After College: Keep Living Like a Student and Start Saving

With graduation behind you, no more college tuition bills, and a new job that probably pays way more than minimum wage, you might have your eye on a graduation present to yourself: that MacBook you’ve been wanting, a plasma TV for all the NFL games you’ll be watching, or an upgrade to your 10-year-old hand-me-down hatchback. And after four-plus years of putting up with other people’s weird tendencies and annoying living habits, you might be tempted to kiss roommates goodbye and splurge a little on rent to get an apartment all to yourself.

But before you start breaking out the credit cards or making any financial decisions that spend paychecks you haven’t earned yet, ask yourself what your financial plan is: What are your short-term and long-term financial goals? Where do you want to be financially five years from now? 10 years? 20? What are you doing about retirement? If you were to lose your job, how much of an emergency savings fund would you need to be able to live for six months, and what are your plans to get there? Continue Reading