Higher education can be a real challenge with both an abrupt lifestyle change and some serious education. Unfortunately, that education could include a course in personal finance via The School of Hard Knocks. College is already expensive and doesn’t need additional financial pitfalls. According to College Board, an average college student at a public university will pay nearly $18,000 for tuition, fees, room and board for the 2012-2013 school year. That’s some real-world finance right there.

Many students aren’t ready for the financial grind of living on their own. There are mistakes that are easy to make. That’s where Vantage Credit Union’s College Resource Center can help. You’ll find all kinds of advice on all kinds of topics. One includes the seven worst money mistakes made by students. Let’s take a look.

So that knock at the door was a neighbor girl selling Girl Scout cookies, not the Publisher’s Clearing House Prize Patrol delivering that big check. And the phone call before that was Aunt Edna describing her latest bout with achy joints, not your financial guy with advice on what to do with your Powerball winnings. Nope, you’re still not rich. But why?

Believe it or not, there might be concrete reasons as to why you’re not “rich,” or at the very least, more comfortable in your financial skin. Let’s take a look at a few reasons that might be responsible, courtesy of Yahoo! Finance.

So you were hurrying to work, late for a meeting, and you backed out of the driveway a little too quickly...YIPE! YIPE! YIPE! It’s all right, Gizmo is going to be fine...after a hefty vet bill. And you were just getting ahead financially. Sheesh. File it under “Life Happens.”

Kids. Car trouble. Spending spree. Unexpected illness. Yes, life happens, with or without our consent. It’s filled with twists and turns, many times with expenses for which we haven’t planned.

And when life happens, everyone has a story to tell.

10:00 a.m. Here come the stomach growls, time for a mid-morning snack.

Today it’s a bag of chips and a diet soda. Total cost: $1.75. That won’t break the bank … but how about your budget? Have you ever thought about how all those easily forgettable little expenses can add up? Let’s take a look at just a few you may view as trivial at the time of purchase. You’ll soon see they add up to very real amounts over the course of a year.

Welcome to 2012! Well, almost. How’s that list of resolutions coming along? While a new diet or the promise of a new workout routine is nice, don’t overlook your financial health. The new year is a perfect time to review your finances and insurance needs. Oftentimes things change and you need to adjust accordingly.

So maybe we’re a little impartial when it comes to places that offer financial services. O.K., we’re intensely impartial. We’re down with credit unions, all credit unions. We’re a pretty unique bunch of financial institutions, we are. But when people talk about credit unions as alternatives to banks, many times there are questions, which is good; you want to be as informed as possible when it comes to something as important as your money. So to put minds at ease, let’s take a look at some of the concerns involving credit unions.

As a kid, it’s likely most of us hated this time of year, when all the Back-to-School stuff started hitting the stores. Who wanted to hear about school when there were still weeks of summer left to enjoy? Buy-One-Get-One-Free socks and rulers? Ugh!!!

But as we get older, we saw how preparation plays a role in life. You can’t always wait until the last minute, especially with something as important as education, which is why when considering college and all its escalating costs, whether a parent or a student, you need a plan early on for how you’ll pay for it. And your starting line should be high school. No, not as a senior, but as a sophomore. Our friends at Bankrate.com give us some tips on what to do and when to do it.