The first thing that you need to be careful of while spending the money earned from your first job is your daily expenses. In a big city these costs can add up quite quickly. The most prominent among them is the expense incurred for food.
It is very important that you find the right balance between cooking at home and eating out. For example, let us say that you are working as an intern for the summer and living at the dormitory of your college that already offers meals. In that case it would make sense to avail that benefit since you have already paid for the same.
Taking stock of the student loans
If you have student loans you should try and pay them, or at least start the process of doing so, with the help of the money that you have earned from your first job. There is no reason why you should wait for the lender to see if you have graduated or not. In case of some loans you are sure to get a period of time that is also known as the grace period. This is basically a six month gap that you get after your education is complete.
Do not spend money before receiving it
Young people in your age group, who are able to save money, do so by planning on the basis of the money that they have access to at present, not something that they would have in the future. People who take such approach to planning on the basis of the money that they would be paid in the future are basically looking at ways to spend money before they have even earned it. You can always look at free events to save money and do some much needed networking as well.
Have an idea of your cash flow
It is impossible for a person to save money from the first job. There are many expenses to take care of such as taxes, retirement contributions, and insurance payments. In most cases, you may not even see most of the money you have earned from your first job thanks to these expenses. You also need to have a clear idea of the money that you are spending. These days, there are a number of apps that help you monitor how much you are spending and where you are doing it. At the very least, if you can earn the money that you spend each month you would not at least be in debt.
Setting financial goals
If you want a concrete financial plan you should have proper goals in place first. This is applicable both in the short term as well as the long term. Once you are done doing this you should think of steps with which you can reach those goals. The main factor here is in breaking it down. People should have a proper idea of the way they should be getting to those goals. Otherwise there is always a chance that they could get lost in the shuffle. It is very important to keep abreast of the financial objectives that one has set.