Talon Magazine

TALON

April 2012

Life After College

2 Dearest Readers, April showers bring May flowers, and what better month than May to bring growth and the promises of new beginnings.

Every May, seniors graduate into a world full of possibilities. One such possibility is finding a new place to lay your head at night. Or learning to budget and save money.

In this special Talon issue, we offer you tips and bits of advice on life after college and decorating your new dwelling in a way that makes you feel mature, yet still young and vibrant.

So we congratulate you, future Avila Alumni, and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!

Sincerely,

Liz Carroll

Contents

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Budgeting After College

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Kitchen Essentials

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Beating the After College Blues

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Tips for Decluttering Small Spaces

Remember what your mom said.

Always use Tide.

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Budgeting After College

You can do the things you want. You just have to budget for it.

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o you’ve landed a job right out of college. The pay is decent, and has the potential to give you a much more vibrant social life and purchasing power. And then it hits you: You don’t have the cushion of bumping up your student loans (which we don’t recommend in any case) or adding to your work-study hours to supplement your income if you run out of cash a few days before payday. The key is not getting yourself in that situation where the money drys up in the first place, and to learn how to spend — and save — your money in a way that you’re not living paycheck to paycheck.

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udgeting in the real world isn’t all sacrifice, though. It’s about being realistic and living within your means.

Yes, you can set some cash aside for the fun stuff, too. You just need to budget for it.

$alary Reality

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e know most of you understand that you won’t actually be getting that entire salary quoted to you in your job offer. State and federal taxes and any retirement or insurance benefits will come out of that total, although you’ll see some of that again come tax return season. The best way to get an accurate picture of your salary and how much you’re actually able to spend out of each paycheck is to fill out a budget worksheet off

the bat. Budget worksheets in the job search phase can also be helpful in determining how much you’d realistically need to make in order to cover your monthly expenses. (No, this doesn’t include contributing to your flat screen TV fund.) If you’ve already started the job and are figuring out whether to order that pizza, a budget worksheet will keep you from over-using those credit cards, which, as in college, should be used in emergencies only.

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ake a look at your paycheck and determine what you’ll be pulling in on a monthly basis. Subtract any taxes and other work-related expenses

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first, and then determine how much you’ll need to cover the rent and any other housing-related costs, like utility and cable payments. Subtract what you’ll be paying toward your student loan debt, as you won’t have the option of deferring your

“The key is to just start saving.” loans if you’re gainfully employed.

Are you commuting to the new job? Factor in gas and other travel expenses. (Some lucky few may see mileage reimbursements, although you typically only see those when you travel as part of the job.) Are you carrying a balance on any credit cards? Subtract what you’d like to realistically put toward those totals; you should try to pay well over the

minimum to avoid giving those credit card companies much in exorbitant interest fees.

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inally, consider your living expenses. Eating in is a good way to save money, so come up with a grocery budget. We’re not completely against fun, though, so set some aside for entertainment purposes, too. Is there any left over? This doesn’t mean you should celebrate by buying a new pair of shoes; as soon as you’re able, you should start saving. Many employers will offer retirement benefits or other savings accounts that are automatically deducted from your paycheck, but saving up for an emergency fund or a down payment on a new home or car will be up to you. While looking at your salary realistically isn’t fun, it does help keep you from falling into more debt and determining whether you need to either cut back or pull in more income to pad your monthly salary.

6 $etting Your Priorities

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etting your priorities when it comes to filling out your budget worksheet will help you not only meet your obvious goal of paying your bills each month, but will help you see where you can make cuts to, say, pay off those credit cards. Any debt you have that carries a high interest rate should be near the top of your list of priorities, after your monthly list of bills (student loan payment, car/ health insurance, you know the drill).

If you’ve only been making the minimum payments and barely making a dent in those credit card totals, it may be time to reprioritize to pay your cards off faster.

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f you need to spend more one month on furnishing a new apartment or buying appropriate work clothes, it’s up to you to determine what you could spend on those additional expenses while still making ends meet.

This could also mean meeting your friends out less and staying in more for the month, or looking for a supplemental income source if you don’t have a lot of wiggle room in your budget. Budgeting in the real world can mean making some tough choices, but you’ll be thankful you made some sacrifices and spent within your means when you’re on solid financial footing with some savings to boot.

Find Affordable Housing

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good rule of thumb is to not let your housing expenses be more than 30% of your monthly take home pay.

Stay

7 within this range and you should not feel a pinch at the beginning of every month when rent comes due.

Make $aving Automatic

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ever too early to start saving for retirement or for your emergency fund. If your employer has a 401k program, start investing in it immediately.

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he key is to just start saving, no matter how small. As you see the dollar bills start to pile up, saving money will become very habit forming and give you financial peace of mind.

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he saying, “It is not what you know, but who you know�, is one to live by. Almost every job I have gotten was because somebody put a good word in for me before my interview.

Drive Your Car Into the Ground

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am not suggesting you stop maintaining your old car. You definitely want to keep it safe to drive and get the best mileage possible out of it. What I am suggesting is that you avoid the impulse to go into debt over a new car when that first paycheck arrives in your bank account.

