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?

Earlier this year I shared how I’ve made over $500 with CashCrate. Now I’m back to share how I’ve made over $1000 with CashCrate.

In case you’re wondering, CashCrate is a simple, easy way for broke college students to make some extra cash while putting off studying and homework. Trust me. I joined CashCrate while putting off my thesis, and it definitely succeeded in both making me some extra money and putting off my thesis.

CashCrate is one of the more popular “Get Paid To”, or GPT, sites. You make money by filling out surveys and completing trial offers. While most of the other sites you’ll find about CashCrate make it sound like the most exciting thing in the world, I refuse to lie to you. Filling out surveys and completing trial offers is boring. Even though it’s pretty easy to do, the process can be a little confusing for newcomers.

Luckily, I’ve documented some of my CashCrate experiences and shared them on my site to help you out, because everyone can use some extra cash. In my article on how to make $24 with CashCrate right now, I provide a step-by-step explanation of how I completed three trial offers and earned $24 from CashCrate, and it only took about an hour’s worth of my time.

Since you can only do each trial offer once, you’ll eventually run out offers to complete, but thanks to CashCrate’s generous referral program, you can keep making money. For each person you refer to CashCrate, you’ll receive 20% of your referrals’ earnings, and a $3.00 bonus for each referral who earns at least $10. By telling your friends about CashCrate, you can help them make some extra money too (and earn a few extra dollars for yourself in the process).

In fact, all of the money I’ve made with CashCrate this year has been through referrals and bonuses. Just take a look below.

This is a guest post by Joshua Heckathorn, who runs Creditnet.com and holds an MBA and B.S. in Finance. Creditnet is a free resource for anyone who wants to learn more about credit and compare hundreds of credit cards online. When Josh isn’t glued to the screen of his Mac, you’re bound to find him at the nearest rock-climbing wall or sushi joint around Seattle.

The new rules of credit have once again ignited controversy around when one is considered a legal adult in the United States. Is it 18 or 21? We just can’t seem to make up our mind.

Yes, you can buy cigarettes and even choose to defend your country at age 18, but according to the new rules, you’re not mature enough to decide whether you can handle the responsibilities of credit. Does that seem fair? Perhaps not, but supporters of the legislation argue that young adults, whether they like it or not, need greater protection to help them avoid falling into massive amounts of debt prior to graduation.

According to SallieMae, the average college senior with at least one credit card graduated with $4,138 in credit card debt in 2008. That’s more than a 40% increase since their previous study was completed in 2004, and 2009 will likely be worse as tuition expenses soar and other lending sources remain in a deep freeze.

The rise in student credit card debt is clearly a problem, but many people aren’t convinced the new rules of credit will actually solve the underlying issue – a lack of financial education among young adults. That’s a tough issue to solve, and in my opinion it must first be tackled by those responsible for raising our nation’s youth – parents and legal guardians. But that’s an entirely different article. For the time being, we’ll just have to make due with what our elected officials have given us.

So, let’s quickly review what you need to know about this new law. Signed on May 22nd, the Credit Card Act of 2009 essentially bans credit cards for people under 21 unless they have adult cosigners or can prove they have sufficient income to support the level of credit given. No one really knows what “sufficient” income means yet, but you can expect to hear more details on this before the law takes full effect in February 2010. The bottom line is if you don’t have a credit card by next February, you’ll have to either beg for mom or dad’s signature or prove you have a job that provides enough income to support a revolving credit line.

In addition, you won’t have to sift through dozens of prescreened credit card offers in your mailbox anymore. Credit issuers are banned from sending them to anyone under 21. And there’s no need to worry about getting an unexpected credit card in the mail after signing up for a free pizza during student orientation. Giving away any type of “freebie” for credit card applications at a college-sponsored event is also banned.

While the Credit Card Act has certainly brought about some much needed changes to protect young consumers from predatory-lending practices, it’s difficult to comprehend how restricting credit for those under 21 will address the underlying issue of financial education. Parents who already foot students’ tuition and credit card bills will likely just cosign for new credit cards and continue paying the bills. Will any of these students learn more about how to manage credit wisely? Very few.

On the other hand, responsible students who are working hard to put themselves through school without parental support might discover they have no access to credit when they need it most. Of course, no credit means no credit score, which will make their lives even more difficult as they enter the real world and need to rely on their credit score to finance a car, home, or even a graduate education.

What do you think of the Credit Card Act? Do you believe the age restriction on credit will have positive long-term effects?

As I sit here in the luxurious comfort of my Ikea bed, typing this post on my (mostly) shiny, (not quite as) new MacBook Pro, I can’t help but think about how I’ve been managing my money lately. I feel like I’ve been spending a lot of money recently even though I haven’t racked up any debt. At the same time, I’ve still been saving a lot of money, because I have part of each paycheck automatically put into my Roth 401(k) and Roth IRA.

In addition to getting a MacBook Pro, I recently bought a barbecue grill, because you can’t go through summer without grilling food. Of course, it’s not as fun to just barbecue for yourself, so I’ve been inviting friends over. It’s been a lot of fun, but it has definitely put a dent in my wallet. The fun has been worth every penny though.

Spending money is way easier than saving money, because the gratification is immediate. When I bought the grill, I could bring it home and grill a steak on it immediately. If something makes you happy now, who cares about later?

Saving money is all about later though. Putting money into my retirement accounts provides me with practically no immediate benefits now, but it has the potential to pay off big later. The problem is that later is so far away, it’s hard to even imagine what my life will be like then.

Like many things in life, I think the trick is finding a balance between spending and saving that works for you. Instead of asking “Now or later?”, you should try thinking about “Now and later.” Sometimes the answer is as simple as candy.

Have you been spending your money or saving your money?

There aren’t very many areas of life where you get rewarded for being bad. In fact, most of us learn at a very young age that bad behavior has its consequences — getting a spanking, having to sit inside during recess, getting after-school detention. As we get older, we realize that things really don’t change that much. Bad behavior still has its consequences although the stakes do get a little higher (e.g. ending up in jail).

However, another thing we learn as we grow up is that everything depends on your perspective. What one person sees as bad may be considered good by somebody else. Let’s take credit cards for example. From my point of view, I’m a great credit card user. Thanks to the credit card companies, I get cash back and rewards for money that I was going to spend anyway.

Credit card companies see things differently though. In fact, the credit card industry even has a name for people like me — deadbeats. That’s right. I’m a credit card deadbeat and proud of it. Guess what? You can be a deadbeat too.

Use your credit card like it’s cash. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that if you use your credit card like it’s cash, then you’ll never end up in debt. Why? Because if you treat credit cards like cash, then you’ll never spend more than you actually have. Easier said than done, I know, but nobody said being a deadbeat was easy.

Pay off your full balance each month. Once you start treating your credit card like it’s cash, you’re well on your way to becoming a successful deadbeat. The next step is simple. Since you’re already spending within your means, you should be able to easily pay off your credit card balance in full every month. Credit card companies hate that.

Cash in on the rewards. So now that you’re spending only what you can afford and paying off the full balance each month there’s only one thing left to do — milk the credit card companies for the rewards. Get yourself some cash back, gift cards, plane tickets, or whatever else you can find, and then enjoy! You are now the ultimate credit card deadbeat. Being bad has never felt so good.