The following is an introduction to the series “Relationships and Dominoes” by Jennifer Michaels.  Jennifer runs Worn Ballet Shoes, is a blogger, and  a social media aficionado. Aside from Worn Ballet Shoes you can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Now I’m no expert on relationships, but I do feel that I have some insight into this crazy and absurd thing we all call life.  It’s different and ever-changing.  It’s real and true.  It’s amazing and crazy.  It’s loving and hateful.  But it wouldn’t be all of these things without the people we meet.  It wouldn’t BE without relationships.

If you would have asked me even five years ago where I would expect to be in my life, I never would have guessed that I would be where I am.  Five years ago I was walking across the stage in my cap and gown, shaking the hand of the president of my college thinking about how hard my four years were and how incredible it felt to finally call myself a college graduate with not just one set of honors, but two.  I felt so accomplished, so fulfilled.

My life encompasses so many things that I wasn’t ready for—you know, that thing we all call life.  It has its way of sneaking up and surprising me in the most inconvenient of ways.  This is about the single most influential part of my life—relationships.

The single most influential aspect of our lives, and we can’t deny this, is the relationships we build along the way.  Everywhere we turn we are creating a relationship of some kind.  Some of them last longer than others, while the rest begin and then end really quickly.  And every type of relationship has its own title: friend, colleague, spouse, parent-child, grandparent-child, student-professor, co-workers, boss-employee, company-customer/client, and these are just a few relationships that I have come to know and be a part of.  Every relationship is different, and even if we fall into the same category, the experience is different for each one of us.

It’s important to learn something from your relationships.  It doesn’t have to be a life-altering, soul shaking lesson.  Keep the knowledge flowing, and remember that even though a river flows in one direction, gravity is its best friend.

Our lives are filled with dominos—everything is connected in our lives.  Our choices, good and bad, and the different types of relationships we make along the way affect the outcome of everything else, and there really is no way around that no matter how much we may try to break it apart.

The only thing we can ask of ourselves is to make the best of everything.  Time is so precious and is the greatest gift we have for ourselves and for each other.  Learn from your decisions and from the relationships we make and if the last shoe drops, don’t let the dominos fall.

Image via Crunch

This last week has been absolutely insane at work! In fact, today is the only day I have off and then it’s back to teaching bright and early tomorrow morning. The good news is that I absolutely love my job, the bad news is that sometimes I practically live at my job. Add this to freelancing for extra income, socializing, and well, life and my days seem like busy blurs. As a result, I will apologize in advance for the sheer length of this post, there’s a lot to catch up on!

The Fitness Workouts

Fortunately, I have still managed to keep up with one of my resolutions which was to stay fit. I may not have time everyday to workout, after all sometimes I find myself working 12 hours in a day; but I do find simple and effective ways to stay fit each day and try to unwind with a workout video when I have some extra time.

Below you will find a list of some of my favorite workout videos. With the exception of the yoga class, these are mostly very quick and easy to fit into your busy schedules.

Crunch Ass and Abs

I’m a huge fan of Crunch Ass and Abs! I seriously do this whenever I have an extra 20 minutes in my day. It’s fun, it’s funky, and it works!

Crunch Burlesque Beat

A fun and sexy way to get in shape. You seriously won’t even notice that you are working out.

Yoga Today – Expansive Heart Openers

This is the class that made me fall in love with Anusara Yoga. I may not be able to do yoga all the time, but I definitely make sure I get this class in every once in a while. Neesha Zollinger is a great instructor and you feel absolutely invigorated after trying some of chest opening exercises.

Incredible Abs with Cindy Whitmarsh

I love Cindy Whitmarsh and her high energy ab workouts! End of story.

Crunch Latin Rhythms

Being the daughter of Cuban immigrants I can never pass up a Latin dance workout! This is another one of those workouts where you’ll be having so much fun that you won’t even notice you’re exercising.

College Crunch Time Workout Series

I know that many of you are still in school, and as someone who was living in dorms not too long ago I can attest to the fact that life gets kind of crazy and your health gets put on the back burner. One day you’re a healthy kid and the next you’re a beer drinking junk food eating cigarette smoking party enthusiast. Fortunately, Exercise TV has put together an entire series of 6 workouts designed specifically for college life. No, you won’t be doing arm lifts while you’re playing beer pong, but you will have fun with some of these great workouts.

