The following article is a guest post from Laura of Green Panda Treehouse. It’s also the first article in the College Money Network’s “Back To School Shuffle” series, where we will be sharing articles on a variety of back to school topics and giving away an iPod Shuffle and other prizes.

After graduating college, many people plan on starting work in a career they love, handle their finance responsibly, and build a fulfilling life. I want to show you how you can get your finances together with transportation. I’d like for you to be a college graduate without a car payment tied around your neck.

Lower Transportation Costs Now as a College Student

First off, do not spend a lot of money if you’re buying car in college. I recommend getting a car that can get you to class, work, and home. If that car is $1,000 or less, than go for it. I had a reliable car that was $500 and lasted 3 1/2 years. You can get a nicer car later, but you’re a college student and your income will be be lower than normal. Once your income increases after graduation when you are working full time, you can slowly increase your spending.

If you live in a city with decent public transportation, take advantage of it. It’s a great chance to free up some cash for later and you’ll be helping the environment.

Build an Automated System

Open a savings account specifically for purchasing a car. I use ING Direct for my savings and one advantage is you can open a sub-savings account very easily.

Every paycheck you receive, automate at least 5-10% of it to go towards your car fund. Have it deducted from your checking account into your savings account. You should be getting some income while in college because you want to build your resume up with practical work experience. Find an FDIC bank or CUNA credit union that offers high interest rates for savings and watch it grow faster.

I worked as a beer-tender occasionally to earn some cash and tips. I helped out during concert seasons, so I was usually out of school for most of the nights and it put some money into my pocket.

Use your tuition refund. Some savvy college students will be getting some money in the form of tuition refund. This is a great chance for you to sock away money. After setting aside money for your emergency fund, put 20-30% of your refund into your car fund account. As long as you don’t have any credit card debt, have fun with the rest of the money.

What kind of financial aid is available?

• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
• State Grants

Fill out your FAFSA early. Besides getting qualified for federal grants, filing easrly can also open up oppurunties to get state grants. You’ll cut down on having to rely on student loans.

Hunt for more scholarships. FastWeb is a popular site that searches applicable scholarships for you.

By taking advantage of automatic transfers, you can painlessly build a car fund that you can use after your graduation instead of getting a car loan and being in debt.

Your Take
How have you saved money for your goals?

The following is a guest post from Karen Schweitzer, author of the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes for OnlineCollege.org, a site that provides information about the best online colleges.

Twitter is becoming an increasingly popular way for teachers and other education professionals to connect with their students and each other. This popular social network is great all on its own, but there are many other tools that can be used to enhance the experience. Here is a list of 20 Twitters apps that would be useful to educators.

• Outwit Me – Outwit Me is a source for fun and intelligent Twitter games. These games are perfect for educators who want to use Twitter to engage students in vocabulary practice, the creative process, and other activities that require critical thinking.

• Plinky – Plinky is a Twitter app that posts a new writing prompt, challenge, or question each day. Twitter users are encouraged to respond with text, photos, maps, music, and more. Responses can be shared through Facebook, Twitter, and most blogging services.

• Twitxr – This free app sends pictures from a mobile phone to Twitter. It is an excellent tool for teachers and students who want to document a school event, field trip, or another special occasion.

• Tweetscan – Tweetscan works a lot like Google Alerts. It can be used to track specific keywords on Twitter. Every time a chosen keyword is mentioned a notification is sent via email.

• TweetDeck – TweetDeck is a personal browser that works with Twitter–perfect for teachers and other education professionals who want to manage multiple accounts and be more productive on Twitter.

• Tweetizen – Tweetizen is a free web-based tool that can be used to discover relevant tweets. It can also be used to track Twitter trends and groups.

• Posti.ca – Although this app wasn’t created exclusively for Tweeters, it does work very well with Twitter. Posti.ca can be used to create and send web-based sticky notes, files, and reminders.

• Twtpoll – Twtpoll is a free app that creates polls for Twitter. Twtpoll is an excellent way for educators and students to gauge public opinion around the world.

• TwitVid – TwitVid is one of the best ways to integrate video with Twitter. The app allows you to easily record and upload a video to your Twitter account.

• TwittEarth – This Twitter app is a virtual globe that maps out tweets around the world. Users can see where their Twitter followers are located and track Twitter trends in different countries.

• Twiggit – Twiggit is a useful app for educators and older students who want to combine Twitter with the social media site Digg. The automated service lets your Twitter followers know when you Digg an article.

• Twuffer – Twuffer is a free Twitter app that can be used to schedule and post-date tweets. It is perfect for teachers who want to line up assignments, announcements, and others posts ahead of time.

• Group Tweet – Group Tweet is a good messaging service for classrooms and other groups. It can be used to send private messages via Twitter.

• TweetFunnel – TweetFunnel was built for corporations and businesses but it would also work for classroom teachers. The app provides editorial control over team or group tweets.

• MrTweet – MrTweet is a free web-based tool that helps connect like-minded Twitter users. Teachers can use it to find other educators and classrooms with similar interests.

