A student’s guide to money

College is an exciting time, but suddenly becoming responsible for their own finances can be daunting for students. Here are 10 tips from Worcester-area financial advisers that can help students make smart money decisions in college — and beyond.

• Budget. Look at your monthly income, whether it comes from a part-time job or parents, and subtract your expenses, rent and bills, not just personal items.

“Budgeting helps keep you disciplined,” said JoAnn G. Morency, senior vice president of retail banking at Commerce Bank in Worcester.

“Since most of my spending money is earned over the summer, I try to take the cost of books, organizational dues and travel into account before I even arrive on campus,” said Kaitlin M. Wojnar, a senior English and psychology double major at Amherst College.

• Use a debit card before a credit card.

“Think before you grab the piece of plastic,” said William E. Philbrick, senior vice president at Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull and Bistoli, a public accounting firm in Worcester. “If students find themselves with an overdraft on a debit card, they shouldn’t even touch a credit card.”

Overdraft charges on a debit card are costly but still cheaper in the long run because overdrafts won’t affect credit scores.

Lisa A. Mayer, a senior hospitality and tourism management major at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst has only a debit card. “It’s basically like cash and I can’t go out and spend $100 which I don’t technically have. It really makes me think about my spending a lot more,” she said.

• Know your account balance at all times.

“Knowing in your head what you have isn’t good enough,” said Carol A. McGrath, marketing director at Webster Five Cents Savings Bank in Webster.

Miss McGrath recommends using a checkbook ledger, but because students are more apt to bank online, check your balance daily.

“I use a program called Mint to keep track of my balance at all times,” said Dane A. Phillip, a civil engineering major at North Shore Community College. “I check my balance and charges at least once a day.”

Mint.com is a free service that can be downloaded.

• Save by paying yourself first.

“A common problem that everyone faces is that if you try to save your leftover money at the end of the month, there is nothing left,” said Rosemarie A. Boyd, founder of the Boyd Financial Strategies in Shrewsbury. How much you save depends on your goals.

• Starting small with savings.

“Starting small has a lot of value,” said Ellen W. Dorian, senior vice president of marketing at Marlboro Savings Bank in Marlboro.

Ms. Dorian suggests students look for places where they can make small sacrifices and put away $10 a month into a savings account. Small amounts will make a big impact when you allow time for your money to grow.

Steven N. Pokalsky, a senior economics major at UMass-Amherst, isn’t saving for retirement, but for graduate school.

“I don’t really budget my spending consciously, but I try to save what I can since I’m not working right now.”

• Keep a list of what you have in your wallet.

Nancy B. Cahalen, president and chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau of Central New England Inc. in Worcester, suggests compiling a list so you don’t waste any time in calling your bank if your wallet is lost or stolen.

“Keep the list in a safe place,” Ms. Cahalen said. “Not in your wallet!”

• Don’t be late with credit card payments.

“The biggest urban myth about credit card payments is that ‘If I’m late one time it won’t hurt my score,’ ” said Lora A. Baldracchi, vice president of retail lending at Southbridge Savings Bank in Worcester.

Payment history is 35 percent of your credit score, so being on time does count. Call your bank to see what can be done to help you be on time.

“I have been late on a payment! I was late only because I didn’t know the payment was due, so I just paid it ASAP and was charged a late fee from the bank,” said Jennifer Tran, a senior English major at UMass at Amherst.

• Read the find print when you’re opening your first checking account.

Diane M. Thompson, a training officer at UniBank in Whitinsville, recommends a statement savings account. “Shop around to find the right checking account,” Ms. Thompson said.

Many student checking accounts have extra benefits such as the ability to use an ATM card at other banks without paying a fee for the first few transactions.

“I chose my bank because it is a smaller, local bank and I think they provide better customer service,” said Kevin M. Harrington, a senior political science major at UMass at Amherst.

• Craigslist scams. Craigslist is an easy way for students to sell items such as furniture, but beware if a buyer “accidentally” sends more than the price then asks you to wire the difference back quickly, not allowing time to see if the check clears.

“The key word is wire,” said Thomas J. Melia, a fraud investigator for Unibank in Whitinsville. “Now the money has gone overseas and very few people get caught.”

If you have been scammed, notify the local police department.

“If I ever find myself giving personal information, I always know who I am giving it to. I’m usually very cautious when it comes to the Internet and my personal information,” said Paul T. Agne, a sophomore psychology major at Clark University in Worcester.

• Never give out your PIN. No matter how much you trust your boyfriend, girlfriend or friends in general, keep confidential your PIN number (the number used to access your account at ATMs).

“If you give your card to someone and they use it again and again or take all your money, we can’t help you get your money back at all,” said Jacqueline S. Jones, branch manager of the Barre Savings Bank in Paxton.

