses ahead of time. Flight, hotel, bathing suit, meals, drinks, etc. Once you lay out a budget and know how much you need to set aside, it will keep you saving.

4. Get by with a little help from your friends
Plan free or cheap activities with your girl friends. Spa day at home, baking and picnicking are huge budget boosters over salon mani/pedis, high end cupcakes or fancy dinners.

3. Take advantage of your Tech-savvy
Right, Gen-Y is terrible at saving money. We’re the generation that live in a recession and have more debt than any other generations. Blah. Blah. Blah. We get it. But, what’s that one perk that we have? We’re so tech-savvy. From twitter to iPhones, we know how to work the techy angles. So embrace it. Download finance managing apps for your phone or sign up for Mint.com to see where your money’s going. Be smart and savvy and use the tools available to help!

2. Think of the big picture
If you’re still in school you don’t feel the weight of your loans right now. Even if you don’t have loans, great, but you’re about to have a whole mess of new expenses coming your way. If you plan on ever buying a house, leasing an apartment or buying a car, save now and save often. You never know when life’s going to throw you a curveball and if you don’t have that financial cushion, things can get pretty ugly, fast.

1. Don’t stress.
Yes, thinking about finances sucks. I can’t think of anything that gives me more anxiety (not even the thought of putting on a bikini in less than a month). But don’t let all the statistics terrify you. Just take a deep breath, evaluate your spending (past and present), then plan for your future. Pretty soon you’ll be ballin with a big house and five cars before you know it. Just don’t put it on a credit card!

I GOT MY TAX RETURN! WOO! Thank goodness I have until May to figure out what I want to do with it.

This week has been 127 times better than last, shopping wise. I’ve been so busy that there hasn’t been much time to dig through F21′s new daily arrivals. Not shopping wise though, stress has been killing me. Exams, term papers, projects… I don’t even see my boyfriend anymore. And I live with him!

Not to mention that for the next five nights I’ll only be reachable at my place of employment, filling patrons with fajitas and margaritas on our newly opened outdoor patio. While I plan on making $$$ (and not spending any of it until next Monday), I can’t help but sighhh when I deliver sangria after sangria, and queso dip after queso dip, to groups of girls in the middle of the afternoon. That should be me! What this means is that when this challenge is over, I’ll need a big reward in the form of new sandals.

I won’t post my janky Microsoft Excel “budget sheet” this week because many readers (sorry to call you out, but not really) claim to have no sympathy for my “petty problem.” I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t need to blow money on clothes when I’m in debt with out-of-state student loans (yes, I pay myself for school, my apartment, everything), but it is not becoming a problem where I am $16,000 in debt a la Rebecca Bloomwood. Alcoholism is a problem. Peeping Toms are a problem. Wanting to look nice and have a good time in college is not a problem. I get my bills paid on time, I’ve been able to put a good amount of money into savings, and how I spend the rest of my money should be of no concern to anyone. Hell, my credit limit is $500, not $10,000! And most of it goes towards school books every semester. I know that being a writer for this website leaves me open to criticism, but I would not tell someone whose challenge is to cut out junk food, “There are starving children in _____! You shouldn’t been eating Cheetos to begin with, fatty!” (Fun fact: Cheetos are my guilty pleasure)

That being said, I’ve managed to pay another $50 on my credit card, bringing the balance down the lowest it’s been in months! And even though I made a brief pause at the window, I passed up the new Free People window display in a store on my way to Spanish class. I’m actually feeling really good about this month so far and although I can’t wait to spend my tax return, I don’t think I could ever go back to the hour long debates I have with the “submit order” button like I did last week. Saving money feels good and I’m starting to realize that I don’t need another scarf, another tank, another pair of jeans.

Only 5 of the 24 scarves I own.

Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. This month we’re following Kelly as she proves to her mom, and her wallet, that she can go one month sans shopping.

So because of a recent underwear purge (I estimate I have about 60 pairs), I found myself needing some nude n0-show undies for an ivory dress my mom bought me over Spring Break. What started as an innocent visit to VS.com for one $10 thong turned into a $250 shopping bag that won’t stop staring at me. There was a sale on swim suits, please don’t judge!

Besides being begged by my wish lists to type in my credit card number, I haven’t bought anything. But it has not been that easy. You don’t want to know how much will power it took to not by a t-shirt from the Alexander McQueen sale on Gilt yesterday ($99 instead of $300 to own some McQ? I die.)

