1. Learn To Cook: In all honesty, I have no idea what I ate in college. Probably because I was usually too hungover to eat anything other than pizza, mexican food, or hamburgers. Between racing to class, my dwindling bank account and the Decrepit state of our kitchen from the late night parties, cooking was not something I did often let alone think about. This is why after graduating, and settling in your own apartment, cooking is more of a possibility. In fact, after a long day at work it can even be relaxing, and a great way to bring friends together and meet new people. Browse your nearest bookstore for tips on cooking on a budget, and easy to prepare meals.
2. Volunteer: You’ve heard it said before, ” If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.” Well, this is your opportunity to stand for something. Volunteering is a great way to become involved in your new community after graduation, meet people, stay busy, and spend your free time making a difference.
3. Travel: Remember when you were younger, and the feeling you got when you sprinted out on Christmas morning and saw the brand new bicycle with a huge bow on it from Santa? Well, that is the feeling you get once you have accrued enough vacation days at work to actually go somewhere. Take advantage of the time after college, when you aren’t bound to your class schedule or sick days. Grab your backpack, a close friend and go somewhere you’ve always wanted. Trust me, once you start your new job you won’t have this luxury.
4. Meet with a Financial Advisor: The first thing you should do after college (now that Mom and Dad aren’t helping out with rent) is to sit down with a financial advisor at your bank. They will help you open your own bank account (if you haven’t already), start a savings plan, and improve your credit.
5. Exercise: The easily accessible candy bowl/ nervous snacking/tired after work/sitting in front of a computer all day/free food in the kitchen/fully stocked cafeteria- pounds can sneak up on you after college. Join a gym, take a walk/run or hike to de-stress and look as great as you did before the Freshman 15.
6. Find and Cultivate a Hobby: Sorry, but “going out with Friends” does not count as a Hobby, although most of us wish it did. After graduating, and starting your 9-5 job, find something that relaxes you and that you love doing. Take up a sport (running, biking, soccer etc), do something creative (sew, knit, paint, draw) or learn an instrument. Doing so will take your mind off of the busy workday, and the stress of figuring out your future.
7. Read: “You always want what you can’t have.” In college, this was the luxury to read a book for fun and not be thinking in the back of my mind, “What are you doing reading Harry Potter?! You have 400 pages of your biology book to read by tomorrow!” Now that your text books have hit the bonfire (or even better a used textbook site), read read read. And not just books, reading the newspaper, news sites, and articles will keep you informed of current events, and give you something to talk about with coworkers and friends.
8. Update Your Resume: Now that you are graduated and are applying for full time positions, it’s time to make your resume more professional. Have your friends and family review it and give suggestions, and buy books to help you perfect it. Move that education section to the bottom, and the experience to the top- you are now a working professional. It’s important to have your resume, edited and ready to go at all times, maybe even carry a copy with you as you search for a job. It sounds nerdy I know, but you’ll thank me if you run into Steve Jobs at Starbucks.
9. Drink Responsibly: Your body can’t handle the keggers, binge drinking and thursday night 2 for 1 specials anymore. Instead, have one or two drinks with dinner and sip don’t gulp. As you start your professional career, you don’t want to be seen around town acting like a frat boy at a Journey concert. And Let’s be honest, who wants to be the talk of the water cooler?
10. Save a Little Money Each Week: If you are like me and struggle to meet rent every month on your entry- level salary, you may be wondering how this is possible. Really, putting aside 100 dollars a month (25 a week) is pretty reasonable for most people. You may have to stay in a night or two, or skip a shopping trip to do so, but it’s worth it in the long run. This is especially important with the state the economy is in right now. Lets say you put 100 dollars in your savings for 12 months. If the unthinkable happens, and you lose your job, you will have enough money to pay rent for a short while while you look for another job.
Bonus #11: Vote!! It can be tough to vote in college, as you change residence often and have difficulty imagining life outside of your college bubble. But as you enter the real world, you start to see the policies you previously didn’t think twice about, affecting you. Get out there and register.
Tags: cooking, drink responsibly, exercise, financial advisor, graduation, hobby, read, resume, save, top ten, travel, volunteer, vote
Thanks. I can certainly relate to your own experiences…specially about cooking.
All those things are definitely important, but my personal favorite is # 1 “How to Cook.” Remember, it doesn’t have to be a big deal and you can do a pretty good job in a small apartment. You can get a lot of great advice from the numerous cooking blogs too. So get on it!
Let us know how you’re progressing…