Now that you’ve got a steady paycheck, you need to figure out what you're going to do with that money. Click here for a basic discussion of how to budget.
Good spending habits: Did you catch how we worded that? You need to figure out what you’ll do with the money. Not how you’ll spend it. That was no fluke. Just because you’ve got some cash now, doesn’t mean you need to spend it – not all of it, anyway.
Be smart. Review your budget. Save money. If you already are, see if you can save more. 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: Those sweat pants and thrift-shop jackets from college probably won't cut it in your new job, and you may need to spend more money on clothes. So where does money come from? That’s for you to decide – but it’s a decision you have no choice but to make. Maybe it’s time to cook more and eat out less. Have friends over for drinks rather than meeting in bars. Make the DVD player your friend. Whatever you do, you’ll have to decide what's important to you, and what’s less important. And that’s where the budget gets going.