On top of giving up shopping, I’ve been keeping track of exactly where I spend all of my money.

$105 on going out to eat in one week? How did I NOT catch that before? (For those of you wondering, I am not spending my parent’s money, all of the “Money Made” is cash I walk out with every night from work). I made $200 this week and as of now, I have nothing to show for it. I’m actually making myself a little sick thinking about it. I have a great job with potential to make great money to put away in savings or buy a vacation, but instead I spend it on BDubs and Hawkeye rum.

But what can I say? I love going out to eat with my friends and having a good time. Isn’t that what college is about? Giving up this lifestyle would be a great way to save money, but I’m not sure if that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

But just to prove (mostly to myself) that this week wasn’t a total bust, I made a $25 payment on my American Eagle credit card, $75 on my Visa, and $50 to Victoria’s Secret. Unfortunately the satisfaction of being financially responsible is not making me want a new swim suit any less.

That's not me. I wouldn't be caught dead in those shoes.

Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month we will be following a different CollegeCandy writer as she takes on a personal challenge. Last month we followed Norah from Drake University successfully get her swell on. This month we’re following Kelly as she proves to her mom, and her wallet, that she can go one month sans shopping.

Hello. My name is Kelly, and I’m a shopaholic.

I get more delight out of buying a new pack of Hanes v-necks than eating a Marco’s grilled cheese after bar close. Vogue is my porn of choice. Updating wish lists on all of my favorite online stores would be my favorite hobby. The feeling I get when someone compliments an outfit is complete ecstasy, and when I click “Confirm Purchase” after a successful skirt hunt, I reach the purest levels of happiness.

In that moment, life is perfect.

And my bank account officially hates me. I haven’t been able to put any money into my savings account for months because everything left over after food+bills+booze=clothes. I currently owe $142 to American Eagle, $86 to Victoria Secret, and my credit card is at its limit. I hide bags in the trunk of my car and tell my boyfriend I spend only $50 when I spent $150. Money leaves my pocket faster than ugly waitresses claim they had an affair with Tiger Woods and Jesse James and I’m sick of it.

So this month is going to be a hard one. Not only do I have to go 30 days without purchasing new swim suits or sparkly tank tops or dresses for my cat, I seriously need to take a good, hard look at the money I spend. My mom has actually called many times to talk about my money management and “saving money for after graduation” or some bullsh*t like that, and I don’t want to disappoint my mama! I honestly have no idea how it’s going to go and if I’m going to be able to do it. But, at least I get to share my misery with you ladies.

Here’s to hoping that there are no new spring clothing window displays on the way to class next Monday. Or no tempting emails from RueLaLa this weekend. Or no VS catalogs coming to my mailbox during the entirety of April.

Oh god. I’m scared.

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Woo! $1.00 off when you buy 12 cans of expired tuna!

Being an adult means making a lot of sacrifices. It’s about saying no to a dinner party because you can’t afford to bring more than stale bread ends. It’s about turning down movie offers because it costs 5 billion dollars to buy a ticket in NYC (and god forbid you want to see IMAX…bye bye, life savings!). And most unfortunately, it’s about buying store brands because you can’t justify shelling out for brand name mustard.

When I was younger (I’m referring to just a year ago) I would throw an absolute hissy fit in the grocery store if my mother even thought about buying non-organic eggs or frozen vegetables. The horror! I logically compared her buying non-free-range chicken to her murdering me in my sleep. But now I’m the one cruising the supermarket with a fistful of coupons and determination not to spend more than necessary. And if that means buying pre-opened food, cans with puncture holes, and expired meats on a discount, so be it. Like I said, it’s all about sacrifices. Like staying in on Saturday night because you have food poisoning from eating year-old salmon.

Penny pinching is one of my least favorite activities. It falls right between having to Google pregnancy symptoms and watching previews for Cougar Town. Yet the longer I’m out of school and the longer I go without finding out I inherited a fortune from a distant relative, the stingier I get. I practically fight over pennies on the street with homeless people. And that’s a new low.

Even for me.

I’m trying really hard to work on striking up a balance for myself. Like if I eat peanut butter crackers for a week for dinner, then I can treat myself by actually going out to dinner one night. But at the same time, I’m not getting out of control. By dinner I mean a side salad, an ice water, and a complimentary mint.

If I could go back in time and tell myself one thing when I was a college senior, it would be “You’re going to be poor so spend your drink money on lottery tickets and improve your pickpocketing skills.” But I can’t go back in time, because I depleted my Time Machine Fund on a ticket to see Avatar in IMAX. So now I’m stuck here in the present time, clipping coupons and eating old meat and wearing “irregular” socks under my faux Uggs.

