CMU School of Drama


Thursday, March 15, 2012

How To Spend Your Money After Graduation

Money After Graduation: This was another google search term that led to my site. It’s an even better question than the first one, What should your net worth be at 30? And I have a better answer!
After graduation you should spend your money on…

6 comments:

K G said...

So this is more or less the way I expect to be spending my money after I graduate, but I wouldn't be shocked to hear that there are people who don't. I know there are a lot of college students who spend more than they earn right now simply because their parents have the means to provide them with that money, and do, so what happens when the graduate, are still living the way they do, and suddenly find themselves broke? For the most part I try not to spend beyond basic necessities right now, because I don't have the means and I know I'll need that money in the future. I don't expect the eventual transition to be that tough on me, but I worry about the reality check some people will probably take.

A. Surasky said...

This is a good list to start out in terms of where you should be expecting to spend a good portion of the money you'll (hopefully) be making after college. I think people forget that college is where we get a taste of what it's like in the real world, having to start to account for normal everyday expenses, and then all of sudden they find themselves out after graduation, and they have no concept of having a budget and what they need to spend money on, etc. As I said, this is a good place to start, and this gives a little perspective on all those things we are going to have to worry about, even more than right now, once we are out and about in the real world

AbigailNover said...

This is definitely a good, basic list of how it is appropriate to spend money after Graduation. Everything listed is straight forward and what I would expect. At first I was a little surprised by the order. I was caught off guard by how paying of student loans was number six, towards the bottom of the list. I wondered if maybe the order was irrelevant, but upon further consideration, it really does make sense. Loans have a grace period, and while it's a good idea to start paying as soon as possible, there are (usually) six months accounted for where it's not necessary. There's no real grace period on things that will help someone to get a job like resume help, interview clothes, and even a library card. Paying off loans is something that often comes to mind when I take some time to sit down and worry about things that will happen in my life three years from now. Thanks to this article, I've readjusted the order and way in which I worry about problems I don't have yet.

ZoeW said...

Yep, that seems like the basics. A roof over your head and paying off student loans. Sounds like a good plan to me. I wonder if there really is any other way to spend your money after college though. It's so hard to get off the ground, if you have never had a job and so the real world can be daunting because in college everything was provided it really was a home away from home. But in the real world there are no starter kits there is not really anything to fall back on unless you have well off enough parents to fund you. The real world and being on my own scares me but I think that it is important to be able to fund yourself and also to be the dictator of what you spend you money on, not your parents, not your college and not your roommates.

Lindsay Child said...

I almost think the title of this article should be "How You Should Spend Your Money." I mean, yeouah, being college students means that a lot of the things like student loans aren't immediate concerns, but even if your parents are paying for your education and housing, you as a student still need to be aware of how this money flows in and out. I also think these categories are pretty non-college specific. I mean, sure working people probably have business attire and library cards (which I've never had to pay for...) but the take home message is pretty clear: Essentials, Emergencies, Debt, and Long Term Security, things that adults and college grads alike should be taking into account.

ranerenshaw said...

these are valuable tips to follow in order to implement sound financial decision making into good habits. The best advice i ever got for after graduating was to just not increase my standard of living - to just keep living stupid poor and spend all the extra money on paying off fines. I find that to be an effective approach. This article also brings to light some beneficial tips. I feel like life after college is kind of scary if you do not already have a solid idea as to how to handle finances. WHich is a real issue. I for one already do all of my own taxes and handle finances but not all students.. especially kids here outside the SOD. they have no idea how to handle it.