If you're a college student, credit cards are not your friends. Easy access to credit has trapped many students in a vicious cycle of increasing payments, rising interest rates and dinged credit scores.

Most students don't charge big-ticket costs such as tuition or rent. They run up that debt on much more modest expenses, such as books, movies, printer cartridges, music downloads and late-night pizza runs.

Schools estimate students need anywhere from $1,300 to $2,300 a year in spending money, which goes a long way toward explaining why the average college senior graduates with about $2,800 in credit debt.

One way to have some extra cash and avoid running up a credit-card balance is to participate in a federally sponsored work-study program at your college.

Work-study jobs are part of many financial aid packages, so if you didn't get one in your initial financial aid award, lobby your financial aid office for one.

You apply for various campus jobs and are assigned a position once school starts. You'll get a specified hourly rate -- usually the minimum wage, unless the job is one that the college has difficulty filling, like serving as a model for art students -- and a paycheck.

The regular check gives you access to a steady source of money during the school year. You won't make a lot -- maybe $800 a semester.

That's why it's OK to use that money for everyday living expenses rather than tuition bills.

Here's how to use student loans and home equity lines of credit for the big stuff.

We can also help you find the best credit cards for college students. You need a card with low interest rates and reasonable terms, not one with an aggressive marketing campaign that tries to lure you with hats and T-shirts.