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Remember-direct deposit saves you time and protects Mother Earth. That’s why NACHA has designated the month of May to highlight the many benefits and resources available to individuals and companies of using Direct Deposit as a means of streamlining processes and saving money. With it, NACHA is promoting all things Direct Deposit and Direct Payment including What it is, how it works, the benefits; implementation and marketing tools and resources; calculation tools to estimate how much you can save by switching your organizations payroll from paper checks to Direct Deposit; how to communicate the benefits of Direct Deposit and Direct Payment; and how to increase employee benefits by adding split deposit to your payroll program. Learn more today at www.electronicpayments.org today!

If you’re graduating this spring and you don’t have a job lined up, you mayhave a tough time finding one. Even graduates from the class of 2009 are still finding their degrees not as useful as they had hoped. A study reported by the New York Times shows that of all 2009 graduates, 22.4% aren’t working. Of the 77.6% with jobs, 22% have jobs that don’t require a college degree.

These numbers are bleak, but not impossible to overcome.

In a study reported by CBS, 55% of college graduates believe their education helped them prepare for a job or career. And the wage gap between high school and college graduates is reported at nearly $19,550. To make sure you start off your job search on the right foot, here are three quick steps to take.

1. Polish your resume. Your resume is your chance to market yourself to potential employers. This means it should not be a full autobiographical document. The pas

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MasterCard and Brighter Planet introduced their joint program to make carbon emissions analysis easier for your business. In response to the nearly 80% of companies expressing interest in green travel initiatives, MasterCard “Carbon Emissions Reporting” feature represents the first time that automatic reporting and analysis of estimated travel-related carbon emissions data will be available through your MasterCard corporate card based on your card transactions. The “Carbon Emissions Reporting” program provides access to new data that is increasingly valued by companies as they strive to benchmark sustainability goals and initiatives, confront sustainability standards on their supply chains, and address the environmental concerns of stakeholders.

Congratulations to you, recent grad! You’ve just received your degree, and now you’re ready to enter the world.

But get ready, because you’re not in college anymore.

Whether you’re entering the working world or continuing your job search, you’re going to need to budget, especially if you’ll be paying off student loans, like over a third of Credit Karma users.

Consider some of the following tips for making smart money choices to budget your money.

Watch your costs.

Credit cards. In order to build your credit, a credit card can be a useful tool. But if your card tempts you to spend money you don’t have, take extra precautions. Leave your credit card at home when you go out with friends and take cash you’ve budgeted for the evening. Use your credit cards on expenses for which you’re prepared to pay back in full, like a grocery run. And be sure to pa

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A cartoon from “The New Yorker” caught my eye back in 2000, when I was fairly new to writing and editing personal finance stories.

In the cartoon, dad’s sitting on the couch with his son, as mom stands in the background, fear in her eyes. A computer is in the other room. “It’s very important that you try very, very hard,” dad says to his son, “to remember where you electronically transferred Mommy and Daddy’s assets.”

Eleven years of electronic progress later, many of us are carrying around smartphones and tablet devices. With them come new and even easier ways for our children to drain our bank accounts — accidentally, through games aimed at an audience that lacks a firm grasp on the difference between real and imaginary money.

My colleague Matt Schulz got a lesson recently how a 4-year-old’s little fingers can poke a big hole in your savings.

I’ll turn it over to him:

“The day I got my iPad,” Matt says, “my son and I were playing a fishing game through the GameCenter that comes with every iPad.

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