Money Advice from Top Recent Grads

By Chip Cutter, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — It's graduation season. That means hordes of newly-minted MBA students and undergraduate business majors will soon be entering the work force.

They've spent years studying the intricacies of business and finance. Now, they're ready to start dispensing that financial wisdom on Wall Street and everywhere else.

What will they say? And what tips do they have for the rest of us?

To find out, The Associated Press reached out to some of the top grads at colleges around the country. They shared their advice for saving, managing money and investing during volatile times.

Embrace college frugality

College students excel at living on the cheap. Low-cost meals such as cereal, ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese are staples. And students develop a knack for zeroing in on everything from the cheapest place to do laundry to the best happy hour deal.

Young adults, and everyone else for that matter, shouldn't forget those thrifty philosophies after they move into a higher income bracket, said Brandon Garrett, 22. He recently graduated with the highest grade point average from Texas Tech University's personal financial planning program.

"Frugality shouldn't end with career security," he said.

Garrett keeps a handle on his discretionary expenses by following the "envelope budget." With his wife, he develops a budget every month for things like groceries and entertainment, and places cash for those items in separate envelopes.

"Once those envelopes are empty," he said, "then we're done spending money on those things."

Rachel Nabatian, an undergraduate finance and accounting major at New York University's Stern School of Business, also uses cash and sets a daily budget to make sure she sticks to her goals.