So you’ve just finished up four tumultuous years of college and chances are you’re broke. If you’re lucky enough to have a family that wants to celebrate your huge accomplishment then you’re going to have a party. Don’t feel guilty about the gifts you receive. Chances are some of your relatives will give you more money that you could have imagined. Be gracious and thank them properly. Your older relatives are recognizing your accomplishments and know that you probably have little to no money left after four years in school and not working. Besides putting the bulk of the money in your savings account, here are a few more ideas for you graduation money:
Take a trip. Think about it: when will you have a chance to go anywhere in the world with nothing holding you back. If you don’t have a job that you’re starting right away then this is the perfect time to go away for a week or two. When you start working you’re going to have precious few vacation days at your disposal so take advantage of this opportunity. If you still have your student identification card then you can probably cash in on some deals that are offered only to students.
Treat your parents to a nice dinner. You always hear about parents taking their kids out to a nice dinner after graduation ceremonies, turn the tables and take them out. They’ll resist you paying but let them know it’s not going to be a common occurrence and they’ll gladly go.
Buy a suit. You’re going to need a suit for your job interviews and it’s worth it to a buy a nice one instead of the one you’ve had for years that you only wear to weddings and funerals. Consider it an investment in your future. Remember you can only a make a first impression once.
Get the work done on your car that it needs. Wherever you start working you’re going to need reliable wheels. While you have a little dough it’s time to take care of your car instead of waiting until you’re making a meager salary. You’ll be happy you took care of it early on.
Upgrade your wardrobe. This is the best time to go on a guilt-free shopping spree. Feel free to go to the mall with carte blanche. Buy clothes for all seasons while you have the chance to spend freely.
This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who is an industry critic on online college reviews. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.
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So we received a few e-mails from readers asking about updates, and yes… it’s been a while since our last post!
We hope all you Class of 2008′ers are enjoying your summer. Finally, School’s out! (unless you’re doing summer school that is). Whether you’re traveling, starting a new job, or just kicking back for a lil bit enjoy your summer before it passes!
With that said, we did run into an interesting article from ZenHabits.net. The article focuses on time management and getting more things done. We thought some readers might find this particularly of interest because coming out of college and post-graduation… things can be a little tricky to prioritize and adapt to a new lifestyle. The article, How to Get a Lot Done - 7 Tips to Achieve More is a great read and we’d highly recommend it!
One particular point struck out the most to us:
3. Work Smart If you only had a year left to do the things on your lists, would you be satisfied with what you’re spending your time on today?
We believe this may be one of the greatest bits of information any senior coming out from graduation can take in. While in school it’s so easy to prioritize tasks, homework, and responsibilities (be it academic or social). Yet in the ‘real world’ this becomes more difficult when working for “the man.”
Best of luck in the road you choose!
- YourSash.com Staff
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photo credit: katie072
So after essentially 16 years of schooling, most college graduates breath a sigh of relief and tend to take a vacation after graduation. Some plan backpacking trips to Europe, some to the motherland, while others start the daily grind right out of school.
This year is especially different for college graduates. From the decline in the value of the dollar, to rising fuel costs, it seems vacations are tougher to plan and more expensive to go on.
The New York Times recently compiled a list of 31 Places To Go This Summer that won’t necessarily break the bank, yet will let you have some fun.
Take a look, maybe there’s a place you’ll like! One we found particularly interesting (or just sounded darn cool was was #26 Beartooth Road).
Charles Kuralt once called it America’s most beautiful highway, 68.7 miles of high-altitude, high-adrenaline road that zigzags through the Beartooth Mountains in Montana and Wyoming.
Wherever you go, enjoy and travel safe! (great, we sound like your parents now).
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photo credit: foundphotoslj
We just wanted to take this time to really thank all of our customers for making this such a successful graduation season for us! Without you, we really wouldn’t be here. We’re also really happy to announce (*knock on wood) that this season, we have had 0 missed deadlines and had 0 late deliveries with our graduation stoles.
