This is guest post from Jeff Cohen, blogger at TheTextbookGuru.com and CEO of CampusBooks.

There’s no getting around it: college is expensive. But while you may not be able to do anything about tuition costs, there are tried and tested ways to take control of your financial situation without sacrificing the cherished college experience. Here’s how to do it:

1) Books

It’s easy to save money on textbooks as long as you avoid the campus bookstore. Check with friends to see if anyone has taken the class before you and has the textbook to lend you or exchange. If you can’t borrow, you’re your books through sites like CampusBooks.com, which offer coupons and will compare prices from a range of booksellers to get you the best deals. After the semester ends, sell your used textbooks online and recoup some of your losses using the same sites.

2) Food

Learn to cook! Ditch the local fast food chain and learn how to prepare your own nutritious food. Healthy doesn’t always have to mean expensive—buy in bulk from warehouse clubs like Costco, go generic, clip coupons, and try your local Farmer’s Market for great bargains. When all else fails, however, ramen noodles are an acceptable, if stereotypical, fallback—it’s hard to beat at less than a dollar a package.

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June is the the time of year that newly-minted graduates are headed off into a world of resumes, interviews and call-backs, all of which will hopefully lead to a job  and that much-needed paycheck. While most young adults don’t like to be told how to spend their money, planning for your first month’s income isn’t an easy task.

Instead of learning the hard way, I urge college grads to put some thought into their budgets before they even receive their first paycheck. Take the guess work out of your personal finances, and read these tips on how to properly spend and save your money.

Plan for taxes: Depending on which state you live in and your household situation, taxes can take a huge chunk out of your paycheck. To better estimate that amount, use a free paycheck calculator online. Also, start thinking of withholding as a means of saving. More withholding means a larger refund, which could be used to pay off student loans faster, or it could go towards a down payment on a car.

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As a college student, I have three main financial concerns: earning money, spending money, and saving money for college. Thanks to Upromise, two of my concerns are now combined into a system that makes saving for college so much easier!

Upromise is a free service that both parents and students can use to “earn” money for college by spending money on things you do everyday.

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A recent survey by Country Financial shows that many parents are reassessing where is the most important place to put their money. After three years of surveys where parents valued building a nest egg over saving for their children’s college education, the tides have turned.

More than 1,200 Americans were surveyed and 47 percent ranked saving for their children’s college education as more important than building their own retirement funds. This is completely opposite from last year’s results, when 47 percent of parents favored saving for their retirement than for their children’s college. Read the rest of this entry »