Energy Matrix - Low Glycemic Weight Loss Drink

GBG, which stand ups for Guided by God, have released the first ever low glycemic energy drink that have Food and Drug Administration and FTC claims confirmation phone call "energy matrix".

Your day-to-day modus operandi may include getting a cup of java at "Starbucks" or going in to a supermarket or service station to acquire a day-to-day hole of caffeine. A couple of my favourites include a "white cocoa mocha" from Starbucks, which be me easily over $3.00 per drink, and the other is "Rockstar Energy" drinks, which can be around $3-$4 per drink. The astonishing thing is the refined refined refined sugar content in these highly tasty, yet possible deathly syrups.

The sugar content in "ROCKSTAR ENERGY" drinks will stun you!!

16oz can of original Rockstar Energy - 62 grammes of sugar!!! That's 14.5 teaspoons of sugar!!!
24oz can of original Rockstar Energy - 91 grammes of sugar!!! That's 21.6 teaspoons of sugar!!!

That's insane people!!!
(4.2 grammes = 1 teaspoon) according to about.com

Now on to Starbucks - White Person Cocoa Mocha's

(I can feel your fearfulness rising!!)

16oz Serving - 58 grammes of refined refined refined refined sugar = 13.8 teaspoons of sugar

20oz Serving - 74 grammes of sugar = 17.6 teaspoons of sugar

On to "ENERGY MATRIX" nutrition info:

Easy, just 2 grammes of naturally processed sugars. (natural because this is the amount of natural refined sugars that come up from the procedure of making the patented "PeachSweet" sweetening in the drink, which is obviously a by-product of Peaches.) Energy Matrix is also "low glycemic", which intends it have small to no consequence on blood refined sugar levels, while maintaining "FDA and FTC claim substantiation". Try and acquire that consequence from imbibing a Rockstar. Sure they do a "diet" version of the drink, but with new lawsuit surveys showing golf course to malignant neoplastic disease and other complications, then you are just trading 1 disease for another. (that is according to "cancer.gov" survey of one-half a million people in 2006) By the way, any hyper linked topics in this article are from confirmed sources, and not just wobbling gander on my part.

Now I am just as aghast as you are. If you are like me, then you will believe 10 modern times before making that adjacent halt and the convenience shop or Starbucks. No wonderment United States have such as a job with Diabetes!

Google Services top on Mobile Web in India

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Make money online: Here's some quick fact!

Online paid research surveys are golden chance for person who look out for earning money sitting in the comforts of their house and when they feel free and it's not a bit hum drum like entering data or filling a form instead challenging and exciting.

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With some experience you can also be a part of focus groups where you can interact with the other persons and interchange your thoughts and know-how about a particular brand or service. These focus groups are lucrative and well paid contrary to other general surveys. These can be very time consuming and exhaustive. Members of focus groups are entitled to free vacations, lucky draws and great discounts.

Paid surveys are something which could be useful for persons who want to earn some extra. It can be steady but not a job. These online surveys can be a useful when you have an internet connection and some spare time. The most fascinating thing about online surveys is that these offer you a terrific flexibility of time.

Online surveys have some troubles linked with them as well. The scam websites are something user should avoid and get beware of. Scam websites ask money from users for database of survey companies. Along with that they don't give an instant membership and promise offers which they never provide. Some survey websites sell your personal data to another telemarketing companies due to which you receive unwanted call or spam mails in your inbox. With some cautions one can continue to earn money. User should check the background of websites before signing up. This will help them to understand the reputation of the website in paid surveys. The legitimate websites are uploaded with changes and status at least on a weekly basis. Always read and probe who are they and their privacy and financial policies.

Secure your family with ADT home security systems!

‘Precautions are always better than cure’ one who adopts this policy would never face any hurdles in life. Going out for a vacation with your family, go to work or just relaxing at home, one major thing for which you are worried is home and your valuables-how to secure it? They should be free from any threat and destruction from fire. There are so many home safety items, coming from high end to low end, which will ensure your home fully-protected. While the home security systems mentioned below may vary from one office to another, their common features are somewhat similar.

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Audio and video home security device are commonly used to secure your house. There are different types out there in the market. You can either place them inside or outside of your property. There are also wireless cams that are suited outside your house. No need to worry during rains if they get destroyed when wet, they have weatherproof features. All the shots are recorded and can be seen on the security monitors. You can also keep a copy of the video for yourself by saving them in a hard drive or your personal computer. Generally, these video cams have movement detectors in them, which start recording only when motion is detected.

Now the point is from where to get ADT home security system? Among a long list of companies which would be the best the best partner of yours. . All of which would provide ADT Monitoring Services after your installation is complete. The major difference is how much money you will need to outlay to get the home security system and what security equipment you will get at the time of installation. Also, there are various monitoring packages available that will vary to some extent from company to company.