Welcome to the Job Market: Budgeting Your Money

Now that you're receiving a pay check, it's time to decide what you're going to do with that money. Click here for a basic discussion of how to budget.

Good spending habits
Your whole financial situation has just changed. Your spending habits have not yet formed. Why not start out with smart spending? It will be much harder to trim back your spending later.

Review your budget. See if you can save more money. If you have school loans, try paying a little extra on them. Since your money and your debt have a long time to grow, every little sacrifice you make today will pay off much larger in the future.

Rearrange your priorities
The clothes that got you through college probably won't cut it in your new job. You'll need to spend more money on clothes. So where is that money going to come from? You're going to have to cut down on spending in other areas. Once you have your own kitchen, maybe you can cook more and eat out less. Have friends over instead going out to bars and restaurants. There are all kinds of ways to save money. You have to decide what's important to you, and where you can cut costs.