Start Your Emergency Fund This Year

Start this year off right by starting an emergency fund. Many of us in our 20s forget the importance of saving for a rainy day. I would go so far as to say that a majority of Americans have forgotten about the importance of saving for an emergency. That's part of what got us into this economic mess we are in now. But that's another point for another day.

So why start an emergency fun? Its simple! Would you rather pay for a $1,500 car repair out of your everyday checking account or put it on a credit card. The smart answer is no!

Making A Budget

I'm sorry for not posting for 2 days but it was a little crazy Sunday and Monday getting ready to come home from my girlfriends parents house. In light of not posting for Money Monday and seeing as today is Teach Me Tuesday I thought I would combine the two today and talk about creating a budget.

It's very important to create a budget once you have graduated. With all of the new financial responsibilities you take over when you graduate, knowing how much you are spending and what you are spending it on can help you grow financially and allow you to enjoy everything you want while still being responsible. I think its best to break this down into a series of steps. Like I've said before, I'm not financial expert. This guide is just what I know from my readings and my personal experience.

Step 1: Changing your thinking about a budget!
When you say the word budget most people cringe. The thought of tedious spreadsheets and math stops many people before they start. But a budget does not have to be a mental exercise requiring an advanced mathematics degree. There are plenty of software tools out there to help you stream line the process, but more on that in a bit.

Recap: Holiday Shopping Tips

Last night I was one of the unfortunate souls at the mall scrambling for a last minute gift for someone I didn't expect to buy for. You know one of those people you don't normally get a gift but when they decide to come to Christmas dinner you feel like you have too. Anyway, that got me thinking about how I did my shopping this year. And because this is the first year I had to buy all of my gifts myself since I have a full time job I thought I would share a few tips that I used this year to help me accomplish my shopping in hopes of reminding me and you next year on ways to avoid the stress of last minute gift shopping.

Tip # 1 Set A Budget!
This one I cannot stress enough. It seems obvious but setting a budget is going to keep you in check and help so you don't over spend this year. You could do it one of two ways. You could set an overall Christmas Gift budget that you are going to stay within. Or the way I did it this year was to set a budget for each person on my list. This worked best for me because I only wanted to spend a certain amount on certain people and by doing that it helped me narrow down my list of possible gifts for that person.

Tip #2 Make A List!
This was one of the best tricks I had up my sleeve. In past years I used to make a mental list of the people I wanted to buy for and then would head to the mall and browse the various stores until I found something for everyone that I had. Two problems with this. I can only imagine I spent more money than I needed to by not comparing gifts from various stores but more on this in tip number 4. Second, I always end up forgetting someone until the last minute and end up running out the week before Christmas to get them something. Grant it I had to do that this year but that was only because I didn't find out they were coming to Christmas until a week and a half before Christmas.

Tired of the Job Hunt...Find a Temp Agency

So this is the story of how I landed my current job at a HR consulting firm and how a temp agency helped me get here. Let me first start by saying I used to think temp agencies were for people who had little skills and education but I was sure wrong. But moving on, about 9 months ago I stumbled upon a job posting on one of the multitude of job sites out there. It was for a marketing assistant position at a medical devices company . I received my degree in political science but since a job in that field proved hard to find I was willing to take anything, and I figured my writing and critical thinking skills would be enough. Anyway, I clicked on the submit my resume button and I was off. The weird thing was I had to create a profile and submit my resume through another website called Office Team. I needed a job, so I didn't think twice about it. A day later, a woman from Office Team called and wanted to set up an interview. I thought great I'm on my way to a new job at a medical devices company. Not the case. Turns out they were a temp agency and I had to go to their regional office for an interview and an office skills test. (Just an FYI if you just graduated, that kind of test will come easy since its things  you use every day.) Now you are probably thinking that's a whole lot of extra work to not be guaranteed a job. Its worth it, trust me. And here's why