Advice for High School Graduate

[rob62521]

Don't live beyond your means...save early and save often...don't let what others have influence you, most folks live beyond their means.

Any time someone offers to teach you a skill, take them up on it. Never know when it will come in handy.

[moneybags]

The femi-nazi movement cringes at the thought of a woman marrying a man while in college or shortly thereafter. Their mantra is "have your career...you don't need a man...you can settle down later." What they don't tell you is this dirty little secret: Women in their late twenties are considerably less likely to get married AT ALL, and once a woman reaches her 30s, chances become very slim of her EVER marrying.

I'm not a fan of getting married young, and I don't think there's anything wrong with choosing not to marry at all. I feel the same for my daughter and son. The declining marriage rates make think a lot of people agree with me.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Pick a career based on what you want for the future. IE think about if you want to work part-time, travel, etc. I wish I had thought about it more. But if you make a mistake it is correctable. Don't stick with something that makes you unhappy because suddenly you'll be 45 and fired and looking at a career you hate but can't get back into. Instead find something you want to do so finding a job at 45 or 50 is possible.

Have kids earlier. I started at 30 and I wanted 3. I have 2 and my DH refuses to have more but has commented if we hadn't waited we'd have 3. So think carefully about how many kids you want and don't wait.

But wait to have kids with the right person and don't settle for marriage or kids. Don't marry someone because you want kids or are getting older. It will lead to divorce and being poor. And don't have kids because you are getting older so you just have them with someone. That will also lead to problems.

These non-financial problems lead very easily to big financial problems.

[ashown]

This is coming from a legal hard working immigrant, who finished his MS and PhD.

The biggest advice I can offer would be not to run behind the glitter and consider needs vs wants for first decade or so. I didn't have mattress to sleep and I choose to sleep on carpet until I saved money. I didn't have fancy shoes, clothes, cars or even a bicycle. I chose not to have fancy phones or data plans, chose not to go on dates until I had a job, used old bicycles to commute, walked in 12" snow to do my groceries and cooked everyday, slept only for 4 hrs a day while taking classes in school and working 20 hrs a week, spend nights and days in school library so that I don't have to buy books. Got straight As, finished MS and PhD, got a full time job with six figure salary. Now I have a beautiful wife, son, dog, two cars, 4000 sq foot mansion on half an acre without any loans.

Swear to God I don't intend to brag here, but simply wish to put forward that American dream exist, as long as you are willing to do hard work. That is the only advice I can offer...

[msomnipotent]

Cultivate a high credit score. It factors into practically everything (auto insurance, life insurance, job offers, even financing a smartphone).

[Claudia Bob]

For a high school student, one must think first of going to college. One is lucky enough if he could go to school that gives scholarships. For that matter, one can save enough money for his or her future.

[james.hendrickson]

Save and invest as much as you can, as often as you can.

[Fishindude77]

College isn't for everyone. Don't go and waste the time and money if you're not 100% sure it is what you want to do. Nothing wrong with working for a year or two first, or just going to work period. There are many avenues to make a very good living without a college education.

Live within your means.

[GoodSteward]

1. If you have a constructive hobby, decide if you can make a career out of it. You will be more likely to enjoy working.

I loved building and fixing computers, but only got 6 months of formal education. I got two certifications and quit college to work full time instead. A couple years later I was soon to be married and got a CDL license to drive a truck cause I knew a restaurant manager for a private restaurant wasn't going to cut it(just a little above min wage). To avoid being gone all the time I took a lower paying job and struggled for years. About 10 years after college I was offered a job doing IT work. I love my job and make a lot more money than anything before. I should have stuck with IT from the start.

2. Don't get married until you and your spouse are somewhat settled as individuals. ie Mature and providing for yourself.

I got married very young and it was HARD. I moved out of my parents house a few months before getting married. My wife didn't have any college and actually had never even held a job. The only jobs she could get were min wage jobs working terrible shifts. It took almost a decade to get into a position where we could be on the same shift and doing ok financially.

3. Be responsible and plan for children.

We just let it happen, and my wife was pregnant just months after getting married. Then had another one a few months after the first was born. Full-time daycare with two kids on top of two lower wage jobs is horrible. Daycare cost more than my house payment.

[disneysteve]

1. If you have a constructive hobby, decide if you can make a career out of it. You will be more likely to enjoy working.

Be careful with that. You could also take something you really love and turn it into an awful chore that sucks the enjoyment out of it.

