It's almost that time of year again--graduation season. If you are one of the lucky ones about to turn the tassel, you are probably bursting with excitement about many things. One of these things may be getting your first real salary. After years of making little money, your entry level job may seem you like hit the jackpot. However, it is now more important than ever to be smart with your money. Here are some important tips to ensure you make the most of your money early in your career:

As you well know, college years are full of independence and personal growth. They also bring several new challenges and responsibilities. Of course these obviously vary from family to family, but this new season of life often begins the transition from financial dependence on mom and dad to independence. No matter where you are in this transition, there are several habits you can develop now to help you realize long-term financial success and there's no better time than now to get started.

Expecting a substantial income tax refund this year? If so, you are in the majority - over 70 percent of Americans get money back at the end of the tax year, with the average refund being close to $2,000. Rather than having those precious dollars being absorbed into your normal spending routine, get the most out of your cash.

Since we all know what the other certainty in life is (death), maybe we shouldn't be all that upset about the onset of tax season, right? And while it may seem that the tax code gets more complicated every year, the good news is there are also a lot more tools now than ever before to streamline the process of tax preparation and make sure you complete your return correctly. Here are a few tax hacks to dial down the pain.

It can be tough growing up and not having enough money to spend on things you want to have or experiences you want to take part in. And even when you start making money, you may not understand how to do so wisely and save smartly, especially since so many high schools don't offer a personal finance course.

At a time when global crises abound and tensions between countries are at an all-time high, the recent international conference of Caribbean and North American credit unions was a welcome relief and a model of cross cultural cooperation. This meeting was the result of a joint effort of the CCCU (Caribbean Conference of Credit Unions) and US based CUES (the Credit Union Executive Society). The conference was held at the end of June in the Bahamas.

International Credit Union (ICU) Day has been celebrated on the third Thursday of October since 1948. The day is recognized to reflect upon the credit union movement's history and to promote its achievements. It is a day to honor those who have dedicated their lives to the movement and show members our appreciation. This year's theme, "Local Service. Global Good." emphasizes credit unions' positive impact in their communities locally and around the world.

When it comes to newlyweds or a recently engaged couple, it can be easy to get caught up in the honeymoon phase of your relationship and disregard financial issues in your relationship. It is easy to get sidetracked when you are wedding planning, searching for the perfect home or deciding how many children you want to have. While these are excellent topics to discuss, to ensure a healthy marriage we encourage you to discuss money matters.

Ask a twenty-something professional what's on their shortlist of priorities, and it's doubtful you'll see "retirement planning" on there.  Then again, this is a time in life when choosing the right career path is a little more pressing than thinking about leaving it.

Are you still planning a summer vacation? Haven’t quite finalized your plans due to budget concerns? Never fear - the season is still young, and you have plenty of time to clean your financial house in advance of a nice summer getaway! With this in mind, here are a few helpful strategies to make your summer vacation a smashing success.

I don’t know why the World Cup was not on my radar in the past. Has it been hyped more this year? Maybe I’ve just been paying attention to sports lately, thanks to the Heat’s run to the NBA finals.

Summer has arrived, and kids everywhere are dealing with a sudden spike in free time. As parents, the chances are good that you'll be tapped for a little spending money during the season.

Everyone says that we are in the information age. With a laptop or a tablet, knowledge is literally at our fingertips. When it comes to financial learning however, we tend to unconsciously skip over this readily available, yet boring information. We are all guilty of this (myself included). Who wants to think about finances when we can be entertained by ethereal ball gowns worn on the red carpet at the Academy Awards ceremony?

Spring is giving way to the earliest stages of summer, and young, ambitious students everywhere are preparing to matriculate.  But, once the caps and gowns are packed away, new grads are going to have to prepare for a harsh reality - student loan repayment.  Crafting a plan to tackle student loan debt doesn't have to be hard or scary, but it does involve some due diligence.  If you're a graduating student about to start the repayment process, here are five baseline tips for staying on top of your loans.

May is graduation month. Almost all of us know someone who is heading off to college (how did they grow up so fast?) or getting ready to enter the real world with their first job.

Since 1952, City County Credit union has been providing topnotch financial services for tens of thousands of Floridians due in no small part to our ability to keep up with the changing times.

I had a birthday last month, and as I usually do, wrote thank you notes to friends and family for the thoughtful birthday gifts I received.

Many of our members were introduced to us by a loyal parent or grandparent who sent their youngsters to CCCU because it was the best place for their money. This is still true. But times have changed. We are no longer your grandmother's credit union.

Just as I expected, coming back to work after three months away on maternity leave wasn’t an easy thing. Being separated from my baby, adjusting to a new routine and being sleep deprived is lots of fun… not! Having to buy new clothes to fit my post-pregnancy body, deal with a lot of new expenses and still think about dieting is the icing on the not so fun cake. All this internal angst had to be channeled positively somehow and so the Tighten Your Waist & Your Wallet campaign was born; the perfect program to help myself, but also my community and business contacts that count on me for their financial education.

Most of us make a New Year's resolution at some point in our lives. The passing of one year and looking forward to the next brings both reflection and promise. What I like about resolutions is that we identify goals that we have the power to change ourselves, such as reading more, starting an exercise program or saving money.