It's the start of a new year and a great time to reflect, evaluate, and prepare to reach your financial goals!

Manage your finances by setting simple financial goals to help you stay on budget and add financial security. Here are a few simple steps to get started:

1. Know Your Banking Fees

Check your bank statement and year-end summary of charges for unexpected or excessive fees. Compare your checking account with a low-cost USC Credit Union Checking Account and make the switch!

The holidays can be one of the most stressful times on your budget. Now that the holidays are through, it’s important to take a look at your financial well-being and get back on track in the New Year. Here’s some tips to help you recover and minimize debt from holiday spending.  

Throughout his music and speeches, Kanye West is known to have said some pretty controversial and sometimes downright outlandish stuff. However, throughout his discography he’s given a lot of financial advice that has proven to be profound. Here are some Yeezy quotes:

More good news on the financial education front! The Council of Graduate Schools is pushing for universities nationwide to step up when it comes to financial education for students. Fifteen institutions are taking part in a 3-year project to “enhance the financial literacy of graduate and undergraduate students.”

Remembering back to when I graduated college, there are many things I wish I could go back and tell my younger self. Some are truisms that you can carry through life – like avoiding debt -- and others are more palpable at the moment – like hard work trumping your piece of paper.

I knew nothing about managing money when I graduated college and, sadly, I believe I was not alone in that experience. Most graduates – and there were 2.85 million in 2013 – are focused on getting a job, moving to wherever that job is and living in the real world – not financial literacy.

With that in mind, here are four basic financial steps you should take as a newly minted college graduate. If you're still looking for a job, these steps can still be implemented on a smaller scale.

If I could go back in time, I would do certain things differently. I'm not saying I have a lot of regrets. But when I was younger, I tended to have myopic vision. For instance, it was hard to imagine that one day I would be older. Even today, sometimes I look in the mirror and wonder, who the hell is that?