(2) Open a Checking and Savings Account. A checking and savings account is a great way to kick off

I began my post-graduation job search disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap in January 2009, just days after my last final exam. Word to the wise: don't begin your job search after graduation. I got lucky -especially since unemployment the month I started disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap my first job was 8.3% (February 2009).
When I started this new job, I had a ton to figure out. Though I maintained a budget during college, everything was pretty much laid out for me. I split tuition costs with my parents, paid a fraction of my rent, and used my dad's credit card for purchases like food, coffee (lots of coffee), books, and other miscellaneous expenses. I was on a tight budget, but for the most part, I was playing (and paying) with someone else's money.
Once I finished school, I took a job two thousand miles away from home. My parents made it clear that I might as well be two million miles away from their wallets. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way, but I would have appreciated disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap a little guidance.
(1) Find a Nearby Bank (or Credit disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap Union).  I grew up in Michigan and went to college in Canada. When I moved out West for my new job, I discovered that the Bank of Montreal didn't dot every street corner disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap in Nevada. Shocker, right? Even more surprising, the nearest branch for the American bank I used was about 100 miles away. With online banking options and automatic deposit, it was easy to continue to bank with my Michigan institution, but physical access to my money and a financial service representative was tricky and very inconvenient.
The bank you used in college or in your hometown may not have a branch near your new job. Having easy access to your hard earned cash and to some of the personal financial services a bank can offer is important. You don't have to close your old accounts if you don't want to, but I suggest you open an account at a convenient, nearby bank.
(2) Open a Checking and Savings Account.  A checking and savings account is a great way to kick off your financial independence. It's a safe and secure way to manage your money, pay your bills and collect your paycheck. Most banks offer direct deposit, which makes it easy for your employer to immediately transfer your paycheck on payday. Similarly, a lot of utility companies and services providers (internet, cable, satellite TV) offer a direct withdrawal payment option. It's hassle free and ensures that you make each of your payments on time.
A bank also offers alternatives to cash to every account holder. Debit cards, personal checks, electronic wire transfers, and credit cards are a few of the products banks make available to their clients. Each of these tools has efficiency benefits that can help you manage disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap your money (it beats keeping cash under your mattress) and conduct fiscal transactions quickly and safely. Best part: you can set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings account each month. This automatic transfer immediately takes the amount you plan to save every month out of circulation so you're disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap not tempted to dip into the money you've allotted for that rainy day.
Another great thing about having a checking/saving account is access to online banking. With online banking you can see all your monetary disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap transactions. The ability to see the money coming and going from your account offers you a tremendous advantage when managing your bottom line. With an online record, available 24/7, you don't need to worry if you lose a receipt. It also allows you to see how you're coming along on some of your other financial goals – like saving. And seeing the result of all your hard work and penny pinching can be the best encouragement.
(3) Get a Credit Card.  The words "credit" and "debt" carry pretty negative connotations, particularly among our peers. I get that. As with all things, if abused, misunderstood and used to excess a credit card can be a very damaging tool. But when used in moderation, disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap a credit disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap card can be very valuable.
While credit cards make monetary transactions easy, the most important disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap perk of a credit card is that it allows you to build a credit rating. If you're diligent and always pay your credit card balance disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap on time, your credit card company will report your financial responsibility and timeliness disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap to the credit disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap reporting agencies. These agencies will then issue a credit score that indicates to lenders, landlords, utility companies, and potential employers your ability to manage money. For more information on why credit is useful, see our three part series on credit and debt.
(4) Figure Out Your Credit Score.  I discovered the value and complexities of a credit score when I applied to rent my first place. Naturally, the landlords wanted to run a credit check to see if I could be trusted. I had never actually seen my credit score, disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap but I was convinced I had a perfect rating. I only had a car loan, and I had a perfect payment record. How could I not have a perfect disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap credit rating? What else would I have to do?