And now for the other stuff…

Freelancing Business Updates

I just noticed the other day that Yahoo published one of my articles as the MAIN FEATURE in the Home Improvement section of Associated Content! Not only did I get an upfront payment for this article, it has also generated over $100 in ad revenue. Not a bad way to have made some extra cash.

(Side Note: You can start earning some extra cash with Yahoo too! Click here to find out more.)

My article entitled Home Improvement Resolutions Everyone Should Make is only up on the front page for a couple of more days, but you can always read all of my Yahoo articles on my profile page.

I have also started a blog for Abella Media which will be updated every Sunday. It mostly focuses on small business, but you can also find helpful information about anything pertaining to the professional world.

Blogs of Note

Classy Career Girl

Anna over at Classy Career Girl gave me my first blog award! A big thank you to Classy Career Girl for the Stylish Blogger Award  She too has a pretty phenomenal blog worth bragging about!

Self Help for Happy People

I am proud to call Phillip one of my blogger friends. He’s already done a couple of guest posts for Grad Meets World (Intro to Freelancing Part 3 and Part 4) and has now ventured into a witty and satirical project called Self Help for Happy People. It is the perfect blog for turning personal development websites on their heads and I foresee it going very far.

The Smart College Grad

Another great blog for those of you who are caught in the rough seas of post college adulthood. Dain also has also written up this awesome guide to help you with anything from landing a job to personal finance. I also foresee some great things coming from this guy in the future!

More is Better

This is probably one of my favorite blogs of all time. I’ve been following it for over a year now and Nicole never ceases to make me piss my pants laughing. Seriously a great blog written by a larger than life individual.

Connect

Finally, I figured I should remind you all that you can connect with Grad Meets World outside of the blog! Feel free to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or join the mailing list for more uber awesome post college goodness.

That’s all for now. Keep a lookout in the coming week for some awesome guest posts on relationships and blogging!

Image via madame.furie

Not too long ago I wrote a post about how to have better mornings. I am happy to say that after following my own advice, and that of other lifestyle and productivity bloggers, I have indeed had less stressful mornings.

Of course, life does get in the way sometimes, which is especially true if you really on public transit to get from Point A to Point B. This is also true when you are juggling a regular job with your own side endeavors; however, for the most part I have been able to see some significant changes in my day.

Even if I have to be at work at 8am, I manage to make time for myself in the morning.

Even if I have a hectic teaching schedule, I make sure to accomplish my freelancing and blogging goals for the week.

Even if I find myself sometimes putting in 12 hours of work combined in one day, I still make sure that I have time to unwind and watch Mad Men.

Best of all, I still get to sleep!

1. Make a Daily Goal List

One of the ways I have made my life more efficient is by making a list of main goals every morning. While I am sipping away at my first cup of coffee I pick the 3 most important things I have to get done that day aside from teaching.

Of course, the nature of my goals sometimes depends on how many classes I have to teach on any given day. If I have a busy teaching day, then I write down goals that I know I can get done during my breaks. Usually this involves more administrative tasks like looking through writing job boards, sending emails, transferring money, or making mind maps for articles.

If I know it’s going to be a slow day at work, then my goals become a little more involved. This may include writing proposals or turning my mind maps into rough drafts. When another calmer day comes around these rough drafts then turn into final drafts.

2. Make Yourself a Priority

I don’t mean this in a selfish way. If you have people who depend on you (like kids and family) don’t ignore their needs.

Simply put, what I mean by making yourself a priority is allowing yourself some down time. When I get out of work I’m done for the day. The computer is turned off, my side business is put aside until the next day (unless there is an emergency), and I relax. Usually this means hanging out with my family and having a glass of wine while I catch up on Mad Men.

Bottom line is we’re not machines. We need to unwind and reboot if we are to be at our best.

3. Don’t sacrifice sleep.

Sometimes it is necessary to burn the midnight oil in order to get something done. However, most of the time I can guarantee that nobody is going to die if you decide to sleep.

Don’t work through the night if you don’t absolutely have to. Lack of sleep makes us cranky, makes us strung out, and eventually makes us sick.

