Get Healthy...Financially

By Shikole Struber

Budgets are boring. We all know this. But they are now something we need to consider. Rent, cell phone, credit card payments, student loan payments, car insurance, cable/internet, food, the list goes on and on. There are a lot of expenses a post grad has. And limited income. It's time to keep track of where your money goes.

Fidelity has a great tool that maps out where your money goes and compares it to how much you make.

Once you can track where your money is going you can start cutting back where you need to. Maybe be aware of the overage on your cell phone bill and save that $30 every month. Or recognize that you're spending too much on cable and cut back on the premium channels. You can get most shows online now anyway.

The Golden Rule of personal finance is to pay yourself first. Put $50 a month into your savings account before starting to pay your bills.

"Before you pay your bills, before you buy groceries, before you do anything else, set aside a portion of your income to save. The first bill you pay each month should be to yourself. This habit, developed early, can help a person build tremendous wealth. I wish I’d understood this when I graduated from college." - JD from getrichslowly.org.

After that your focus should be on decreasing your debts. Whether it be the credit card you lived on while unemployed or the student loans you need to repay, decrease your debt. Interest payments can be killer.If at allpossible, pay more than the minimum balance due. Even if it's $20 more, it will help with the interest. Also, instead of paying your credit card bill monthly, pay it bi-weekly. You can still pay off the same amount, the more often you make payment, the faster your principle balance decreases, and the less interest you will be paying.

And the most important personal finance lesson, which may seem obvious: Spend less than you earn!

An Apple a Day

By Shikole Struber

Health insurance is kind of important. Now that we have graduated we don't have the option of health insurance through school. The bill passed by congress allows us to stay on out parents health plan for a while longer, but what if our parents don't have health insurance either? Then what?

I have personally been without health insurance for about 2 years. I couldn't afford it, even through my school. My mom hasn't had it in forever either. When searching for a job health insurance was one of the top requirements I looked for. Luckily my immune system is amazing and I rarely get sick, and the only medication I take regularly is my birth control. Not having health insurance hasn't killed me. But I'm the exception, not the rule.

Any person with asthma, or diabetes, who wears contacts, has anxiety or depression, needs a lot more medical attention than I do. So what are the options?

• Short term medical insurance. ehealthinsurance.com lets you compare short-term plans from Aetna, United Health Plus, Celtic, and more. They cost anywhere from $45/month to a couple hundred depending on the coverage you are looking for.


• Stay on your parents plan.


• Find a job that offers health insurance.


• Go without, except the basics. CVS has a minute clinic for problems such as strep throat, or pink eye. Any minor problem will be covered. It costs about $60 a visit but no insurance is needed and they will give you prescriptions.

What we learned most in college was survival. Now it's time to put that to use.

Email Address

By Allison Sass

You might think that your email address is the last thing potential employers care about. It certainly doesn't speak to your qualifications and is nothing more than a way to contact you online... right? Wrong.

If your resume is professional and your contact email address is partygirlxox@ wherever. com, or catlover363.. there is no doubt that employers will take you much less seriously.

Here are some tips to land yourself a professional email address that screams "hire me!"

-Keep it simple- The most professional email addresses are first and last name addresses. For example janedoe@hotmail.com, or sallymiller@gmail.com. It's also acceptable to abbreviate your first and last name and have your email address me jdoe@hotmail.com, or smiller@gmail.com.

-Avoid including interests- While potential employers do care about the interests outlined in your resume, you don't need to include these in your email address. iluvshoes@gmail.com is not going to be getting any email follow-ups from employers.

-Know when to abbreviate- If you have a very long first name, or it is spelt in an unusual way, consider abbreviating your email address. It would be unfortunate to miss out on an email from an employer because they accidentally misspelled your name!

There are tons of free email website out there (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc)- so if your email is something like sparklygirl101 (yes, that was my email address through the 9th grade....) it's time to switch things up!

The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Amazing. Everything about it is amazing. No part is boring. It makes you think. I might be a little biased because it takes place in DC, where I happen to live. But even if you don't know the landmarks of the city personally, the book should still be intriguing.

I am not a big fan of religion in general, but Brown's book presents it in such a mysterious fashion that it caught my attention. The mystery surrounding the religion, and how it ties in with the science is incredible.

Which brings me to the scientific mystery of the book. I had never heard of Noetic science before. And now I can't know enough.

Overall rating: 4.99/5 stars

(I will never give anything the highest rating because I believe there is always room for improvement)

Spotlight on Kelly Cutrone

By Allison Sass

Whether you are a loyal viewer of MTV's The City, the Bravo series Kell on Earth, or a PR geek like me who idolizes succesful women in the industry, Kelly Cutrone, founder of People's Revolution, has certainly become somewhat of a household name in the past few years.

The Real Post Grad loves Kelly Cutrone. Why? Because after loyally watching her appearances on television, she has proven to us that she takes chances on 20 somethings she sees promise in, and truly believes that they are capable of getting the job done.

This is so refreshing for young job hunter- to see a supervisor that cares to help you grow both in the business world and as a person. Although her life seems to be busier than we could ever imagine, Kelly puts her all into her company and we admire her for it.

 Are you a Kelly Cutrone fan? Leave us a comment and tell us why!

Liven Up your Water

By Shikole Struber

Allison posted yesterday about the importance of hydration and drinking plenty of water. I am definitely one of those post grads who tends to drink nothing but caffeine and alcohol and really needs to work on the whole water thing. It's just so bland! There are a few simple ways to liven up your water, though.

• Add lemon


• Add lime


• Add cucumber


• Use it for tea


• Popsicle count as water, after the sugar is gone


• Add kiwi


• Add sliced strawberries

How do you drink your water?

ISPs for Dummies

By Shikole Struber

I work at an IT Consulting firm. (Still not sure why) But I'm picking up a couple tricks of the trade while here. Like which Internet Service Providers are better than others. Most locations are only serviced by a couple, but it's still good to know what you will be getting. Now that you live on your own, dealing with the internet is all on you.

My Ranking:

1. Comcast. Customer service is the 2nd best of all the ISPs. It's a little more pricey than Verizon but so worth it for the service. They also service a large scope of places, both residential and busniess.


2. Speakeasy. This one is very pricey and meant for business connections. However it's easy to get around the business stipulation at home. Their customer service and technical support is THE BEST I have evr experienced.


3. Cox. While getting ahold of them for assistance is a pain, once you have a representative they do well for you. Price is around the same as Comcast but they service less locations. Most of DC doesn't qualify for it but VA does.


4. Verizon. I personally cannot stand Verizon. Their customer service line is horrible. You can almost never get a person. You are on hold for long periods of time. Once you get a person they decide it's not the right one and transfer you, causing you to be on hold again. They are a bit cheper than Comcast but not worth the trouble.


5. RCN. Not one of our clients uses this ISP. I think that speaks for itself.

I have also lerned that rebooting your modem will fix most problems with your internet. Try that before calling anyone. Here is a video that explains how to do so.