Having your money in a checking account lets you write checks, which costs less than purchasing money orders to pay for things. Checking accounts typically cost from $5.00 to $12.00 per month, although some banks offer free checking accounts. But even with a fee, it's still cheaper than paying bills by money order or cashier's check (they cost $0.80 to $9.00 each). If you're paying regular bills such as car insurance, rent, credit card payments, and so on, these can't be paid with cash.

A checking account helps you keep track of your money. It's hard to keep track of the cash in your wallet or sock drawer. Using your bank's online banking services, you can view account activity from your computer to see how much money you spent, how much you deposited and how much you have left. A checking account also gives you proof of payment showing the amount you paid, to whom and when. So if someone says you didn't pay them, you can just send a copy of the check you used.

While you don't absolutely need a checking account, keeping your money in the bank is safer than cashing checks—and much safer than keeping cash in your room or in your wallet. Properly managing your checking account helps develop critical financial skills you'll use the rest of your life.

What should you know about banks and banking? How do you choose the right bank, find the account that meets your needs, and then manage your account wisely? Read on for banking basics, tips, and more.

This is an excerpt from Managing Your Money After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!

Job fairs, like interviews, are face-to-face meetings between jobseekers and employers. They are one of the easiest places to find good job leads. Every employer attending is there to hire one or more workers.

Find the Fair

Career centers, associations, State and local governments, and private companies organize job fairs. Find the fairs in your area by looking everywhere they might be announced. Ask a career counselor, review the business bulletin board at your school or local library, check the employment section of the newspaper, and search online via an Internet job fair locator. If you cannot attend the job fair, contact sponsoring organizations, a sponsor may be able to give your resumes to participating employers before or after the fair.

But to get something from the experience beyond a few free key chains, you need to understand what you should do before, during and after the career fair -- and then follow through.

Before

1. Visit the Career Fair’s website or ask for a listing of participating organizations a few days before the fair, and rank visits before you arrive.

2. Identify a minimum of 3 organizations that you would like to visit:

Study the organizations you’ve selected and others attending the fair. Nothing impresses an employer less than a student asking, "So what do you guys do?" Instead, be one of the few students who knows something about each of the companies. The more informed you are, the more likely you will be positively remembered.

Based on the organizations you selected and researched, brainstorm a few questions that you can use to generate conversation with a representative and learn more about their organization or industry:

3. Have your resume ready. If you have the time, try to tailor your resume to those companies you’ve selected. If you not, make several copies of a general resume, since you'll probably visit with more than one employer. Leave at least one with every company that seems promising. (NOTE: Cover letters are not necessary when hand delivering your resume)

4. Get or make business cards. You can buy blank business cards at stores like Office Depot, and then use a computer and laser printer to create some personalized cards. List your name, contact information, and perhaps your major and the career you'd like to pursue after graduation. Review the business card section in the article Step Up Your Game.

5. Develop a 30-Second commercial. "Tell me a little about yourself." You're likely to get that invitation from many of the employers at the fair. So spend a little time beforehand figuring out your response. Briefly describe your background and what you are looking for. Relate your education, experience and skills to the employer’s needs. Think of your reply as a 30-second, self-promotional commercial you'll deliver to each employer who asks.

EXAMPLE:

Hello! My name is Mary Smith. I am a senior journalism major. Currently I am the Editor of the Ivy Tower, Ivy College’s paper. I’m looking for a full time position utilizing my editing skills and experience. I am extremely organized, efficient and deadline oriented. I read about your organization on your web site and became interested through the information provided there. Can you give me an idea of the opportunities you might have for a person with my background?

What to Bring

Make sure you have the following items with you when you attend a fair:

• A supply of resumes
• Personal business cards,
• Several pens and paper for taking notes,
• A briefcase, an expandable folder, or a canvas bag to keep company literature, recruiters' business cards, and applications organized

Go Alone

Leave children and other relatives at home. If you plan to attend the fair with a friend, don't appear to be inseparable when visiting booths. A professional image is easier to maintain if you speak to employers alone.

