As if the sudden combination of schedule changes, classes, jobs and responsibilities isn’t enough, September says, “Welcome back to school” with an avalanche of expenses.

Inflated costs of housing, books and everything in between are making college-age adults the fastest growing group of bankruptcy declarers in the country.

Textbooks and school supplies alone now cost students up to $900 a year, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) survey released last month. The real school supplies like drugs, alcohol and condoms aren’t cheap either.

Of course, by the time we’re standing in line at the Hornet Bookstore or scouring websites, we’ve already felt the pain of tuition costs that have risen 240 percent, according to the GAO.

So, do the book publishers take pity on us? Don’t be silly. Book prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation, although the Association of American Publishers insists they have students’ best interests at heart.

They throw in CD’s and supposed helpful supplements that happen to increase prices. They create those desperately needed new editions every year, making sure cheaper, used editions become obsolete. They’re just trying to help, while taking every penny we have.

We can’t blame textbooks for all of our problems, though. According to www.jumpstartcoalition.org, a coalition for financial literacy, taking a course in money management for as little as 10 hours can make a significant improvement in a young adult’s finances. Unfortunately, most high schools don’t require money management courses and many don’t even offer them.

So, once we’ve been shipped off to college, clueless and crossing our fingers, it’s up to us to stay afloat, and it’s not as easy as we thought. Somehow, despite working and trying to save, the bank account always looks the same, if not worse, and I’m guessing financial know-how isn’t going to magically dawn on us one day.

Lucky for us, the Financial Services Department and University Media Services combined efforts to create Your Money Matters, a new Web site designed to give students the financial help they desperately need.

The interactive site, located at www.csus.edu/sfsc-ymm/, offers assistance by shedding light on six main aspects of financial management, including student loans and establishing credit.

There are also further resources available on the site, for the ambitious type, and a final quiz to test any newfound knowledge. Not only is the site as simplified as possible and available at students’ convenience, it also has colorful pictures! They know us too well.

The Financial Services Center is located in Lassen Hall and can be reached at 916-278-6190 for advising and information.

Jen White can be reached at [email protected]