Sound Financial Advice for the Recent Graduate

The transition from high school graduate to college student is the first stepping stone to financial stability. However, many students are crippled by debt. According to the Center for American Progress, 38 percent of college graduates delay buying their first home due to overwhelming financial obligations and 14 percent delay marrying or having children for the same reason. As high school graduation approaches, the elders may be approached for advice. Frugality, making smart decisions and working while attending school are all frequent values to encourage on the recent grad.

Frugality at College

Lots of students spend four years in college eating takeout, playing with their high-end electronics, and partying on warm beaches for spring break. These same students will then wonder why they are beginning adult life under a mountain of debt. Advise recent high school grads to make their own low-cost meals, to use a prepaid cell phone and to spend their breaks working or taking on internships. While it is decidedly less glamorous, this approach will leave the graduate with far more options upon graduating college.

Making Smart Decisions

Before a young person goes off to college, a parent or other trusted adult should sit them down and show them how to balance a checkbook. High schools are notorious for teaching calculus and geometry in place of this rudimentary skill. By seeing exactly how the money is being spent, the graduate can make better decisions about their spending. While they may want to drive a nice car, their checkbook will tell them they can only afford a bicycle. Drinking and smoking were not what family and friends had in mind when they gave the graduate money for college, either.

Work While Attending

Unless the student is taking on an exceptionally heavy course load, there is no reason at all they cannot take on a part-time job. Most colleges even have a work-study program in place to assist students in finding employment that will dovetail with their studies. Working during college will help keep borrowing to an absolute minimum. Opportunities to make money doing freelance writing, editing, or tutoring are everywhere. Advise the grad to look into building a small income stream so they won't have to borrow money simply to eat.

Recent high school graduates need to understand that having healthy finances is an expected facet of adult life. They should be given advice about making good decisions, working, and being frugal before they go off to college. This way, they can move on as adults without being buried under a lifetime of debt.

Author is a freelance journalist who is passionate about saving money when shopping online and saving money for college, for more information please visit http://shop.upromise.com/.