Dress Professionally

A job fair is like a series of mini-interviews, with recruiters forming impressions of the people they meet. If you are unsure about what to wear, ask a career counselor or someone from the organization sponsoring the fair. 

• Women: A conservative, tailored business suit, just as you would to a job interview, is preferable but you can also wear a skirt and blazer, a conservative business dress or pant suit.
• Men: A conservative, tailored business suit, just as you would to a job interview, is preferable but you can also wear a button down shirt, tie, sport coat and nice slacks.
• Neat and comfortable shoes, as you will be on your feet for a while (not sneakers).
• Substitute a briefcase or bag for your backpack; you want to look less like a student and more like a future professional.

During

Survey the terrain and plot a strategy. When you arrive, take a quick walk through the fair. Time is limited, and booths are crowded. Plan a route before stopping at booths to see your favorite companies. Save visits with the best prospects until after you've warmed up with a few other employers.

Master the Mini-Interview

Every time you speak with an employer, no matter how briefly or how boisterous the atmosphere, consider it an interview. Recruiters will expect you to introduce yourself, shake hands confidently, answer questions about your coursework or experience, and have an idea of the type of job you want.

1. Introduce Yourself and Shake Hands. In many ways, a career fair is a test of your social skills. While employers are almost always friendly and outgoing, they'll expect the same of you. If you haven't done much ice breaking before, practice in advance with a campus career counselor or friend. Be sure to make eye contact and speak self-confidently. Now is the best time to use your “30-second Commercial.”

2. Ask Intelligent Questions. If you've studied up on the organizations, you'll probably have some questions you'd like to ask. Not only will you get some answers, but you'll also show yourself to be someone who does his research. You might ask what the hiring process is like or what jobs are available for people with your education.

3. Leave Your Resume and Card with Each Representative. Be sure to grab each representative's card. Make sure that you have the name and title of each person you speak with and verify the appropriate contact person for the future.

4. Check for Applications. Some organizations have job applications that you can fill out at the job fair. If you want to apply, take two, one will be a rough draft. Ask if you can bring an application home to send later, then consider adding a note saying you met the recruiter at the fair. If you have to complete the application at the fair, do it flawlessly. See the filling out job applications section for additional advice.

Tip: There may be employers with lines of students waiting to speak to them. Be aware of how long you are talking and conscious of whether other people are waiting. If time is running low, go to the employer with a line last. Typically employers will stay until they have met with everyone on line, but the employer without a line will leave.

After

1. Take Notes: After the fair concludes, jot down notes about conversations you had with company representatives. If you wait too long, the conversations will start running together in your head, and you'll forget what you said to whom. This is also a good time to go through company literature, recruiters' business cards, and applications while your memory is still fresh.

2. Follow Up on Promises: If, for example, a company representative expressed interest in looking at your Web site, make sure to email the URL like you said you would.

3. Send Thank-You Notes: Write or email each of the people you met and thank them for their time. Reiterate your interest in the company and your relevant skills and experience. Most job seekers fail to take this simple step, often losing out in the end to those who did express their thanks. Send thank-you letters to employers within 2-3 business days.

There will be few other times in your life when employers will make such a concerted bid to get your attention. So when they participate in a nearby career fair, make the most of the opportunity to present yourself favorably, gather useful information and meet new contacts. Your small investment of time and effort -- before, during and after -- might very well turn into an opportunity you wouldn't have otherwise had.

This is an excerpt from Finding Your First Job After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!

As you begin to pay attention to and focus on your spending habits, you will find yourself spending less and saving more. As with anything else, the more concentrated focus you give to sticking to a budget (as a matter of self-affirmation), the more changes there will be in your spending habits.

You need to gain some initial budgeting experience through trial and error, but once you have identified your spending limits and felt the benefits of effective financial control, budget watching can evolve into a healthy, lifelong habit.

This is an excerpt from Managing Your Money After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!

