ING Direct

I heard about ING Direct’s Orange savings account a few years ago and have not stopped talking about it since. It has one of the highest yields for an FDIC insured - no fee - no hassle online account. Sign up was extremely easy and required no minimum deposit. Their website is also very user friendly, something you do not often see with banking sites. Although their yield varies, it has floated around 4.5% for the past year - often beating most money market accounts!

Equifax

Knowing your credit score is the first step to building solid credit. If you have any open credit accounts, checking your score will help you gain a solid understanding of the ‘trust’ creditors have in you - which of course determines how much money you can borrow. If your score is low, check on the Mission Tuition guide to building good credit.

Google Adsense

Online content publishers all know - adsense is your friend (when done tastefully). Please check out the “blogging for bucks” article on how to make some extra cash through blogging, I cover all sorts of advice for blog monetization.

eBay

If you haven’t heard it by now - eBay is the way to make money online. Take all of your old junk, your friend’s junk and parent’s junk - through it eBay and watch the bid price rise. Of course it is a little more difficult than that - but surprisingly not as hard as you think. Check out eBay if you have not already.

Half.com

Half.com (a child of eBay’s) is probably the easiest way for college students to get a taste of e-commerce. Half.com is an amazingly simple and financially rewarding means of getting rid of your old textbooks. It is also a great way to save money on textbooks as well (see the college resources page).

“The Richest Man in Babylon”

I found this book in my guidance department early senior year and went out and bought it later that day. Ben Kaplan gives a great overview on how to best tackle the financial aid process. How to Go to College (Almost) for Free helps break down the scholarship process especially - he provides some great tips on essay writing.

“Rich Dad Poor Dad”

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a classic in the personal wealth building arena. I read the book during my freshman year in College and have recommended it ever since. My main take away was this - PASSIVE INCOME - Get Paid in the Shade.

“The Millionaire Next Door”

One of the first books on wealth management that I read, Millionaire Next Door profiles the average millionaire (an individual hardly to be called average). There are quite a few surprising statistics and some thoughtful insights on the mindset of millionaires. One major shocker for most people is the frugality of millionaires - they don’t all drive Bentleys.