Financial advice from the nation’s top grads
College students excel at living on the cheap. Low-cost meals such as cereal, ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese are staples. And students develop a knack for zeroing in on everything from the cheapest place to do laundry to the best happy hour deal.
Young adults, and everyone else for that matter, shouldn't forget those thrifty philosophies after they move into a higher income bracket, said Brandon Garrett, 22. He recently graduated with the highest grade point average from Texas Tech University's personal financial planning program.
"Frugality shouldn't end with career security," he said.
Garrett keeps a handle on his discretionary expenses by following the "envelope budget." With his wife, he develops a budget every month for things like groceries and entertainment, and places cash for those items in separate envelopes.
"Once those envelopes are empty," he said, "then we're done spending money on those things."
Rachel Nabatian, an undergraduate finance and accounting major at New York University's Stern School of Business, also uses cash and sets a daily budget to make sure she sticks to her goals.