Money Sense

Check Your Money IQ

You know the price of a movie, CD and cup of coffee, but how about the cost of items you'll need to buy as a college student, or to set up your own apartment?

• The average cost of a college textbook is now $100 and you can expect to spend $300 to more than $500 each semester on books, depending on the school. By the time you graduate, your total book bill could be as much as $3,500.
• You can expect to pay about $115 per month for utilities (gas and electricity).
• You'll probably spend up to $400 a month on food, including snacks and eating out at fast food places.
• The average washer takes about $2 in quarters for a single load and drying can cost another $2. The $4 adds up over time. Even if you only do one load a week, that's more than $200 a year, without counting laundry detergent.
• You could spend as much as $2,400 annually on gas, oil, insurance and other costs if you own a car.
• Don't be surprised if you end up spending $225 a year on household cleaning supplies. Even the most frugal person still needs to buy soap, dishwashing detergent, paper towels and other essentials.

Save Your Credit Card for Emergencies

Thinking about using your credit card to pay for college? Think again. Let's say you use your credit card to pay tuition one semester, giving you a balance of $1,400. If you make only the minimum payment of $56 each month (and continue to pay 4 percent of your outstanding balance with a $10 minimum payment) at an interest rate of 18 percent, you'll end up paying $756 in interest─that's more than half the original amount you charged! The same $1,400 in a federal student loan would cost you at the most about $129 in interest, paying $50 a month at 6.8 percent. That's a savings of $627! See Credit Cards: Easy Does It (pdf) for more details.

Protect Yourself Again Identity Theft

• Keep your Social Security number, date of birth, driver's license, passwords, PINs and banking information confidential.
• Never give out any personal or financial information over the phone unless you made the call and know who you're talking to.
• Never respond to e-mails that look like they're from your bank, lender, college or others asking for personal or financial information. Real companies will never ask you for this information by e-mail or phone.
• Don't leave your personal or financial information lying around in your dorm room or apartment.
• Be careful about sharing personal information in chat rooms, blogs or discussion groups, including MySpace and FaceBook.
• Make sure Web sites are secure before providing your credit card number or other personal information. Look for sites that begin with “https” or have a small padlock icon along the bottom edge but outside the Web-page viewing area.
• Avoid “pharming” scams where you type in an almost-correct Web address but are redirected to a fake look-alike site.
• Check your credit report at least every six months. Look for unfamiliar accounts and incorrect addresses, signs of identity theft. Get your free credit report at Annual Credit Report Web site .
• Shred all documents with your Social Security number, bank account numbers and other personal information before tossing.
• Throwing out your old cell phone or computer? Be sure to destroy any stored information about yourself first.

Visit the Identity Theft Resource Center Web site  and  Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Web site  to learn more.

To help you get a clear picture of your income and expenses use the FYF Spending Plan worksheet (pdf) to help you.