Turns out calculating a credit rating isn't just about holding disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap little debt and making payments on time. You also have to hold different kinds of debt (car loan, student loan, credit card, mortgage, etc.) to demonstrate your ability to manage disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap multiple debt products (this is why you should consider getting a credit card even if you have another form of debt on the books). It also matters how long you've been successfully managing the credit that's available to you. So with only one little two-year loan, my credit rating was only considered "OK."
Again, lucky for me an "OK" credit rating was enough disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap to land a roof over my head. But looking back, I wish I had checked on my credit score a lot sooner disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap so I could've begun to build a killer credit rating earlier. Still, I'm fortunate I took charge of my credit situation when I did.
Now that you have your first job, your credit score is going to matter more than you know. You're going to need that rating for a lot of the things you'll probably plan on pursuing in the future (i.e. buying a car, renting a home, buying a home, etc…) and a good score can help reduce the interest you'll have to pay on the loans you may need for those purchase. A solid credit rating may even reduce fees from the utility companies you use.
(5) Take Stock of Your Situation.  You need to count your money. Before you set up a budget, you need to decide just how much you have in financial assets and how much you're in debt. (This is where having a bank account and access to online banking can be really handy!). Add up what you have, and then dig up all the information, including deadlines, on the debt you owe.
The next piece of the puzzle is to determine how much of that new salary you'll actually see after taxes and withholding. If you haven't started your new job yet, use a tool like the GenFKD calculator (located on our home page) to give you an estimate on how much money you'll be paying in taxes and how much money you'll get to keep.
You need to know exactly where you stand financially before you start making any financial decisions and laying out a budget. You need to know all the intimate details of your cash inflows, outflows, and holdings. Simply knowing this information will help you to make smart money choices going forward.
(6) Identify New Expenses and Fixed Costs.  Living on your own means you're now responsible for a whole new set of expenses. Rent, utility costs, healthcare premiums, auto insurance, transportation, and groceries are all expenses you now have to consider when making a budget. A lot of these items are recurring (occur monthly) and/or fixed costs (they're disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap the same amount every month). To pull together a realistic budget, it's imperative that these items are included and realistically estimated. 

If you're a new tenant, talk to your landlord and/or the utility company disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap to get an idea of what electricity, gas and water might cost you throughout the year (remember that the cost fluctuates based on usage and typically by season). Go over how much you've spent in the past on groceries to determine a food allowance, and make sure you're disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap up-to-date on the monthly cost of rent, healthcare, transportation and auto insurance so there are no surprises.
Here's a good rule of thumb for your fixed expenses: monthly housing costs (rent or mortgage) should never exceed disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap one-third of your monthly take home pay, and your other fixed, recurring costs should never be more than 50% of your monthly take home paycheck. The money left over goes to your savings, retirement, disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap and disposable income.
(7) Strategize to Save.  Always pay yourself first. disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap Saving each month should disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap be considered disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap a "fixed" expense – just like any bill, loan payment, and rent. To save successfully, it's important that you identify a percentage to save that you're comfortable with and feel you can achieve. A lot of people start out saving 10% of their income after taxes and then increase that percentage over time. The important thing is to find a value you're comfortable with and stick to it.
Saving goals are also very important. If you're just starting out, your first savings goal should be to build an emergency fund. Having an emergency stash will help protect you in the event you're involved in an accident, lose your job, or faced with a large unexpected expense. An emergency fund is typically equivalent to 3-6 months worth of living expenses and should be kept in a safe, accessible place like a savings account.
(8) Variable Costs.  Dining, entertainment, travel, clothing and beer are examples of variable costs. Each of these items, I'm sorry to say, are non-necessities. You have complete control over your consumption of each of these expenses. Once you've allocated funds for the fixed costs and your savings, you can now consider what you plan on spending on the fun stuff.
Add up all of your fixed costs (discussed in #6), the amount you're planning on saving each month, and the contributions you plan on making to your retirement account, and subtract from your monthly income disney world tickets reduced or discount or cheap after taxe