How to manage my money. This a topic that young people often search for because so many of us are clueless on the topic of money management strategies.
As a college graduate things are going to be different now. You don’t have to get married and have kids just yet, but certain things will have to change. You can still drink all night. You’re just going to have to deal with a massive hangover at your new job. You can still have lots of fun and keep on laughing. You’re just going to have to get serious about your money now. As the real world begins you’re going to need to become more responsible for how you spend your money.
A few basic money management skills that new college grads should pick up now to save lots of money over the years are:
Try to cook to manage your money better.
Food can quickly become your biggest expense. As you go throughout your day at work you’re going to need to eat a few times to keep your energy levels up. If you don’t plan out your meals even a little bit you’ll find yourself eating out for every single meal. If you grab a sandwich and a drink, each meal can easily cost you close to ten bucks. This will add up over time and food will start costing you more than you could ever imagine.
If you learn how to cook basic food you can prepare meals in advance and save yourself some good money. If you don’t have the time to cook you can buy basic foods like I do. I usually try to find food that either just needs a fridge (cold cuts) or a microwave (egg whites, prepared chicken meals) at the grocery store.
Learn how to comparison shop.
Do you shop for deals or do you make the first purchase that comes to my mind? As you start to make more money and hopefully save more money, you’re also likely to make some major purchases in the near future. These purchases will range from a new condo all the way to travelling the world.
If you make the first purchase that you see without any research and without even saving properly, you’ll quickly find yourself getting into some serious debt. For me shopping around involves saving up for the purchase and looking around to ensure I’m not getting ripped off. As a college grad you’re going to have to take these big purchases very seriously.
Learn to create a solid financial infrastructure.
A solid and simplified financial system will allow you to save money without complicating things. I urge everyone entering the workforce to embrace retirement plans offered through the employer and to look into automatic deductions. When you automatically deduct money from your paycheck to go into some sort of savings vehicle you’re paying yourself first. This means that you’re passively saving your money. Once you account for your savings you can spend the rest of your money any way that you want to. This is budgeting your money made easy.
Learn how to channel your energy into something productive.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week. The only difference is that some of us choose to be more productive with this time, while others choose to spend it on Facebook. Learning how to channel your energy into productive tasks will save you money because you’re not out aimlessly spending it and it can also help you earn money because you might stumble upon something profitable.
What are financially related skills would you recommend that college graduates should pick up now? If someone asked you about how to manage my money better, what would you suggest?
Good advice. I might add to find some cheap hobbies. It goes hand-in-hand with staying productive. On-campus gym memberships are usually included in your tuition fees and offer a bevy of options other than the standard pumping iron.