Congratulations, graduate! Your day has finally arrived! You are on your own, making your own choices and making your own money. It's time to begin your career and become totally independent. The decisions you are about to make will have a huge impact on your future including your lifelong credit rating. It is important to give this careful consideration and thoughtfully evaluate your future.
Graduating from school and beginning this new chapter is a momentous event in each person's life. This is what your education has prepared you for. And along the way, we all acquire knowledge, and unfortunately many of us acquire debt as well.
I can still remember the first time I opened my mailbox to find - not greeting cards and magazines - but a fist full of bills and bank statements. That was when I realized that living in the "real world" of bills and responsibilities took some getting used to.
Whatever you decide to do in your life, the most important item on your "to do" list should be to develop a budget, followed immediately by setting realistic goals in the financial area. A section on my web site, www.KansasStateTreasurer.com, called Tomorrow's Money offers a step-by-step guide to achieving your financial goals.
Advice is probably coming at you from all sources, but hopefully this check-list adapted from MSN Money will help you prioritize, evaluate and clear up some of the confusion and anxiety.
- Start a money management system - Budgets will put in black and white what you make and what you need to pay.
- Look ahead; Set Goals.
- Live within your means.
- Be careful - very careful - with credit cards. Charge only what you can pay off at the end of each month.
- Start saving for retirement…sooner, rather than later.
- Get health insurance - from your employer if possible.
- Set up a strategy to pay off any and all debt.
- Build up an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses.
During my time as the Kansas State Treasurer, I have worked hard to encourage Kansans to take a pro-active approach to their finances. The decisions you make and the lessons you learn today will impact your financial future more than you realize. The more information you seek out now, the better equipped you'll be to make responsible financial decisions in the years to come.
Congratulations on your graduation! I commend you for your accomplishments and look forward to the contributions you will make to our great state!
