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J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly asked his readers what bit of advice about money they wished they’d received as they graduated from college.  The answers aren’t surprising: a lot of folks wish they’d learned to budget, live within their means, and avoid debt.

Here are just a few of the responses:

• I wish I would have known how destructive living without a budget was.
• Basically don’t try to impress your friends and you will be way ahead later in life.
• Learn about your future spouse’s attitudes toward personal finance BEFORE you marry.
• The danger of credit cards (though as college seniors it may very well be too late to teach them that lesson).
• Compound interest, compound interest, compound interest.
• Don’t take out a loan to buy anything.
• Set up a savings habit, and a plan, with goals.
• Read every book in the personal finance section of the library and know that having a good life isn’t about making a lot of money, but how you live your life.

The main lesson here is behavioral: it’s what you do more than what you know.  It doesn’t take a lot of knowledge to manage your money but it does require the will to make choices like buying a used car, avoiding those daily lunches  out and trips to Starbucks, and living on the money you make (rather than the money you wished you’d make).

Read all the responses here.

Filed under: Money by Michael