Career Counseling/Vocational Centers

This resource is richest if you're looking for a calling or hoping to find a job prior to graduation, but it can also come in handy for the alums. They can help polish your résumé, put you in touch with other alumni in your chosen field, and provide helpful hunting tips and listings of available positions. 

Career Fairs

Most colleges (or college consortiums) offer at least one career fair during the academic year. Even if you are looking for a job in a different part of the country, go to the local fairs and get to know with the recruiters.

Find out how to make the most of any job fair, by visiting RealWorld101.org/Career-Fairs

Alumni Office

Your alma mater will have a job board that you can usually use if you're a recent alumnus.  The advantage to looking at jobs posted on campus is that the employers who placed the ads are looking for graduates of your school. So you’re that much closer to convincing the employer to hire you

Industry Publications

Look at trade publications for the industry where you'd like to work and review their lists of entry-level or assistant jobs. Many companies who place ads in the trades don't advertise elsewhere. So the only way to find out about them is to think like an industry insider and read what they read.

This is an excerpt from Finding Your First Job After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!

If you're able to meet all your expenses, make regular payments on any debt you have, save a portion of your income, and have some money left over for discretionary purposes, good for you. You're in good financial shape.

If, however, you're spending everything you earn without saving anything, or you're spending more than you earn, you must change your ways. If you have credit card debt that never gets paid off, or you're in over your head with car loans or other debt, your financial condition is shaky. If your expenses are higher than your income, you have two options

• Cut expenses. Visit Identifying needs vs. wants RealWorld101.org/Needs-Vs-Wants

• Increase income. Increasing income can be difficult with limited time on your hands, but you might think about what you can do.

Remember, if it doesn’t work on paper, it won’t work in real life.  Learning to balance your budget is the most important step on the road to your financial future.

Tweaking and Targeting

After a month or so, you may find that your budget needs some tweaking. Cutting back or trimming expenses can be a lot easier than trying to cut things out completely

If your rent is more than you can afford, you might have to move to a smaller place or get a roommate. You may really like the club you've joined, but if the membership fees are too high, you may have to consider dropping it. If you're spending a lot more on movies than you planned, you'll know where you can cut back. Still, fixed expenses are not the easiest ones to scrimp on.

You can always make adjustments if your budget isn't working for you, but don't abandon ship completely. It's important to remain consistent and committed to following your budget. Besides, if you skip this step now, you will pay a hefty price later.

Adjusting a budget

Your situation can change rapidly. You might decide to get a part-time job or leave a job. Maybe your landlord increases the rent without notice or you have major car trouble. Any of these events will affect your financial condition.

How do you adjust your budget as your money situation changes?

Income increase

Two healthy budget adjustment decisions to consider if you take on a part-time job or gain reliable new income through some other source include:

1. Increase savings account deposits: Adding just an additional $100 to your savings account each month will build an additional reserve of about $1,200 over the year. If you do not have a savings account, now is the perfect time to open one. See Chapter 5 ”Choosing a Bank” for more information about savings accounts.


2. Make larger credit card payments: How much faster will your balance shrink if you double your payment? Set an account balance reduction target for the year and call your credit card company. A representative can inform you what your lower monthly interest payment will be based on the reduced balance.

Income decrease

Losing a job or suffering any other reduction in income forces you to control your spending-particularly the purchase of nonessential goods and services. Here's an approach that can help you adjust your budget so you don't have to cut out entire spending categories:

1. List the areas in your monthly spending plan that are not vital to your living situation, such as snacks, entertainment, and clothing.


2. Divide the amount of your monthly income reduction by the number of spending categories you selected. In this case, there are three. Dividing a monthly income reduction of $150 by three will give you a spending reduction target of $50 for each category.


3. Subtract your targeted reduction from the existing "budgeted amount" column in each spending category.

Career centers have earned poor reputations, mostly unfairly. That’s because graduates who do not get a job while still in college hold them responsible for their failures. But you’re going to prove that reputation wrong. So it’s time to find out how to make the most of your college’s career services department.

