How to Manage Money for a New Graduate?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 27, 2009 -- How to manage money as a new graduate? You must have considered the question for a long time. Although you may be well-prepared to tackle your new job, you will have graduated with substantial school debs and without having learned the financial facts of life.Now here are some practical tips for you.
1. Depend on what your entry-level job pays. It would be wise to spend accordingly to your available income. Many graduates think they are getting better paying jobs than they actually get after college.

1

How to Manage Money for a New Graduate?

2. Stick with your career, and the money will eventually come. If you are going into a career that coincides with your college major, you may want to consider starting with an entry level position rather than taking a higher paying job in an unrelated field. The entry level job will be better for you in the long run because it will give you more opportunities to advance in a field that you were trained in. If you start with a higher paid job in a different career, you might lose interest quickly and have little room for advancement.
3. Determine your net worth--your assets minus your liabilities--as an assessment of your financial health. As a new graduate, you are likely to have few assets and lots of liabilities. It can provide a benchmark against which you can measure your future financial progress.
4. Get proper insurance. Health insurance will be one of your first concerns, since you likely will be dropped from your parents' coverage upon graduation. Consider buying a short-term medical policy, which can be pretty reasonable, especially if you are young and healthy.

5. Budget. This is not just a matter of making sure that your expenses don't exceed your income. Otherwise, you may just be treading water financially. A good budget should allow you to sock away extra money.Even a few dollars can help, and get you into the habit of saving.
6. Start a retirement fund. Participate in an employer-sponsored plan.Time is on your side, and even a few dollars invested in tax-favored accounts early on can compound substantially over time.
7. Reduce debts. Debt can be a huge financial drag, so you will want to put any extra money you can toward paying it down. Try to pay off those with the highest interest rates first, and minimize accumulating new debt such as a car loan or especially high-interest credit cards.

8. Identify a short, medium and long-term goal for yourself. A short-term goal may be a new car, a vacation or a television. A medium-term goal could be buying a business, a house or paying for your child’s education. A long-term goal can be retirement and traveling.
However, keep uppermost in your mind that money management is not about making money; it is about managing well the money you do make. Get yourself all-round developed as soon as possible and that will help you get out of the difficult transition period.

Make Ends Meet     money management     new graduates     practical tips