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itchen ssentials

These 9 items are necessities in the kitchen.

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itchen items are essential for life after college. We’ve compiled a list of must haves for you.

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Cutting board (or two). After browsing the bounty at the local markets, you will need something on which to slice those luscious strawberries or dice those ripe tomatoes.

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A knife set. All kitchens should be stocked with at least a paring knife, a serrated knife and a chef’s knife.

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Measuring cups and spoons. You’ll need them to make just about everything.

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Can opener. Admit it: We’ve all had that moment when we’ve reached for a can of soup or beans only to realize that we didn’t have anything to open it with. Essential.

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A large pot, preferably a heavybottomed one. Pasta is a go-to meal, so you’ve got to have something for boiling water and pasta.

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Colander. After the water boils and before your dinner is ready to be eaten, you’ll need a utensil to properly drain your pasta.

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Bakeware. A set of 3 sizes for brownies, cakes, and casseroles.

Nonstick Skillet. For frying stuff.

Need we say more?

Tupperware (lots and lots!). All those containers from deli meats and restaurant leftovers are worth saving. In addition to preventing food from going to waste, use Tupperware to store flour and sugar, or to sneak food from the dining hall. When on a college budget, no food should be left to spoil.

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aving these items will save you frustration and time, making your new “after college” life much easier!

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t’s all these little things that we use everyday that, as unglamorous as they may be, are essential to running a household.

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Beating the After College Blues

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raduating from college is bittersweet. After four years knee-deep in academia, I was tired of the once exciting dorm parties, I was disillusioned by studying subjects that did not necessarily have any realworld application, and I felt anxious about setting out into the real world.

Then, graduation came round sooner than I thought.

I found myself with a B.A. in English but no job, most of my friends had skipped town to move back home, and what had preoccupied my time for four years had suddenly disappeared.

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ake an effort to become acquainted with the city you live in. One thing I had noticed once I graduated from college was that, even though I had lived in the same city for four years, I hardly knew it beyond the one mile radius that surrounded campus. Once I graduated, getting to know my city’s restaurants, night life, and other cultural attractions like museums helped me discover life beyond the confines of college.

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all or Skype your closest friends who’ve moved away at least once a week. I’m the worst person when it comes to keeping in touch with friends who don’t live in the same place I do. Since most of my closest college buddies had moved elsewhere

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ake up hobbies that you had given up when you were too busy in school.

When I was in college, I always complained that I never had time to do anything but study. This, of course, wasn’t entirely true because I did spend a good portion of my time socializing and goofing around. This provided me with ample opportunity to take up hobbies I had quit once I started college, like playing the piano, reading for fun, and writing poetry and short fiction.

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oin young professionals organizations. Getting to know others who are in the same age group and same stage in life is also essential in overcoming that feeling of being all alone. Most cities and even small towns have groups.

for Decluttering TSipsmall Spaces

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t’s a lot harder to keep an apartment or small house organized and tidy, but it is critical that you do so. It only takes one pile of papers and one box to overwhelm a smaller space. What to do?

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mbrace Storage Containers: People often think, “My apartment or home is so small, I can’t fit a filing cabinet, bookshelves or a desk,” but if you don’t buy the appropriate storage products, things pile up quickly in a small space.

In other words, embrace the fact that you have stuff and like to have certain things around — that’s what makes you interesting. Just find a way to manage it all so you don’t feel overwhelmed by it.

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urniture As Storage: Is there an ottoman you could also use to store blankets? If you’re in the market for a new bed, consider looking at one that has drawers underneath or at least enough height to store some under-the-bed bins. Bedside tables are typically too small to hold all the things people want to use them for - magazines, glasses of water or tea, clock, newspapers, reading glasses, lamp, etc. If you’re buying a new one, think about whether one with shelves and/or drawers might work for you.

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hink Vertical: In small homes it is very important to maximize all of the space. Think vertical. Could you hang shelves above your desk for extra

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books, papers or pictures? If your desk is too small or you don’t have a home office, maybe some hanging file folders would work in the kitchen to organize incoming papers. Bulletin boards and magnetic boards are also great places to display artwork, school reminders, travel plans etc. These don’t require a lot of space, but can be super helpful for getting things off countertops and other surfaces.

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Little Bit Each Day: People often say that they don’t have enough time to do any organizing, but everyone can find 10-15 minutes in their day to focus on at least one small space or project. I recently had a client say to me as we neared the end of our session, “I would love to clear off my desk, but 30 minutes isn’t nearly enough time.” Guess what?

It was a perfect amount of time. We spent 30 minutes very focused on our project; she knew there was a limit to how much time we had, so we worked quickly, and were able to organize all of her miscellaneous papers into several categories very quickly: To File, To Toss, To Shred, and To Do. Done.

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et Rid of Things: Chances are you don’t need most of the papers that you’re keeping — shred them. If you haven’t worn that sweater for three years, donate it. Expired food should be tossed. Clearing out even a few items will make you feel calmer.

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