Article adapted from Samantha Sharf , 5.9.16- Forbes.com

A lot changes during the years that separate college gradu-ation from five-year reunion. After caps and gowns come first jobs and apartments, roommates, leading to second jobs and apartments. A few years later your Facebook news feed will become a sea of engagement photos, foretelling weekends inundated with weddings.

You may also ask yourself: How am I going to afford all this? Start with these tips:

1. Build a cash cushion. Cars break down, jobs get lost and family members get sick. Emergencies will be emo-tionally trying, but they don’t need to be a financial drain. With each paycheck move some money into a savings account, preferably through automation. Long term, your goal should be to have enough cash to cover three to six months of expenses, but it’s OK to start small.

2. Get health insurance. You can typically stay on a parent’s health insurance plan until you turn 26. For plans bought via government marketplace you have until the end of the year. Employer coverage usually ends in your birthday month, but you get a 60 day Special Enrollment Period leading up to your 26th. Use this window. This way coverage can start as soon as your old insurance lapses and you’ll avoid paying a penalty for every month you aren’t covered.

3. Do your 65 year-old self a favor. If your employer offers a 401(k) plan open an account and invest at least enough to take full advantage of company matching contribution. (Free money!) If not, open an individual retirement ac-count and contribute as much as you can. In either case, create a road map to be making contributions of 10-15% of your income before your five-year reunion. Why? The power of compounding means saving a little bit of money now will go farther than saving a lot later on.

4. Give yourself a student debt-free deadline. Student loan repayment plans are typically structured to take 10 years. If remaining student-indebted well into your 30s doesn’t sit well, consider giving yourself a cutoff. A dead-line can be a great strategy if it based in reality.

5. Crack down on your credit. Got credit card debt? Build a plan to pay it down, taking the same basic steps as you would to cut down your student debt timeline.

Don’t even have a credit card? Consider applying if you can control your spending urges. A card paid on time can be a good way to boost your credit score. A solid score will come in handy if you ever want to get a mort-gage or refinance your student debt. Used responsibly, rewards points and cash back are also nice tools for subsi-dizing things you may not otherwise be able to afford.

6. Learn five practical skills. We pay for convenience, which is fine, but expensive. Determine which services actually improve your life. Don’t allow not knowing how to do something force you to pay for services. Commit to at-taining a few practical skills that can save you money in the long run. For example, learn to: cook a few basic meals, change a tire, fill out a tax return, paint your nails, sew.

7. Ask your significant other how much s/he earns. Knowing how much your partner earns will help you set realistic expectations of what your life together should look like now and in the future. By taking time to engage in conversation and plan, your chances of creating a strong foundation and achieving your goals are greatly enhanced.

8. Decide if you’ll need a graduate degree. Step 1: Deter-mine if going to graduate school will get you where you want to go by talking to recent grads, consulting people five to ten years ahead of you in their careers and re-searching average post-grad salaries for your field, location and school of choice. Step 2: Figure out how you are going to pay for school. How much will you need to fund with loans? Will your employer pay your tuition if you return after graduation?

8Things to do with your money in the first 5Years

After College Graduation

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June 2016 issue

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