16 Things to Know After 16 Years of School

College grads on the hunt for jobs may have a little more budgetary breathing room this year. Starting salaries are climbing.

One-third of employers said they plan to offer higher pay than last year, according to a new CareerBuilder.com survey of 2,175 hiring managers. While 26 percent said they plan to offer salaries under $30,000, another 26 percent said they do plan to offer at least $50,000. (Certified nursing assistants, teaching assistants and bank tellers are among the worst-paying entry level jobs, according to an analysis by Wallethub.)

Higher salaries bode well for grads with student loan debt. About 70 percent of the Class of 2013 graduated with student loan debt, according to the latest figures from the Institute for College Access & Success's Project on Student Debt. The average owed: $28,400. A starting salary that's higher than your outstanding loan balance is a good indicator that you'll be able to manage debt payments, said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Edvisors.com.
Source:
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/23/whos-hiring-2015-college-grads.html

Look into websites that will help you cook on a budget and teach you what to do. There are plenty of websites to help with this:
cooking.nytimes.com
http://spoonuniversity.com/
buzzfeed.com
tiphero.com and many more.

1. Exercise.
2. Pick up a new hobby (or rediscover an old one).
3. Do something fun for yourself.
4. Find a belief system that works for you.
5. Take up meditation.
6. Give back to the community.
7. Get together with mentors outside of work to learn something new.
8. Go out on a date. Make it weekly for it to really count.
9. Don't forget to spend quality time with your family.
Source:
http://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/10-realistic-work-life-balance-tips-you-can-steal-from-billionaire-entrepreneurs.html

Use sites, such as saltmoney.org, to start planning your budget and how to survive. This will also move towards those common core math skills since you should not spend what you do not have.

Check out when the U.S. Census Bureau has to say about the average commuting time in places you would consider working. From there, think about public transit, biking, or even walking.

https://project.wnyc.org/commute-times-us/embed.html#5.00/42.000/-89.500

These may seem pretty basic, but some times people forget. People work too hard and forget to eat, lines to start to blur, and in the world of fast food, nutrition is sometimes forgotten. Remember some of life's basics.
Source:
http://lyceum.algonquincollege.com/lts/onlineCourses/anatomy/content/module1-5.htm

With the age of technology rising, you need to know what you're paying for and make sure you're getting what you want. These are tiny adjustments that can help your work/life balance, your budget, and your social life.

Article:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/41601/20150323/netflix-vs-hulu-plus-vs-amazon-prime.htm

Think about where you are spending money and where you may not have to. There are a number of different sites that will allow you to have access to movies/music/media that are free and easily accessible with internet

Life gets busy and you will need an outlet. Have a playlist for gym time, running, road trips, relaxing, or whatever it is you like to do. Create these playlists for your life so that you always have a constant that can help ground you.

Add a little simplicity to your life and get back to paper.
Article:
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-benefits-reading-why-you-should-read-everyday.html

Pick up a new hobby or refind an old one, meet new people, read the news, just keep climbing.

Even if you have a job, keep your resume up to date and be on the look out for opportunities to advance in your field, within or outside of the company.
Article:
https://www.higheredjobs.com/Articles/articleDisplay.cfm?ID=893

Really think about where you want to go and how you want to get there. Then think about what you want to do while you're there, where you'll stay, and how you'll get around.

Travel Sites:
Kayak.com
airbnb.com
trivago.com
expedia.com
hotwire.com
orbitz.com and many more.

You are about to make some of the toughest life decisions you ever have to make. Should you start a 401K plan? Geographically, where should you work? Do you think about starting a family? There are a number of different factors that are going to affect your decisions. You need think and plan for different circumstances.

You've finished, so you've got to add up your experiences. Keep those time-management skills, experiences, friends, resources, and everything you earned.

You've done it. You're out in the real world. Take care of yourself. See a doctor, brush your teeth, make sure you're healthy, and keep moving forward. There are a number of health-care programs and activities that people can do. Take what you need.