(Springfield, MO) -- It's never been more important to know where you stand financially.

Ironically, young adults with big college debt may be among those who least understand how to manage their money.

Some students and recent graduates say our universities owe them more as they enter the workforce in an uncertain economy.

Adam Kreher is an architect-in-training. He says the numbers on his computer design may confuse you, but his bank balance won't.

"As fast as I'm making the money I'm spending it," he says.

Kreher graduated from Drury University in 2007. He says the economics class he took as an undergraduate didn't teach him anything practical.

"It's definitely different. I though I was going to graduate college. I thought I was going to have all kinds of money," Kreher says. "I come to work and all of a sudden I get student loan bills in the mail and house payments and insurance."

Back on campus, Chelsea Millsap says the money in her bank account comes from her parents.

"They give me about $400 a month," Millsap says.

The Drury senior says she's not ready to balance her budget on her own.

"I still haven't learned anything about it and if I were to do something on my own, I guarantee you it would mess up and I would just be out of luck," Millsap says.

There's a lot of pressure in college to wear the brand-name shoes, eat at the brand-name restaurants and even go to the brand-name school.

But do colleges go far enough in preparing students for a life of scrimping and saving?

It wasn't so long ago that I joined the workforce. I feel like I got a great education but on my first day here at KOLR/KSFX, I wasn't prepared to fill out a stack of financial paperwork.

"There are a lot of decisions that need to be made that really are not taught in school," Mike Cherry of Consumer Credit Counseling Service says.

He says new hires fill out forms like W-4s and health insurance using guesswork, and it's his job to sweep up the mess.

"How much do they take out for one exemption? Is it better for me to take out no exemptions and have them withhold more tax so I won't have to pay any tax at the end of the year?" Cherry says. "There are a lot of decisions that need to be made that they really need some guidance on, especially when it's their first time."

Cherry says the college culture of debauchery and debit cards needs to change. Area universities are figuring out how to do that.

"They're tough questions," Drury finance professor Dr. Jeff Jones says.

He says colleges do all they can, and it's up to students to hit the books and learn how to manage their cash.

"I really try to help my students understand I think it's great to do what you like, what you love," Dr. Jones says. "But you have to think about what are my opportunities with the degree that I'm pursuing?"

But some students say they made a deal with the university when they enrolled, and some of their tuition should go toward teaching them about money.

"We need to be prepared for all aspects of it rather than just what's in our major," Millsap says.

That's why Missouri State University is fast-tracking a personal finance class that would be required for all students.

"When students get to us and they don't have these skills and there's nobody else teaching them, then they go out in the real world and make a mess of their finances," MSU economics professor Tom Wyrick says. "There's a need, and if we don't fill it, who's going to fill that need?"

That class will be offered in about a year.

In the meantime, students are looking for alternatives.

"Oh, $32.21 is what the available balance is right now, same with the account balance," Drury sophomore Aaron Brown says as he withdraws money from a campus ATM.

Brown says his mom is playing the role of finance professor.

"She helps me make sure, keep checking your balance, keep checking your checkbook, make sure it's balanced, make sure you have enough money, make sure you have money in there," he says.


"I think it should be the parents' responsibility to teach their children how to manage their finances," Charles Taylor says. Taylor is a 2007 graduate of the University of Miami.

But Kreher, Taylor's co-worker at Springfield architecture firm Butler Rosenbury, says he left college wanting more.

"A little bit more about real world finances instead of just call mom and dad," Kreher says.

Tim Rosenbury, who is Kreher's and Taylor's boss, says he used to tell a joke about struggling graduates. He says what would really fix this younger generation would be a good recession, and then we would get our come-uppance and learn to buckle down.

Rosenbury says he meant it as a joke, but now he believes this recession hasn't been good for anyone -- least of all recent graduates.

Whether you just graduated college or have been in the workforce for years, you may still have questions about the basics of balancing your budget.


WEB EXTRA:

We put together a list of websites that can help you educate yourself.

Practical Money Skills

My Money

CSCCE

Student Center

Jumpstart Coalition