By CLAUDIA BUCK, Sacramento Bee

If college students got grades on their credit-card use, Jill Johnson would likely earn an A. Just home from her freshman year at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, the Sacramento, Calif., teen has two credit cards -- and no outstanding debt.

If only cash sprouted as easily as backyard weeds, we'd all be cheering. But greening up your wallet is still doable.
In homage to Earth Day on this week's calendar, we've harvested some Earth-friendly money habits you might want to adopt.
Green donations

It's the dreaded countdown: Tax Day is a week from Wednesday.
If your kitchen table is still cluttered with W-2s or maybe you're only just thinking about dragging out the paperwork, it's time to face it.

In this dreary stock market, it's not a happy time to be an investor. But there still are ways to feel good about investing.
Think "socially responsible investing," or SRI for short. In simple terms, it means investing in companies and products that "do good," environmentally and socially.

For more on "socially responsible" investing, check these sites:
-- Social Funds -- www.socialfunds.com -- comprehensive site with links to U.S. companies' "social responsibility" reports.

Job seekers, don't despair. Richard Bolles is on your side. At 81, his life's work has been about how to find a job. And not just any job, but the career of your dreams. Even in a recession.
Bolles, the renowned career-hunt specialist, speaker and author of the best-selling book "What Color Is Your Parachute? (Job-Hunting in Hard Times)," isn't slowing down.

It's taken a financial crisis, but it's starting to stick: Americans are saving more. Or at least trying.
Part of it has been forced. As paychecks shrink, jobs dry up, mortgages collapse and credit card companies clamp down, many Americans have had no choice. They couldn't keep spending.

When it comes to love and money, it's never all hearts and flowers. And for same-sex couples, the financial issues are especially complex.
With the state Supreme Court taking up legal arguments next month on the validity of California's Proposition 8, same-sex couples are eyeing the outcome's ramifications on money and marriage.

Pull out the plastic and you may get your hand slapped.
That's how a lot of consumers are feeling these days as credit-card companies clamp down.
From American Express to Washington Mutual, card companies are getting tougher on terms: Credit lines are being yanked. Minimum payment amounts have jumped. Interest rates are doubling. Card transactions are being declined.

Taxpayers -- and tax preparers -- are being urged by the IRS to get their math right when figuring this year's federal "recovery rebate" tax credit. A "higher-than-normal" error rate is causing delays in processing the new tax credit, which is a catch-up for those who missed out on last year's federal stimulus payments.