Advice for New Grads?
I got called by Insight Magazine to give some advice to new grads on what they should be doing about their finances, and I gave some answers to the interviewer, but as usual, I am not sure I was very clear or eloquent, so now I will attempt to be more clear to those that might read the article coming up.
Get The Heck Out of Debt
You have just graduated from University, and you might be carrying upwards of $40K in debt (hopefully in student loans only), you most likely won’t be paying that debt off in your first year of working (should you find a job right away) (if you can pay it off, good for you!), however, you should put together a plan on how you are going to pay off that debt and WHEN it will be retired.
Carrying debt is a drag on your finances, and the sooner the debt is retired, the easier your financial life will be. You should not aspire to “get used to living in debt”, this is the one thing my generation does NOT want to hand down to you.
Don’t Fall In Love With Having Money
Just because you have graduated from University and you no longer have to eat Kraft Dinner with Hot Dogs for dinner, does not mean you must go out every night to eat. You have lived a frugal lifestyle as a student (I am assuming), but if you continued that frugal lifestyle for a while longer, you may be able to pay down your debt faster and then be on a much stronger footing financially.
Yes, you deserve to enjoy life, but it is very easy to get used to the “Let’s go out to dinner tonight we deserve it” lifestyle, and once you are in that lifestyle the habit is very hard to break (speaking as a 49 year old, I can attest to that issue).
You cannot live your parents’ lifestyle (yet) so don’t try. It took them 30 years to get where they are, don’t rush your spending habits to mimic their spending habits.
If your parents paid for you to have a Blackberry or an iPhone or paid for your Cell phone bill, maybe it’s time to get rid of this expensive toy? You don’t need $120 a month cell phone bills. Discretionary spending (i.e. money haemorhage) is a bad thing which you must watch diligently. Middle age men’s wastes spread, but their spending spreads like that as well, don’t let it happen to you.
Have a Savings Plan
The sooner you start saving, the better it will be for you when you reach my age, however, saving while still carrying discretionary debt (i.e. non-mortgage debt) is paying Peter to feed Paul. Lowering your debt is first and foremost, if you have left over moneys from your year, yes, starting an RRSP early is a good thing to do, but pay your debts first.
Savings is good, getting out of debt is better.
Get the Heck out of Debt
Did I mention this yet?
Banks Can be Negotiated With
As I have pointed out before Free Banking is possible, but it is more likely for old farts like me, who have a good track record with the bank already. Paying $12-$25 a month in bank service charges you should try to avoid, since you most likely don’t use enough services with the bank to justify this charge. Go with as cheap banking as you can.
The Three Worst Ideas After Graduation
- I deserve a new car! -or- I deserve a vacation in Las Vegas!
- I’m a little short until my next pay cheque, I’ll get a pay day loan
- I am only carrying a few hundred dollars on my credit card balance this month
Keep this in mind, did I mention Get the Heck Out of Debt?
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March 25th, 2009 at 3:29 PM
Thanks for writing this article. It’s great to offer advice to the youth in hopes that they won’t make the same mistakes that got us into this economic mess.
March 26th, 2009 at 2:34 PM
Don’t Fall In Love With Having Money.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. We always try to instill that with the younger employees at the office who believe that they’ve “made it” working here. The problem is that they’ve accepted that they may be in debt for the rest of their lives and decide to just keep on living a higher lifestyle.
March 26th, 2009 at 4:41 PM
I sure do love how you’re so anti payday loan, yet I count 3 spots on this page where you’re advertising companies to get one. (one in the google ads in the post, 2 in the text ads on the right side) I know they’re just plugins that you have no control over the content of, but that still makes you a hypocrite.
Saying that, the advice on this post is solid, albeit a little obvious.
March 26th, 2009 at 5:00 PM
I guess I should feel honored you didn’t call me a douche-bag.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:55 AM
Good post. Other suggestion: Take a small envelope (this is to make it less daunting) and on the back at the top, write “money coming in” and put down the $$$ you earn every month. Below that, write “money going out” and put down how much the top seven major items like food, rent, going out, car/bus, loan repayment, clothing, everything else. Subtract the second total from the first. Then compare with your bank balance last month to this month.
March 29th, 2009 at 11:40 PM
I thought about it, but I figure I shouldn’t call everyone that.
Yeah, I get it. I come on harsh sometimes. Okay, all the time. It just kills me to see pay day loan links all over your blog when you’re so against them. And rather than responding to someone when they have something to say that’s actually (gasp!) negative, you just throw out a snide comment. Respond? Nah, I’d rather not be held accountable.
The ball is in your court my friend.
March 30th, 2009 at 5:06 AM
I can’t reply, if you ever saw me play tennis, the ball would go into the net. If I can figure out how to get rid of the pay day loan leeches on my web site, I will attempt to remove them.
Negative feedback is ok, I guess, means someone is reading at least.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:07 PM
hyp·o·crite
Pronunciation: \ˈhi-pə-ˌkrit\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritēs actor, hypocrite, from hypokrinesthai
Date: 13th century
1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
I fail to see “action” that is contradictory to your stated beliefs. Others actions should not be confused with yours.
ABigCajunFan
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