Money money money

You've got a job, you're earning money, and it's a great feeling. Out with pocket money, in with wage slips. Get in! But with money comes responsibility, and the better you are at handling it, the more you can enjoy it.

Banking

High street banks

There's a whole range of high street banks battling it out for your custom, so shop around for the best account to suit your needs. Look out for a wide range of services and how near your local branches are.

Internet banking

If you would prefer to manage your money from the comfort of your computer chair, there are an increasing number of online banking services springing up. These make it easy for you as you can handle everything online, 24/7.

Ethical banking

Some banks invest their money (i.e. your money) in companies that lack environmental policies, or invest in arms manufacturing and experimenting on animals. If this doesn't sit right with you, opt for an account with a bank that will only invest in ethical companies.

Banking facilities

Current accounts

This is the standard bank account, which will give you a debit card, a cheque book and access to banking services.

You don't get Swiss bank accounts until you've made your millions we're afraid.

Debit cards

This is the plastic card you can use for withdrawing cash and paying for things in shops and so on. You'll be given a Personal Identity Number (PIN) that you memorise and type into automated teller machines (ATM), and Chip and Pin machines, to get your hands on your cash. You must keep the number secret and be security conscious when using your card, it's the link to your money so you don't want to lose it. Treat them carefully, it's easy to forget that you're actually spending money when you just hand over a card, trust us (Oh, the poverty).

Standing orders

This is an instruction you give to your bank to make regular payments of a fixed amount, either to someone else or another account in your name. You can change or cancel it at any time.

Direct debits

A direct debit is when you give authority to someone else to claim money from your bank account on an agreed date, for example to pay bills or loans. It's an automatic process, so you won't forget to pay the rent. Handy, really.

Cheques

You might get issued with a cheque book that you can use to pay bills and other services. A cheque is simply a slip of paper telling your bank to move money from one account to another, which normally takes about three days.

Borrowing

Overdrafts

An overdraft is when you have less than zilch in your account and you are in effect borrowing money from the bank. They often charge you for this service, there's no such thing as free money, alas.

Credit cards

Carefully now... Like a debit card, this bit of plastic temptation will allow you to buy things now and pay for them later. Sounds grand, but there's a big catch, at the end of the month a bill will land on your doorstep, and unless you clear your balance in full each month, you'll find a mountain of interest on top of the sum you originally forked out. If you're not careful you can end up in an ever-increasing spiral of debt that's a nightmare to get out of. If you possibly can, steer clear of credit.

Loans

A loan is an arrangement for your bank to lend you an agreed sum of money for a specified period of time with monthly repayment amounts. This won't come for free though, your bank will charge you interest on the amount. However, as the interest is usually lower, this is a better way to borrow than with a credit card.

Instant budgeting

Work out how much income you have, including wages, grants, loans and parental hand-outs. Then write down all your outgoings including rent, bills, food, socialising, mobile phone, car costs, bank charges and so on. Once you've done all this, compare the totals of each list. If you haven't got enough coming in to cover what's going out, then you either need to cut back on non-essential items like clothes and holidays, or find a way to earn more money.

Interested?

What's this 'interest' thing? Nothing to do with how exciting banking is (for obvious reasons). It's simply money that's paid as a fee for money being loaned. So your bank pays you interest because you give them your money; you pay them interest when they give you theirs in the form of loans or overdrafts.

Money talks

Here's what the writing around the rim of pound coins means:

• 'Decus et tutamen' - 'An ornament and a safeguard' (Latin)
• 'Nemo me impune lacessit' – 'No one provokes me with impunity' (Latin)
• 'Pleidiol wyf I'm gwlad' – 'I am true to my country' (Welsh)

In case you ever wondered, y'know.

Money matters

The Financial Services Authority has loads of info on everything to do with money; credit, debt, pensions, savings, hoarding under the mattress...all here.