When I was a teenager I figured by the time I was five years out of college I’d be Josh Limon in Al Gore’s Whitehouse.
Yeah… I know. I’m still licking my wounds over that one.
Expectations can be a bitch like that.
No one really knows what it’s going to be like in the real world. We have ideas of grandeur for sure: fancy condos, new cars, the perfect black leather Coach briefcase that magically goes with all your designer power suits … but the truth is the first couple years out of college you’re probably not going to make the kind of money you thought you would.
Unfortunately, a college degree is a dime a dozen these days and you won’t graduate with a job offer to be a columnist at the Washington Post. If you can get a job at the Post, you’re going be an assistant, maybe even an assistant to an assistant. It won’t be glamorous, you won’t make a lot of money and you’re going to have to learn how to be frugal.
Don’t be scared, everyone has to go through this.
So here are a few tips for living on the cheap:
- You don’t need a new car. If your vehicle gets you from A to B and you don’t have a lot of engine work to be done, keep the car and save the $300 a month in car payments. No one worth your friendship will care what you drive anyway.
- Avoid Credit Cards. DANGER, DANGER WILL ROBINSON! Credit Card companies love the freshly graduated and will through credit at you left and right. The downside? Many of us rack up thousands and thousands of dollars in credit card debt with high interest rates that we struggle to pay off. Would you rather spend $400 a month on paying down a card or put that away for a down payment on a house. At least you can live in the house.
- Eating out is a luxury. Learn to cook. I know, in college you’d go to the bar twice a week, right? Maybe more? You probably also had a meal plan that was prepaid each semester or a food allowance from your folks. This isn’t the case anymore and bars are expense. Restaurants are expensive too. Try to limit going out as much as possible. You can still have fun with your friends over a six pack and hot dogs at your apartment.
- Take you lunch to work. This sounds so simple but my Lord you can save a thousand bucks a year or more. I know, everyone at the office goes out each day, but do you really need to pay $10 for a sandwich you could make for $3 at home? I lived on Apples and Peanut Butter for almost a year and honestly, that’s pretty yummy and cost about $5 a week.
So there’s my advice. It’s not philosophical, but you probably just took a philosophy class so I’m guessing you know the gist about life as a concept. I offer helpful hints; lessons learned the hard way, and practical applications to saving you some money. At the end of the day, being a little practical will make you so much happier, and your wallet a little heavier.