• Remember The Milk – Remember The Milk allows you to interact with Twitter via direct messages. It works well for teachers who want to remind students of homework, reports, and assignments.

• Twinkle – Twinkle is a location-aware app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app can help you discover and send messages to people who are nearby. It can also be used to upload photos and updates.

• TweetFeed – This fully-customizable application can be used to display and track relevant tweets. It makes an excellent research tool for teachers and students who want to follow and discuss current events, trends, and specific topics.

• Twitterfeed – Twitterfeed is great for blogging educators. It feeds blog posts to a Twitter account automatically so that content can easily be shared with followers.

• Twittervision – Twittervision is a visual way to connect with people. Simply move your mouse around the map to view Twitter users around the world.

Summer is here. It’s not quite as exciting when you’re not in college anymore. Unless you become a teacher or professor, you can say goodbye to three month summer vacations after you graduate. Once you get into the real world, summer just means the sun is still out when you leave work, and you can wear shorts if your workplace is casual.

There is one thing that doesn’t change after college though. In fact, no matter what stage of life you’re in, the sun seems to put everyone in a better mood.

The sunny weather finally got to me last week. I bought a grill and threw a barbecue over the weekend. The sun must have gotten to my friends too, because a bunch of them showed up. We enjoyed lots of food, music, drinks, and fun.

We were having so much fun that a couple of our neighbors came over to see what was going on. They’re both college students and just moved into one of the units in our complex. Talking to them about their summer jobs and internships made me feel like a young lad again and, of course, reminded me of what it was like when summer still meant vacation.

Because this first barbecue turned out to be such a success, a few of my friends mentioned making it a weekly event. The crazy thing is that it sounded like a good idea to me, and it still does now. I think my new goal for this summer is to throw as many barbecues as possible.

What are you doing this summer?

As I’ve gone through college, grad school, and now my first full time job, I’ve met people from all different backgrounds. Meeting people from such a wide variety of backgrounds is always exciting. Hearing about how other people have made it to where they are allows us to put our own situations in perspective.

When I think back to college, most freshmen show up with the cord still attached to their parents. College students are typically broke after all, and going to college is usually the first time we leave home. If you’re not calling home to ask for more money, then you’re probably calling because you’re homesick.

Of course, some people stay a little more attached than others. I know a few people whose parents completely covered the cost of college and grad school for them. I also know a few friends who had to talk to their parents at least once a day on the phone because they wanted to and/or their parents were checking up on them.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are those parents that cut the cord immediately after high school. Once their kids go off to college, they’re completely on their own. There’s no help from Mom or Dad anymore. Sometimes it’s intentional, and sometimes it’s because the parents are in so much debt themselves that they can’t afford to help out.

What has my experience been? It definitely falls somewhere in between. While I’m fortunate enough to have parents who saved enough to help me cover the cost of my undergraduate years, the cord was cut when I went to grad school. (That’s why this blog exists!)

Now it’s your turn. When did your parents cut the cord?

School’s out, and it’s that time of the year again. You know, that time where college students suddenly find themselves with nothing to do after spending weeks cramming for finals. As relaxing as not doing anything can be, it usually gets pretty boring after awhile, so instead of doing nothing, do something. Here are 6 ideas to help you make the most of your summer vacation.

Make some money.
I strongly believe that every college student should make an effort to get a summer job or internship. Why? Because if you don’t, the kid who sells lemonade at the corner of your street on hot summer days will officially have had a more productive summer than you did. Need some ideas? Check out these tips on how to make money for college students.

Do something you’ve never done before.
You may not realize it yet, but you have a running list of things to do before you die. Everyone does. We also have a limited amount of time to check everything off. While it probably isn’t feasible to make it through your entire list this summer (if it is, you need a better list), try to do at least a couple of the things on your list. Go skydiving, train for a marathon, hike up a mountain, drive across the United States, etc.

Give back.
Another great way to make your summer productive is by helping others. While you may not have the time or flexibility to volunteer during the school year, the summer is great because your schedule is probably wide open. Find something that matches your interests. It could be anything from cleaning a local park to mentoring at-risk children to coaching a sports team.

Pick up a new hobby.
A lot of people complain about hobbies sucking up all of their spare time. Perfect. Not only will you keep yourself busy, you’ll have something new to impress your friends with when you go back to school (depending on the hobby that you choose). If you still have spare time after picking up a new hobby, try pick up another one.

Rediscover an old pastime.
If you’re like a dog and don’t like new tricks, then rediscover some of your old ones. A lot of our hobbies tend to go by the wayside as we grow older, but that doesn’t mean they’re forgotten. It’s time to dust off those rollerblades and hit the park. Of course, you might want to do a test run in your driveway in case you did somehow manage to forget.

Fall in love.
Ah, summer love. Who wouldn’t want some of that? What’s there to say about something as unpredictable as love? All I can think of is that the more active you are (perhaps doing the other five things on this list), the greater your chances of this coming true.