On-Campus Resources

Whether you’ve got a month, or a year before your graduation, or even if it’s months later, you have time to make good use of your college career services center. Find out if you can access the career center online to look at job boards and learn about upcoming career fairs and seminars. Call to see if the career services department offers its services to alumni. Ask specifically if you can participate in on-campus interviews, as some employers are open to interviewing alumni.

Remember that career counselors are not job placement personnel. So don't ever expect a career counselor to find you a job or to tell you want is right for you. Rather, expect to get information, alumni referrals, access to job boards, research guidance, and a real human being to give you feedback and advice about your job search. Your career center will help you develop the skills and contacts necessary to get a job.

Your career services department can only help you with what you bring them. So go prepared.

With that in mind, here are some of the many resources and opportunities career service centers and their career counselors offer to help you find a job after college:

Practice Interviews

Career counselors can help you develop and improve your interview skills with practice interview sessions, conducted in-person. When booking your appointment, ask if the career counselor can ask you questions customized for your industry and if you can have your interview video-recorded.

Self-Assessment Tools

You can increase your awareness of your personality and career interests with a variety of tools that will help you pinpoint a career direction. You can learn plenty from the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Strong Interest Inventory, so meet with a career counselor to determine which tools are most appropriate for your needs. To learn more about available career tests, visit RealWorld101.org/Career-Tests

Industry Timelines

Each industry has different recruiting cycles unique to its needs. To maximize both on- and off-campus recruiting opportunities at colleges for different times of the year, you should research the employer to learn about their recruiting timelines and hiring practices.  If your current job search is off-cycle with the practices in your industry, you should definitely meet with a career counselor for help.

Career Fairs

Explore different career fields, employers, and types of employment at a career fair. Try your best to attend all fairs you can, because career fairs provide the opportunity to distribute your résumé and market your skills, while gathering more information about various companies and organizations, some of which you may not have known about or been interested in.

To learn how to make the most of a career fair, be sure to visit RealWorld101.org/Career-Fairs

Mailing Lists, Job Boards, and Listservs

Make sure you're on the mailing list and listservs of both the career center and the alumni association so you stay informed about upcoming events, lectures, and career fairs where recruiters come to campus for interviews. Call to find out what listservs and mailing lists are available to you based on your student status (senior or alumni) and industry. Also, check to see if your alumni association has a mailing list, listserv, or job board for recent alumni.

Networking

Career Services gives you both formal and informal opportunities to network throughout the year via receptions, employer presentations, industry workshops, and other programs. Don’t pass them up, they can lead to a job and may even be fun!

Career Events

Some career services departments offer specific industry and skills workshops that could make you stand out from the crowd. And many of them are free! For example, a “Dining Out” workshop could teach you proper etiquette for professional lunch or dinner interviews.

Professional Advice

The BEST service that career service centers offer is professional advice from career counselors, who can give you personal feedback, critique your résumé, and help you tune up your cover letter. Make an appointment for a meeting with a career counselor so you’ll have enough to time to discuss all of your questions without feeling rushed. It’s worth the time and effort to carve out some one-on-one time with a career counselor.

This is an excerpt from Finding Your First Job After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!

Spending ratios are used to determine the amount of your income that goes toward a particular expenditure area. They can be used as tools in cutting expenses.

To figure out your:

Housing Payment Ratio

Add up all of your housing costs (rent, insurance, and so on). Compare that number to your total income. If your housing costs are more than 28 percent of your gross income, you're paying too much for housing and should look for ways to cut your costs.

Car Expenses Ratio

Add up all your monthly insurance, car payments, gas, parking, and tolls. Compare that number to your total gross income. The goal is to spend 15 percent or less of your gross income on everything related to your car.

Total Debt Ratio

Add up all your monthly payments, including car, credit card, rent, and so on. Compare that number to your total gross income. If it's more than 36 percent of your income, these expenses are too high, and you should look for ways to cut them.

Savings Ratio

Compare the amount of money you save each week or month to your income for that period. You should be aiming for 8 percent a year. If you're not saving that much, you should look for ways to cut expenses and save more.

