More pearls of financial wisdom for graduates

Here are some highlights from the rest of the posts in last month's MBN Group Writing Project on Finances at Graduation, highlighting some of the best advice that personal finance bloggers have for the newly graduated.

• From Plonkee Money: ““About spending lots of money, don’t. Whatever income situation you’re in, you probably don’t have as much free money as you thought you might. Keep a tight grip on your finances until you become used to the amount of money that you do have.” It's very tempting to go nuts after landing a job, but wait to see what your hard expenses will be before adding a lot of soft ones.
• From Think Your Way To Wealth: “Most employers offer a 401k plan, and the majority, but not all, offer some kind of match. This match is free money.” Right when you graduate is the best time to think about your retirement years. This one piece of advice was also in the first list a couple of weeks ago, and I've mentioned it too. It's very, very important to start saving early because waiting will cost you dearly. Please! Pretty please!
• From My Dollar Plan: “Start an emergency fund. Earmark some of your first dollars from your new job to build up a savings account to serve as an emergency fund. You never know when an emergency will hit, but it is inevitable.” Boy, is it ever inevitable. Car repairs. Car replacement. (I've had to do that one!) Moving out on short notice. Root canal. You name it. It's way better to have cash on hand than to resort to credit. Otherwise you'll have a debt reduction problem on your hands.
• From Cash Money Life: “Only use student loans for college expenses. Student loans are for one thing only – college expenses. This includes tuition, fees, books, tutors, and other similar fees. This does not include pizza, beer, out of town football games, spring break, parties and other frivolous expenditures. You may have your student loans for a long time, and you won’t be doing yourself any favors by adding fuel to the fire. I was fortunate not to need to deal with student loans but it's the same with credit cards: building up debt by purchasing consumer goods isn't a good idea.
• From Personal Finance Analyst: “What you may not think of doing though is creating your future. College graduation feels like and ending. You’ve been with the same people at the same insulated place for at least four or five years and now it’s all over. It’s the end. That’s how it feels. Now what? ‘Now what?’ is the best financial question your can ask yourself right now. This is my life starting, my adult life. What do I want from it?” This is a question of calling. What's your calling? If you're able to figure out your calling straight out of school, that's a big, big thing.
• From Blueprint for Financial Prosperity via Dumb Little Man: “Always Be Networking. Networking is really the fancy term for making new friends. Find opportunities to meet new people by participating in as many things as you can. Join local groups interested in what you like, attend work functions (especially if they're geared towards new employees), and actively participate in local charities or philanthropic groups. Friends give life richness, make as many as you can.” This was one piece of advice I wish that I had taken to heart a little more. (Oh, by the way, did you know that Jim has an ebook just for grads, too?)

Congratulations graduates!