So you just got your degree. That is amazing and you should be proud and excited.
Never forget though,college is expensive. There is no way around it. But leaving college also offers its own additional financialquagmires. Having a graduation party and the announcements, possibly relocating to a new town,hopefully having an immediate job, and now your school expects you to start paying them.
These can allput a crunch on your budgetandcan get overwhelming very quickly.
Luckily, by knowing the right tipsand doing the proper research, your graduation expenses do not have to put a huge dent in your wallet.
Graduation Invitation/Announcements and Party
If you have any friends or family, you can expect that they’re going to want to know when you aregraduating – Something that can’t, andprobably shouldn’t, be avoided.
This can cost a lot of money andtime, but neverever forget your inner-DIY!
If you are only sending out a handful of invitations to family and closefriends, it may not be worth the money to have them professionally done. Itall comes down to howyou value money versus how you value your time.
Now, if you were like a few of my friends in collegewho felt the need to invite their entire town, it may be more efficient to use an online card service thatdoes all the work for you. Again, this is up to you to decide whether you prefer to be saving the most ontime versus the most on money.If you decide you want to make 100 invitations by yourself, you maynot end up graduating on time!
If you decide to have a party, keep it simple. A graduation party does not have to be an extravaganza.While it is definitely an achievement worth sharing and celebrating, this isn’t a birthday. You don’t needa theme, you don’t need party favors, and you hardly even need decorations. A simple“Congratulations” sign and maybe a few balloons in the shape of a graduation cap.
Add thatwith a fewappetizers and drinks (doesn’t even have to be alcohol, that’s for later!) and you’ll be good to go.
A graduation party thatincludes family and non-college friends is mostly a meet and greet of “Congratulations” and “Thankyou’s.” These aren’t the types of parties you want to seriously invest money in.
You can also do joint graduation parties with fellow graduating classmates. A great andeasy way to split the cost!
Relocating
The immediate need after graduating college is a source employment.
If you have a job lined up rightout of college you are probably ahead of the game!
The thing to remember when seeking employmentis where you will be relocating. Being paid $20 an hour living in San Francisco is not the same as earning$20 an hour in Boise, Idaho.
You should not just be focusing on the career you want, but where you willbe able to earn the most compared to the cost of living in the new town or city you are employed in.
Doyour research! There are plenty of places to live for recent graduates. Finding a place that has a low costof living with a high employment rate will end up saving you money right out of the gate.
Thrift shops will also be your best friend. If you need any furniture or home decor, none of it needs to benew.
You just graduated college, this is your “first” apartment or house! Remember your first car? Formost us, as long as it got us from point A to point B, that’s all that matters.
The same goes for your newhome. It should be comfortable, but don’t think you need to be the next feature on Cribs.
Loan Repayment
This is the big, scary one.
Most colleges or universities have a grace period before payments on loansneed to be made. For many loans, this is around six months.
This means you have six months to find ajob, a place, reliable transportation, and make sure you have enough income to drop a few hundreddollars on your studentloans.
No pressure in the “real” world, right?
Again, do your research.
Repayingloans are never going to be fun, but it doesn’t always have to be scary. Refinancing is always an option,and sometimes your best bet on saving money in the long run.
Refinancing is essentially taking out anew loan, ideally with lower interest rates and lower monthly payments. While this may not be anoption immediately after graduation, don’t think that you are stuck with the rates and payments for theentire lifetime of the loan.
You may also may be able to save money by consolidating your loan. Consolidating your loan would bemost useful if you have multiple loans from multiple institutions or organizations. Essentially, you arecombining your debt into a single account, reducing the number of payments you will be making eachmonth.
If you’re pulling your hair out every month because you have three different due dates, none of which coincide with your pay schedule, consider consolidation.
Consolidating your federal loans may be easier to save money, so when consolidating your privatestudent loans always make sure you go with a company that has a history of integrity and transparency.
Final Thoughts
There are many small, but important ways to save money during graduation season. It is alwaysimportant to plan ahead and be as frugal as possible.
While you only graduate college once,it’s not the family and friend’s graduation party that you are going to remember in ten years.
Think on amacro scale – not just what job you want, but the benefits and disadvantages of where your job will be.
Watch your loans like a hawk, and always be looking into ways for reducing payments and interest rates.
There are options out there, you just need to put the work in to find them.
Remember, graduatingcollege is also your breakthrough into the “real” world, and take it from me, it is a lot easier to take thatfirst step when feeling financially secure.
Linus Minick is a freelance writer and blogger. He lives in the beautiful state of Idaho, where he enjoys the outdoors, cooking and playing video games. He is a graduate of The College Of Idaho and is currently living in Boise.
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