We wish you all the best with the career paths you choose and hope you enjoy your summer!
With that said, we recently found a few interesting posts around the internet. Most specifically there was one post written specifically for graduating seniors at the GetRichSlowly Blog, “Life After School: Advice for New Graduates.” The post is filled with great tidbits of information, from financial advice to career and time management tips. Not too long of a read, and definitely worth a look.
One point that we particularly liked was:
Treat your time as an investment. It’s more important to invest your time wisely than to invest your money wisely.
Time is such an important factor in the “real world” because your life isn’t dictated by term papers and finals. It will be a big adjustment as you will see, and if you are taking on a 9-to-5 job, no doubt the amount of free time you have to hang out with friends will drop. Spend it wisely and enjoy! Need some motivation for time management? Check out the 4-Hour Workweek.
Besides that, in case you are afraid your graduation speaker will be boring, check out Graduation Wisdom for some inspirational graduation speeches and did you know Barack Obama will be giving a speech at Wesleyan?!
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Talk about a weird story, it seems that many students from McKinney High School in Texas got more than they bargained for from this year’s yearbooks.
School officials say they are appalled by altered photos - including heads on different bodies - in hundreds of McKinney High School yearbooks delivered this week.
Besides the head and body switching, some necks were stretched, one girl’s arm was missing, and another girl’s head was placed on what appeared to be a nude body, with the chest blurred.
Full story about the yearbook photoshop fiasco (Yahoo! News). We hope they get the revised version printed and back in time! If there’s one thing great about high school yearbooks, it was the last 10 minutes of each class period where teachers would let you sign them! Not to mention BFFs reserving full pages in your yearbook to write “Have A Great Summer!”
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Most of these are pretty common knowledge, like Google, Wikipedia & About.com but there were a few particular ones that not so many people may know about.
So for those of you about to tackle your research or term paper, best of luck! For some inspiration, check out this YouTube video of a guy finishing his 16-page term paper in 36 hours.
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We thought this comic was too funny not to post and just a reminder to never lose that drive after graduation.
If there’s one thing that I remember from my own commencement ceremony, it was when our chancellor (or was it the keynote?) said “Commencement is not the end, but rather the beginning. That is why it is called commencement.”
Best of luck to all you graduating seniors.
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Scary? We agree! Google is also doing the same. Just another reason to think twice before setting your default profile picture! Last thing you’d want is your future boss to google your name and come up with an image of you doing a senior year keg stand at your graduation party
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PhotoJojo recently featured a really interesting article about Long Portraits.
The idea behind these is to ask someone a simple question, like How was your day? or what’s the most exciting thing you did this week? etc. From that, record their 30-second response.
What a simple yet unique task! Now put the entire graduation or Greek spin to it and think about how your house historian can do this. Imagine how awesome this archive would be, in say 3 years… with every member of your house and it continually growing! Think down the road… 5 years from now, how even more awesome it would be!
We all know Greeks love pictures (and matching shirts…) but video adds such a unique new spin to your chapter’s records and an interesting way to get to know actives and alumni.
So our challenge to any chapters is to do a recording of all the seniors on your active roster, just a fun 30-second clip. Do this, post it on YouTube, send us the links, and we’ll give 5 lucky chapters 25% off their order for graduation stoles.
Official Rules:
There must be at least 6 seniors graduating from your chapter and long portraits recorded of those 6 seniors. 25% off discount will be applied to the same # of long portraits as graduation sashes ordered.
Videos of seniors must be separate similar to PhotoJojo’s Long Portrait style video.
Nothing scandalous, please!
At least 2 seniors have to mention YourSash.com!
Entries should be emailed to orders[at]yoursash.com with links to the videos and contact information!
The first 5 chapters who submit videos that meet these criteria will receive 25% off their standard sash order (no logos or custom fabrics)!
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