Comments on: Real Life 101: Ten Things You Must Do After College

By: 10 Things You Must Do After College

10 Things You Must Do After College — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:51:24 +0000

[...] am stealing this post from Newly Corporate, courtesy of Dan. You can click through to get his expansive reasons for each. [...]

By: ramenrentresumes.com

ramenrentresumes.com — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:59:07 +0000

This has such great, practical advice! I will probably link to it on my blog at some point!

By: Grace

Grace — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:19:17 +0000

Over 60% of college students take more than four years to graduate! Those extra semesters don’t just mean more tuition, it’s also time, income and job experience that’s being pushed into the future. A great number of these students take longer to graduate because they start school without a firm idea for a career path and end up changing majors two or three times.

“Profile XT”, the most advanced psychometric career match tool available today, can save students and their parents money, time and headaches by providing complete and accurate information on a student’s best career matches to assist in making an informed decision. Learn more about the tool at http://www.findyourcareermatch.com and be in the right program of study from day one.

By: Nate

Nate — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:38:57 +0000

I follow every single one of those tips and life still isnt all that grand. Maybe it takes a few years before you start to see rewards for past behaviors.

By: stetoscope

stetoscope — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:46:16 +0000

I left college 7 years ago and those tips would have changed my life.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:14:10 +0000

I have money… i just dont think Im saving it the best way. Some of it is chilling in a CD, some is in a savings account. I just didn’t know if there was some way to get my company to start a 401k. My dad is in financial advisory so I suppose I could tap him… but I hate relying on my parents! Ha. Thanks Dan.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:09:30 +0000

@sam 401(k)s are invested in the market and now that it is down, it is a good time to be buying stocks. Remember that 401(k) is all long term stuff, so don’t worry about if the market is up or down now.

@kristi You need to be saving your money somewhere. I always considered Roth IRAs the best thing to do with your extra cash. You may want to consider a regular IRA if you don’t have a 401(k) at work. If you are talking about small sums of money, I’d go with the Roth. If this is your only retirement vehicle then consider the regular IRA.

Also, I recommend speaking with a real financial planner. I am not licensed or certified in any way.

By: Kelli

Kelli — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:54:45 +0000

This reminds me of a little piece of advice that I’ve had preached to me over and over again, and in some cases I’m still learning it:
-Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

This is a great list. I’m a recent college grad and now that I have a “real” job in the “real” world seeing this information is helpful. Especially the part about living cheap. I know many people (and I’m guilty of this on some counts) that buy something simply because they can.
I see a lot of my peers running out to buy a new car just because they have the money and can afford it. Sure, trading in a ‘98 Jeep Cherokee that’s just shy of 200,000 miles with shotty air conditioning and a questionable seatbelt for something with a smooth ride and working volume control on the radio sounds pretty appeal sometimes but I should probably hold off until I know I can afford not only a new (well new to me at least) car, but student loans, rent, and all of the other bills that quickly piling up.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:51:05 +0000

I ended up in the business world by complete fluke, or hopefully in a few years I will be able to call it complete luck. I graduated with a Middle Childhood Education degreee, student taught 5th grade in Chicago Public Schools, and took my current job as a “filler” before I could teach full time. Nine months later, after the school year started and I had won student teacher of the year and had plenty of job offers, I’m still working in a Private Equity/Brand Management Firm. So I know absolutely NOTHING about the business world . Thank god a friend sent me to this blog.

The company I work for is brand new, started in January and I am their first employee to make it past 6 months without getting let go - woo hoo! However, they dont have a 401k plan set up … what are my options here?

I haven’t started a RothIRA either, but am thinking that once I get a raise I put in the difference from what I make now and what I make with the raise… is that appropriate?

By: Sam Clemens

Sam Clemens — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:01:35 +0000

I got a question,

I have a rainy day fund, live cheaply, own a car, rent an apartment etc… Should I start investing in 401k with the economy being so shity? seems like waiting it out a few years would be the smart move, am I correct?