Not About Making Friends, It's About Spending Money

To every college student and recent graduate who's worried about money: Stop it. Not a day goes by without some uptight personal finance hack penning yet another column warning you to stop carrying a credit card balance, start saving money and start living on a lean budget.

There's a cottage industry that pumps out the same handful of pieces. It feels like every week someone writes a story bemoaning that Americans aren't saving nearly enough money, with special emphasis on the tragic circumstances of our hopelessly indebted youth.

But this is not one of those articles. You're not interested in reading another sermon about the virtues of saving that's billed as advice about your money, and I'm not interested in writing one. ...