Author Topic: Starting Life Post-College the Mustachian Way  (Read 2400 times)

mrnovember09

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Starting Life Post-College the Mustachian Way
« on: January 22, 2014, 12:05:36 PM »
Hi everyone,

I still have a year and a half left of college, so I won't be on my own immediately, but this website has really affected the way I view my future life. Pretty soon I'll be looking for jobs, a place to live, and beginning my life as an independent adult, and I definitely want to try my hand at doing in the mustachian way.

Any particular things that I should do/avoid/be aware of as I begin my adult life? I won't have many student loans and I'm definitely not buying cable. If I can find a place to live near whatever job I (hopefully) find, I'm going to try just using a bike or public transportation instead of car as well.

Thanks for any advice you can give!

lizzzi

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Re: Starting Life Post-College the Mustachian Way
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2014, 12:26:26 PM »
Some random thoughts: Start your retirement account/s early and continue to fund them without tapping in to them, even if the amounts seem ridiculously small. Later in life, you will be ecstatic with yourself. Avoid credit card debt at all costs--just don't do it.Keep track carefully of what you're using your credit card for, and treat it like plutonium, like it could blow you up at any minute.  If you do finance a car (just starting out, you might have to), buy a Mustachian car and put a lot of effort into paying it off ASAP. A good, used car that you pay cash for may be the better option, but make sure it is a safe car. I would try to go ahead and (in a Mustachian way)  do all the fun things you could not afford or did not have time to do because you were studying. Avoid risky behaviors, though, and as you build your after-college relationships, look for basically half-way decent people to build friendships and relationships with. Avoid losers hanging onto your coattails. I think that if you do some of the things on your fun bucket list while you are single and not responsible for anybody but yourself, you will be happier in later life. I always felt sorry for people who felt trapped by their mortgages/marriages/kids/whatever--and had never  taken the opportunities to do things they really wanted to do, when perhaps they could have. 

MrsPete

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Re: Starting Life Post-College the Mustachian Way
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2014, 07:27:53 PM »
- Start perusing thrift shops and consignment shops now for professional clothing.  If time is on your side, it's easy to put together a professional wardrobe for pennies on the dollar; on the other hand, if you wait 'til two weeks before your job begins, you're probably going to have to buy things at full price.  While I'd say that buying a minimum wardrobe to begin your first professional job is one of the very, very few times when it's appropriate to buy something on credit, you still have the time to avoid that problem.   

- When you choose your job, consider the area's cost of living along with other factors.

- Begin maxing out your 401K as soon as the option is available to you.  You're used to living like a student now -- even with money going into your savings, you're still going to have more money than you did as a student. 

- Hit the student loans hard.  As soon as they're gone, continue paying that money into your savings accounts. 

- Work hard.  Give the company a full day's work for a full day's pay.  Okay, that's not about saving money, but it's about being a valuable employee, which leads to better things.