There are other ratios, too, but these are good ones to get you started. Don't get too hung up on these ratios. The problem is that these numbers can vary depending on what city you live in, what your transportation needs are, and what else you have to accomplish within your spending target. But they're a good starting place. If your housing costs are 29 or 30 percent instead of 28 percent, it doesn't mean you should immediately sublet your apartment and move back home with Mom and Dad. But if you find your ratio is closer to 35 or 40 percent, you ought to think about downsizing.

Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself

Everyone has different hobbies, jobs, and pursuits, and there's no reason to skimp on items you know you'll end up paying for anyway.

There's no better way of sticking to the plan than by keeping your lifestyle and preferences in mind. Otherwise, all attempts at budgeting will be doomed to failure. It's important to balance your lifestyle with your finances.

Obviously no one is saying you need to stay home every night to avoid spending money on these things—they are what make life fun and enjoyable, right? Budgets are like diets: nobody can stick to one that is too harsh. Plan for your essentials and savings, but give yourself a reasonable allowance for entertainment—and you will be less tempted to cheat!

This is an excerpt from Managing Your Money After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!

Watch Your Manners

Think before you speak. If it would offend your mom's mom, don't say it. And definitely don't leave it on a voice mail!

Perfect Your Introduction

Have a few great opening lines ready for making new, important contacts. Having a few polished introductory sentences shows you are confident, intriguing, intelligent, and memorable. It also makes it easier to get the other person's contact information.

To create your own introduction, consider what you have to say that would interest other people. Don't just tell them how great you think you are or how much you know. Instead, tell them only enough so that they are intrigued and ask to hear more. Comedy and similarity can be good conversation starters, too, but if you're not funny don't introduce yourself with a joke. The other person may think you're punch line! Lead with your well-rehearsed IM, and you can turn any stranger into your new hottest contact.

Write down twenty-give potentially great opening lines that could serve as your all-important introductory message. Narrow them down to your five favorites. Call three friends whom you respect and ask them which of the five opening lines best introduces you, your strengths, and your ambitions.

Keep Your Head Up

People pay attention to how you carry yourself. When you walk is your head up and confident or are you slouching and looking worn out? This is one simple habit reveals much about your attitude. People meeting you for the first time may go so far as to interpret how you carry yourself as evidence of how you might carry them in a time of need. Think about it: Do you want the person with the firm handshake who holds her head high on your team or your opponent's? I want her on my team!

Get your image off on the right foot by always offering a firm handshake, making good eye contact, and having decent posture. This goes whether you are a man or a woman, going for a job interview or on a blind date. So, before you go into a meeting or on a date, take a deep breath, collect your thoughts, and then walk in with confidence.

Leave a Paper Trail

Invest $50 in your future. Buy some decent letterhead and envelopes. Print five hundred sharp-looking business cards. You can get all these at your local copy store office-supply store, or print shop. Then keep in mind that your fancy business cards do you no good if they remain in your pocket! If you really want to secure your image, buy your name as a URL address - before someone else does!

Keep Your Ears Open

The fastest way to make a new friend or turn your enemies into allies is to actually listen to what they are saying. This is different from hearing someone's words and nodding along while you glance around the room and wish you were talking to someone else. Actually listening requires paying attention to what the other person says and how he says it. All these signals add up to you getting his point the way he intended.

The easiest way to actually listen, instead of only halfway hear, is by adding three simple habits to your plugging-in conversations.

• Habit 1: Allow the other person to make her key points without interruption.

• Habit 2: Summarize her major points back to her. (So I think what you are saying is...)

• Habit 3: Ask specific questions or two about her main point.

These three habits are so simple, but most people won't add them to their conversations, no matter how important the new contact. The reason is simple: Most people would rather hear themselves talk than really listen to someone else! As a result, they miss out on valuable information and more meaningful connection that could open the door to otherwise unreachable opportunity.

Be Gracious

Do not take it personally if people cannot or do not help you. Some people may not see any immediate way they can help you or they may not have the time. In this case, do not discard them entirely. Keep them informed of your on-goings because they may be able to help you in the future. Never discount anyone, you’ll be surprised at how people can help you.

