Quote Originally Posted by Greyblades View Post
I have recently come into money, not an inheritance but a monthly £500 from my parents to help out with college, so that I dont end up spending too much of my student loan on my daily commute. I've worked out that currently, taking away an average expenses, I have a profit of around £220, £300-350 if I eat packed lunches and dont buy food.
While I really do appreciate my parents sacrifices I have no illusions that it is a concrete income, the current economic climate and issues with the NHS's on call system going out the window means they will face a 1/4th-1/3rd pay cut and I really dont feel right leaching off them even more that I have through my childhood.
I know about working, getting a job for a salary etc, but I dont know anything about the alternatives people use to make money. I know the words business, stocks, bonds, capital, futures, gold standard, wall street, and I might even have some partial notion as to what they technically mean, but really I have no clue what they mean to me. I've read rich dad poor dad and I know that becoming wealthy or even breaking even isnt easy outside of salaries, that that rich people make more money by making thier money work for them.
I've spent the last 3 months having no cluehow to manage money and I dont really want to spend the next 3 years doing that. I've got an income, I've met several people on this board that seem to know alot about economics, and I have no clue, so I would really appreciate some help telling me what I can do with money.
Not entirely sure what you're asking so I'll say a few things first.

Be aware of what you're buying. Is it on special? Is it necessary? Can you afford to buy it?
Check with your centrelink type agency to see if you can get any payouts (youth allowance, rent assistance, etc).
Do your tax return, it's not that hard.
Make sure your hobbies aren't chewing through your cash.

etc.

They're some ways to make sure you don't waste your money. (also try to work out a budget/schedule, it may make it easier for you).

To do something with your money, there is always investing (wouldn't have a clue on it), finding a bank with the best rate (really worth checking out for, look out for withdrawal or monthly fees though, etc). Of course to make money, you generally have to work, or at least that's what it seems to be.

Work long, work hard, and you'll get a reward at the end.