Pearls of financial wisdom for graduates

We're having some good articles included in the Money Blog Network's June 2008 group writing project on finances at graduation. I'll be sharing some of my favorite words of wisdom from these posts here and in future posts.

From Wise Bread: “I wish that I had taken a year off after graduating and just traveled around the world. In the last three years I did have the opportunity to go to remote areas of Southern China, and I was amazed by how diverse my own country is. I truly believe that traveling and seeing how others live give you perspective and insight into how to live your life. Once you are settled down with young children it would not be as easy to run away to the end of the world for a long time.” WIth gas prices rising and worries that the easy availability of oil will come to an end faster than we might think, doing this while you still can should perhaps be given a little more importance.
From Consumerism Commentary: “Open an IRA and 401(k) … In many cases, companies offer 'employer matching' contributions; for example, for every $1.00 you contribute, your company may thrown in an extra $0.50, you to one-eighth of your salary. This is free money, and you should accept it without question.” I agree. I told a friend from church about this, and he's been out of school for a while. The earlier you contribute to an employer-matched account, the better.
From Get Rich Slowly: “Before you pay your bills, before you buy groceries, before you do anything else, set aside a portion of your income to save. … Pay yourself first.” Contributing to a 401(k) can do this, and withdrawing more money from your paycheck automatically to deposit it in a stronger piggy bank is also a good idea, because it's unlikely that your 401(k) alone will fund your retirement.
Free Money Finance has compiled over a dozen of his articles on finances for graduates, and they all look like winners.
From Five Cent Nickel: “Plan for the future. Iâ€™ve been where you are, and I know that ‘the future' seems like itâ€™s a million miles away. Do yourself a favor. Sit down and define short, intermediate, and long-term goals and then put together a plan for getting there.” This is great advice, and to supercharge it, make sure that your short-term goals contribute to your intermediate goals, and that your intermediate goals contribute to your long-term goals.
From Poorer Than You: “Everyone has an opinion on how you should budget – but all that really matters is that itâ€™s something that works for you. Just remember, budgeting is just continuing to track what you spend, but now doing it with goals and targets in mind.” Some people can deal with different levels of detail but the key is to discipline yourself to stick with whatever works, and to continue to tweak it until it does work.