Something you enjoy doing for fun in your free time takes on a very different tone when you must do it to put food on your table, when you need to do it to fill orders and satisfy others. It stops being that fun thing that you do to relax and becomes your job. Sometimes that works out okay but often it does not.

[bigdaddybus]

1. decide if you want to work with your brain, your back, or some combination of the two.
(I spent the first third of my career working with my back in the military and as an electrician. I made lifetime friends and loved the work and struggled financially. The latter part of my career has been working at a top 30 Fortune 500 company making 5X the money after getting a college degree on the GI bill. I enjoyed the work in the first 1/3 of my career more, but the money now provides for so much more.)
2. It takes money to make money. sock it away starting young and soon you will make more from growth and interest than contributions .
3. The only people who ever told me not to worry about money were financially stable. Keep your financial house in order.
4. Be a giver and not a taker, and no one is beneath you. Get to know people you don't have to and encourage them. Volunteer. And think about those that have helped you along the way, then find ways to help others as they are starting out just like those that helped you.

[Eagle]

My daughter is going to college, but I'm asking for general ideas. I have quite a few nieces and nephews that probably won't be going to college. Some have already graduated and are working food service jobs while they figure out what to do.

I'll let my daughter know to look for a spouse! I find that amusing, but there is truth there. Good list, thanks!

1. Avoid paying for your education if at all possible. Apply for financial aid early and often: www.finaid.org Also, work during the school year and in the summers.

2. Think through and pick a major that has value and will get you a career job. Compare job profiles to the salaries of people with comparable skills and experience. Choose a potential degree that suits both your interests and allows you to make a living wage. www.payscale.com

3. Look up jobs by company and title with glassdoor.com

4. Save for emergencies. Put money away in a Roth IRA once you start working and if your employer offers it get a 401k/403b match. Buy your first vehicle cash. You don't need a $30,000or more vehicle when you first start out.

5. If your parents will allow it live at home when you go to college for the first year or two. Consider community college particularly if finances are tight. Then transfer to a larger 4 year school. And do graduate in 4 years. Take summer classes if you have to. CLEP out of courses to receive college credits such as languages, Literature, Math, etc. I got 16 hours of Spanish just by taking a 1 hour test.

6. Wait to get married until after college. You change a lot from the time you are 18 to your mid twenties. Unless you are dying to have kids or just dying to get married early there's no rush. College is not the only time you will be around those your age.

7. When or if you get married make sure you have common aims in life. Talk through such issues as finances, career, goals, in-laws, religious beliefs, kids, residence location, boundaries, conflict-resolution, politics, travel, etc. See http://houseofdoig.blogspot.com/2014...e-you-get.html

[Eagle]

4. It's best to find your significant other in college..never again will you be surrounded by people your age....which makes dating more difficult after college.

2. Don't get married until you and your spouse are somewhat settled as individuals. ie Mature and providing for yourself.

I got married very young and it was HARD. I moved out of my parents house a few months before getting married. My wife didn't have any college and actually had never even held a job. The only jobs she could get were min wage jobs working terrible shifts. It took almost a decade to get into a position where we could be on the same shift and doing ok financially.

Singuy I'd tend to agree with GoodSteward here. There are plenty of dating sites out there like Match or eHarmony. We have friends and relatives under 40 who met and are happily married. It's even harder when one or both people don't finish college.

My wife tried to finish college with kids. She was done with her degree right before our 2nd was born. I was fortunate to finish my degrees prior to our getting married.

[Singuy]

Perhaps I used the wrong word. I don't recommend anyone getting married in College, but do your best to find someone solid you can build a life together after college. I didn't marry my wife until 1 year post graduate school.

I have many singles on these dating sites and are just having a very hard time. I believe if all of my friends and co-workers start lowering their standards from the college days, they would have more success. Not always, but the idealized perfect guy/girl are usually taken by the time you are 27-30...and these perfect people usually don't end up on online sites. More compromises will most likely be taken once the golden college years have passed.

[MonkeyMama]

Perhaps I used the wrong word. I don't recommend anyone getting married in College, but do your best to find someone solid you can build a life together after college. I didn't marry my wife until 1 year post graduate school.

Ditto. I said something similar, but want to be clear I didn't mean to marry or have kids in college. We didn't marry until we were out of college; had kids later when it made more financial sense. We met/got engaged at 18, after first year of college.