Seniors will be leaving us this week so its time to review the guidelines for living on your own and sticking with a BUDGET!  You have to create a plan for your spending so you don’t end up in DEBT.

First, let’s review the guidelines we discussed, based on good ol’ Oprah…

• PYF – Pay Yourself First! – If you remember nothing else from our semester together, please remember this.  ALWAYS put a portion of your paycheck into a savings and/or investment account.  If you need evidence of this important rule, you can recall Dave Ramsey’s case study of Ben and Arthur.
• Housing – DON’T BE HOUSE POOR!  35% is on the high-end and includes utilities and maintenance.  Closer to 25-30% would allow you to have more spending money.  The choice is yours.  Remember Seth Green and his CRIB.
• Transportation – Car, gas, insurance.  Remember that most experts recommend buying, not leasing!  Check out the pros and cons at MoneyCrashers.com HERE.
• Debt – get rid of it!  Remember the three ‘acceptable’ types; student loans, mortgages and car payments.  Try to avoid credit card debt.  
• Other living expenses – You have to eat!  And get insurance.  And many other things we discussed this year.  If you’re feeling frugal, decrease this expense and increase your savings.

I hope you learned some valuable information this semester and I wish you the best of luck out in the real world!