Things you should have figured out before graduating
It’s easy to exist solely on microwaveable corn dogs and Cool Ranch Doritos in college
I have been pretty #blessed my college career. My whole family lives in Bloomington and my parents have never lived more than five miles away from me. It’s truly been great for any time I need help. My car died? Need a back zit popped? Need someone to take me to Chili’s? I call my mom and dad and they’re there for me in five minutes. Don’t get it twisted, I’m actually really independent. But, there are still a few things I need my mommy and daddy for. Like inviting me over to use their pool
Eating a taco salad while floating in a pool is the life, let me tell you
I’m moving 1,000 miles away from home after I graduate and will no longer be able to have my parents or grandparents come rescue me at any moment. This is scary. What’s even more scary is, generally speaking, you are considered an adult after you graduate. This is a really ambiguous term, but I think it means I can’t ask my mom if eating something that expired in 2014 is safe — spoiler alert: it’s definitely not.
I’m sorry I can be so stupid sometimes, Mom
I have compiled a few things I believe us prospective graduates need to have on lock by May 7. Or, you know, sometime in the following months.
How to file your own taxes
Filing your taxes sucks. It’s really hard, and if you make a mistake, the IRS comes after you. I know this because they have come after me twice. One time my mom had to pay them $1,300 for my mistake — I love you, Mom. My parents wanted me to learn responsibility and torture, so at age 15 I was on my own when it came to filing. I didn’t even discover online filing until 2013. Before then, I would go to the public library, pick up a 1040-EZ form and sit and cry for five hours at the kitchen table begging for help.
Most college students’ parents file their taxes for them. In a recent survey I conducted, college students said that they will have to file their own taxes once they graduate — scary. Don’t be like me. There are super easy tax filing services offered online that walk you through the process. Better yet, there are free services. This year I discovered INfreefile, a free tax filing service for people who make under $62,000 a year. They have this program in other states, too. It was super easy and best of all, there were no fees for filing. I’ve finally mastered the art of filing taxes thanks to this service after seven long, brutal years.
How to pay a bill
This is actually easier than you think. Yes, a piece of you dies every time you submit your payment, but it’s super convenient. All of my bills I pay now are online so you just create an account and link up your bank account information. My car payment is set up for recurring payments, so I don’t even have to worry about it each month. Just make sure you have enough money in your checking account on the day it’s scheduled to be paid.
You can also download apps like Mint and set up bill reminders so you never forget when each bill is due. They’ll send you alerts and email notifications when you have an upcoming bill due.
How to cook something that involves more than the ‘defrost’ button
It’s easy to exist solely on microwaveable corn dogs and Cool Ranch Doritos in college. We’re on the go and we don’t have time to cook a meal every night. But, when we enter the “real world,” people will start expecting us to know how make souffles and the like.
When you go to your relative’s house for Thanksgiving they will probably expect you to bring a dish. Start learning how to make simple things for yourself now so you can impress people later. You can make lasagna or taco meat on Sunday’s and have it for the rest of the week. It’s like that meal prep craze but with carbs instead of vegetables and fish.
Please, just learn how to cook. I know 25-year-olds who have been out of college for three years and still eat chicken nuggets and canned pineapple every night because their kitchen skills do not extend beyond a toaster oven. Don’t let this happen to you.
My secret lasagna recipe — the secret is that this is the only thing I can cook well
How the maintenance for your car works
This may seem obvious to some people, but for others — ahem, me — it’s not so simple. I recently realized I had gone 13,000 miles without getting an oil change. In the past, my dad just took care of this for me, but then I bought my own car and he was like, “haha, good luck.”
Now I have to figure everything out on my own and I’m pretty bad at cars. I don’t know anything about my car other than the fact that it’s black and has A/C. After realizing my horrible mistake and a $106 trip to the mechanic, I decided to crack open my owner’s manual for the first time since buying it in 2014 and see what the recommended maintenance schedule is. I think I know what I’m doing now. You should definitely figure this out if you haven’t. Take it from me.
How to budget
This is honestly what I am most concerned about. I worked a lot in college. At one point I was working over 60 hours a week along with taking 18 credit hours. All that money I was making was spent on going out to eat and shopping and taking three trips to Europe instead of saving it — oops.
When I graduate, I know I’ll have to stop paying for frivolous things and get smarter about my spending. I recently started a budget estimate to try and determine where my monthly salary is going to go. Saving and putting money in my 401k is my main task because I want to retire at 50 and move to the Caribbean. Figuring out this whole budgeting thing is important to me.
One important tip I learned through hours of research is you should figure out what your monthly fixed expenses are and make sure they do not exceed 50% of your budget. If you can keep it under 50%, that’s even better. Then you will have more money to set aside for clothing, food, fun and savings.
How to know everything will be alright
You may be on your own and feel completely helpless, but you will still have a great support system of family and friends. Will I still call my mom and ask for advice? Yep. Will I still rely on my boyfriend to pop out dents from my car because I backed into a pole? You bet. You will never be fully on your own because you are loved and cared for and no one wants to see you fail. That’s a pretty damn good feeling.