fastpayday

After the ugliest job market in decades, the outlook is improving, just as you're sending your child out into the working world. Employers expect to hire 19% more recent college graduates this year than last, reports the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Not only that, average starting salaries are up 6%, to $50,500.

Of course, as good as this news is, you know it doesn't guarantee that your child is on a straight path to Happily Ever After. Recent grads face many financial hurdles beside the obvious one of landing a job (which may still take months). Kids now come out of college with an average of $24,000 in student debt. And most have little experience budgeting, unless you count making sure there's beer money for Friday. No wonder a recent study for American Express found that 57% of twentysomethings are still financially dependent on Mom and Dad.

Clearly, your days of coaching aren't over yet. So offer your child the advice that follows - worth more in the long run than any handout.

For the first time, Junior will have real income -- and real bills. "Your kid may think $40,000 is a lot of money, but things add up, like the rent and taxes he never paid before," says Ramit Sethi, the 28-year-old author of "I Will Teach You to Be Rich."

Rather than lecture about balancing a check-book -- and seeing the eyes roll -- encourage your child to join Mint.com, a trendy budgeting tool aimed at Gen X and Y. The site, also available as a mobile app for your hyperconnected offspring, uploads transactions from a checking account and automatically tracks spending in various categories, like restaurants and shopping. It'll even alert the user when a category nears a threshold he or she set.