Be In the Know

Watch the news more and have your own point of view. It's important to do these things as an adult. Be more educated. The news is a good place to start, and you may find connections with people that way. When networking, you want to

Follow Up on All Exchanges, Resumes, Networking Contacts, Etc.

When someone gives you a referral, an opportunity to send a resume you should follow through immediately. This sound obvious, but people often let days turn into weeks and each day that elapses increases the chances for something to go wrong. Things can change. People leave their positions, the climate of the company can change, the job opportunity can get filled, the person can forget the phone conversation you've just had. Don't miss the boat.

Keep In Touch

Keep in touch with your original contacts, and let them know how things are going. Remember: your contacts have recommended you to their business friends, they are interested in the outcome of your conversations. It is important to maintain regular contact with every member of your network.

Find creative ways to stay on someone's radar screen. Set a search engine alert -- research your contacts and their interests, and stay in touch that way.

Mutually Beneficial

Don't just call contacts when you need something, make sure that you are available to help them as well when you can. Remember that networking is a two-way street.

Do Your Homework

Research industries, organizations and positions before and after your networking meetings. Your meetings and follow-up will be more productive, as your questions will be more informed and the contacts will know you are serious and interested in them and their industry.

Plan Ahead

Make the most of social gatherings by planning in advance. Set a goal to meet, connect with and learn from three to five people at an event. Do your research before going so you know something about those you might meet.

It’s Not You, It’s Them

Conversations should be focused on the person you're speaking with, not you and your job search. That can come later, after trust has been built. When first introduced to the contact you want to speak with, show genuine interest in their lives, interests and careers.

This is an excerpt from Finding Your First Job After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!

Having a budget helps you discipline yourself in those moments when you are tempted to choose between something you need and something you merely want. Just as a blueprint guides the building of a house, a personal budget acts as a guidance system to steer you away from costly impulses and money-burning behaviors.

Establishing a budget isn’t rocket science; it just takes some careful thought and discipline. At the end of the chapter we provide you with a budget template to help get you started

Follow these steps to create your budget:

1. Identify Income

Obviously the first thing that comes to mind is your salary. Anyone who has already been employed knows that your stated salary isn’t what winds up in your bank account—the government takes its share first. Once you get your first paycheck you will know exactly how much the government is going to be taking, but for now an estimate will do. If the average graduate makes roughly $40,000 per year and is a single person with no dependents, assume that the government will be taking about 23 percent of your income each paycheck. That leaves you with approximately $30,000 take-home pay. The more you make, the more they take, so adjust this figure accordingly. Divide by 12, and you’ll have a monthly income of about $2,500. Don’t forget to factor in reductions for health insurance or a retirement plan if that applies.

Need help with the Math? Visit RealWorld101.org/Calculating-Your-Income to calculate your monthly income.

Other Sources of Income

Other sources of possible income include signing bonuses, profit sharing, and any dividend checks you receive from personal investments. Since we’re working on a monthly budget here, only include those additional sources of income that you will be receiving monthly. A one-time windfall such as a signing bonus shouldn’t be factored in. It’s better to calculate your with less money than more.

2. Pay Yourself First

You've probably heard the expression "pay yourself first." This is really a critical expense. If you don't pay yourself, you won't have money for emergencies, money to retire, money to cover times of unemployment, and so on. "Paying yourself first" means allocating money to your retirement and non-retirement investments and emergency funds just like any other bill you need to pay - not waiting to see what's left over in your checking account at the end of the month. There's probably almost nothing left.

When you put together a budget, you can set aside your savings in one of two ways. Either include the money you'll save each month in your routine expenses, or deduct it from your income before you start making your budget. Paying yourself first will reward you greatly down the road.

3. List Your Expenses

Use your spending notebook and any other receipts you've saved to determine your actual expenses. You can create subcategories if you’d like to be more detailed. Subcategories can be used to remind you of all the possible expenses. As you write down expenses, you will probably start to see areas of unnecessary spending you can cut back on.