Yeah, that's my life savings right there.

Because I’m making six pennies a year in my job after taxes, I follow a very strict budget that allows me to afford a moderate amount of food and a moderate amount of fun. There is no room for a savings plan in my budget so I just figured if I was extra careful nothing would ever go wrong.

Then last week everything went wrong.

I spilled sangria (or water according to the troubleshooting report I made to Apple) on my laptop, I dropped my straightener one time too many and it broke, and I found out my parent’s insurance company is onto me no longer being a student and has dropped me. For those of you non-accounting majors out there, that’s about 5 billion dollars worth of problems.

I had a minor panic attack. And by minor I mean I opened my window, stood on the ledge for a few moments, and thought about who I would haunt if I came back as a ghost. Then logic hit me and I realized that because I’m only one floor up I would just break a bunch of bones, sending me to the hospital and making my lack of insurance problem even worse.

So instead of jumping I thought of my other options. Luckily my grandparents who live in the city had a laptop I could borrow until I figured you out what to do about my laptop-turned-coaster. Unluckily it was designed for the partially blind. I’ve seen desktop computers more portable than this laptop. Hell, I’ve seen elephants smaller than this thing. The screen was about a football field long and the font was visible from space. This proved to be more than an inconvenience when I was blogging at WiFi cafes.  I was writing about STDs for one blog and let’s just say the employees at the cafe did not enjoy being able to read about gonorrhea while serving coffee. So not only did I have to blog from home all week, but I’m pretty sure I’m on a sex offender list now.

Which might have worked out better anyway considering my straightener situation. I can’t live without it  (or go into public places) because my hair’s naturally a combination of straight, curly, frizzy, and balding. Right now I have the iron permanently turned on hoping it’s just messing with me and still works. While I have no patience for a straighter with a sense of humor, I would take it if it means running those two hot plates of heaven through my unruly mane.

And as far as health insurance goes, well, it’s hard to get sick when you’re not leaving the house, right? And if I somehow do catch the Swine Flu, I’ll just steal someone’s identity who has insurance and load up on the meds.

In the meantime I’ll have to consider starting some kind of plan for saving. And by that I mean working on my pick-pocketing skills… or selling this laptop by the pound.

"I love....how much money we're saving by doing this."

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman, so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like lingerie!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

Even though I keep hearing the recession’s over, those of us on a student budget are still tightening our belts (and not because it makes us look thinner). A lot of innnovative ways to save have popped up in the last few years, but one of the most life-changing is the idea of moving in with the significant other to save on rent.

There are some good reasons girls are doing this, no question. First and foremost – money! Splitting your payments with a roommate makes the payments easier on all, but more over, by splitting with the BF your money (and his) is actually going to the place you’re both spending time. Most couples tend to spend most of their time at one person’s place (usually the one without the creepy or obnoxious roommate/that weird cabbage smell) so it makes sense to pool the money into that place’s rent instead of splitting it up between two different apartments when one barely gets used.  And the money crunch can be a good excuse for moving in – like, say, if your parents are a little less than thrilled about your relationship turning all grown up – if it was something you had planned on doing anyway.

The move in can also help you get to know someone in a way nothing else will – an important step if you’re thinking about a long-term future.

But that’s also a problem with moving in, isn’t it? Liking someone, even loving with them, is way different when you don’t have to find their dirty underwear on the living room floor. Even though you may spend most of your time together as a couple, most people reserve a few private behaviors for being alone in their own place (remember when you were scrubbing your face with baking soda? A little more awkward with the guy watching you). Even if you’re really, really comfortable with each other, there are certain things that have to be worked out when you live together: who’s turn is it to clean the bathroom? Where’s my dinner, man?

And then there’s all of those little habits that you put up with over at his place. They were cute then, but they may start to grate when you spend almost every minute of your private time together.

Also, we shouldn’t ignore that moving in with somebody is big thing, so making the decision because of money can be a bit risky. Like hooking up with a guy you really like after a night of tequila shots (oh god, do I know that story!) – sometimes it all works out for the best, and sometimes it leaves you nauseous and crawling for the door.

So, what do you say, ladies? Would moving in with you-know-who make your life easier? Or would it just lock you into a relationship? Would you move your stuff to save cash? Or would you rather shell out a little more for your privacy?

Duke. It. Out.