Routine Expenses

Routine expenses include the more obvious expenditures like rent, insurance, food, and entertainment.

To learn more about routine expenses, visit RealWorld101.org/Routine-Expenses

Non-routine Expenses

Non-routine expenses are expenditures that people often overlook because they don't have to pay them regularly. They include car repairs or medical expenses.

The way to anticipate non-routine expenses is to list and total all that you've had in the past year. Include car repair bills, big gifts, unexpected medical bills, an unexpected friend’s wedding, and any others you can think of. Total the cost of all those things, and then divide the total by 12. That's how much you should set aside each month for non-routine expenses.

If you're just out of college and starting out, estimating your non-routine expenses will be difficult because you probably won't have much of a history of these types of expenses to work from. If that's the case, ask someone to help you. Maybe you have a friend who's been on his own for a few years and can give you an idea about these types of expenses. Or perhaps a family member can advise you on car repairs and other expenses.

Tips For Expenses

Plug the Leaks

If you know you have certain areas of weakness, like eating out, break those out in more detail (restaurant meals, breakfast at a coffee shop, etc.). This will help you keep a closer eye on the problem areas.

Calculate Out Your Expenses

Make a list of things you know you'll spend money on every month. Your list will definitely include rent, which is most likely fixed each month. For utility bills you may have to sum a couple months' worth and compute your average for one month. Car payments and insurance payments are set in stone, so they're easy to calculate on a monthly basis. Even if you pay your car insurance twice a year, figure out what it costs you per month.

Turn Your Goals Into Expenses

They won't pay for themselves, and the sooner you can put some money away for specific goals in the future, the better off you'll be. Once you identify what your goals are, you must prioritize your expenditures to align with them. For example, is your goal to move out of your parents’ house? Or saving for a down payment on a car by spring? Or maybe you want to buy that special someone a great gift? They're all worthwhile goals, but you need to budget for them! The idea here is that your choices should meet your needs, and you should finance those choices in the wisest possible way. When you know exactly where you want your extra money to go, you'll have all the incentive you need for developing a smarter budget and achieving your goals.

Tool:Budget Worksheet

Keeping track of your spending and managing your money is so much easier with a budget. Use our Budget Worksheet to help you make the most of your money.

Budget Online

Social networking financial Web sites like Mint.com, Geezeo.com and Wesabe.com are made for twentysomethings. You can keep all your finances in one place, manage your budget, check your balances from your cell phone or office and see how much you’re spending compared with everyone else. If you do your banking online, you simply link one of the programs to your accounts and the website automatically grabs your spending activity from those sources and categorizes it for you.

There are plenty of websites and software that offer advice on setting up budgets and handling other financial matters, visit RealWorld101.org/Budget-Online

This is an excerpt from Managing Your Money After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!

Whenever and Wherever

Networking is a commitment. You must always be on the lookout for new opportunities. Being prepared to network in even the oddest settings will have you interviewing for more positions than you ever thought possible. 

Hot Networking Zones

Some places are ideal for networking.

Professional Associations

As you begin your job search, explore and join the professional associations in your field. Most professional organizations offer significantly reduced rates for students, and the potential benefits of joining certainly outweigh the cost. But for professional associations to function as a networking tool, it is not enough to simply join. You must regularly attend meetings, maybe even become an officer, or volunteer during special events.    

Alumni Associations

Alumni associations are ready-made networking opportunities where you can connect with professionals who share their alma mater. These networks offer professional development opportunities, mentors, casual and formal networking opportunities, and exposure to various career paths.

Attend Events

Go to all the conferences, lectures, and events related to your field. When you go to events, force yourself to go alone instead of recruiting a friend. That way, you won't have a crutch to lean on and you'll be forced to talk to people. You can’t afford to be shy—if you see someone you want to meet, approach them, introduce yourself and ask them something about their work.

This is an excerpt from Finding Your First Job After College Guide which is included in our Real World 101 Care Packages. Visit our Care Package page to find out how to get one for yourself or for a lucky college grad!