Final Note: Don’t Get Discouraged

The most important thing to remember is not to get discouraged. If you don’t get everything done in a day, don’t worry about it. These kinds of habits take practice in order to be fully cultivated, but eventually you will come up with a productive schedule that fits your needs.

What do you do to stay productive?

Image via Carly Jane1 @ Flickr

In preparation for today’s post I made a simple Google search for “Gen Y Money”. You know, to get a feel for what people are writing about us.

Boy, are we a popular topic of discussion! Headlines like Why Gen Y is Broke, Why Gen Y Might Never Retire, and Gen Y’s Money Woes are all over the web!

And yes, I must agree with the fact that many of us are completely irresponsible with our money. Hell, it wasn’t until recently when I stopped running up bar tabs and actually started putting money into savings accounts.

However, our financial woes are not solely rooted in our inability to save money. Sure, our wasteful habits and dire need to have the coolest new gadgets play a major role in our financial turmoil, but we also happen to be coming into adulthood during a major recession.

Non-paying internships have taken the place of entry-level jobs, people are drowning themselves in debt over school more than ever before, part-times and self-employed endeavors are the new ways to stay afloat, there is no longer job security, and employers are cutting back on benefits left and right.

Mix this with our general abhorrence toward corporate jobs and cubicles and you’ve got a generation that is going to be seeing a slew of problems that our predecessors didn’t.  Or, as I prefer to think of it, you’re going to have a generation of people who get creative because they have no choice.

Not all is lost though, there are steps that you can take this year in order to start getting your finances in order.

1. Learn about your taxes.

I had a near heart attack yesterday when my 1099s started coming in from my freelance work. It was at that moment when I realized I know almost nothing about taxes for self-employed individuals (Although now I have learned that we get screwed more than the average person, more on that some other time).  Even worse, I know nothing about taxes when you actually have a job in addition to being a self-employed individual.  Alas, the things they don’t teach you in school.

This year, take some time to sit down well before April 15^th and learn about your tax situation. Ask your parents how to sort out the numbers mess; after all, they’ve (hopefully) been paying taxes for years. Or, if you must, find yourself a good accountant. Whoever you decide to ask, make it a priority to find out how much you may owe Uncle Sam and why.

2. Take a look at your bills.

I know that many of you probably cringe every time you see that credit card bill in your mailbox; although, you probably don’t cringe as much as you do when those student loan payments come around.  Add that to car payments, rent, groceries, cell phones, insurance, and whatever else you may have and you probably avoid looking at those bills for as long as you possibly can. As much as it may pain you to open those envelopes, I urge you not to wait until the last minute to pay your bills.

Take an afternoon to organize your bills and see exactly where your money is going. The Simple Dollar has a great guide you can follow to help get organized, 31 Days to Fixing Your Finances.

3. Make a budget.

I remember the first time someone told me to make a budget. I looked at them quizzically and said, “Oh yeah? And how the hell do I do that, slick?”

Making a budget is another one of those things they aren’t going to teach you in school and you basically have to figure out on your own. You can use a myriad of free online tools, catch up with Suze Orman, or use some good old fashioned pen and paper.

The point is that you have to make a budget that works with your particular situation. After you have gotten all your bills in order, you can start allocating your money appropriately.

I know this can all be somewhat overwhelming, so here are some resources from across the web to get you started.

Grad Meets World:

5 Tools for the First Time Budget

Managing Your Finances 101

Young, Fabulous, and Broke (and my ode to Suze Orman)

The Book Every Freelancer, Part-Timer, and Self-Employed Individual Should Read

5 Money Saving Tactics for Gen Y

10 Tips to Live Debt Free On a 25k Salary

Across The Web:

Life After College – 4 Step Budget

Budgets Are Sexy – Best Free Online Budget Templates (Goldmine!!!)

Gen Y Wealth – Financial Freedom Blueprint

Gen Y Wealth – 20 Financial Milestones You Want to Reach in Your 20s

The Simple Dollar – 31 Days to Fixing Your Finances

Like what you read? Why not share it?

Image via BladeDK @ Flickr

I received an email from Mahriana over at the Unclammed Black Pearl telling me that she wants to start her own freelance green home staging business (Congrats, girl!). She then asked me for some advice on how to run a freelance business and I immediately wrote a very long email with some things I have learned from my own experience. A long email then turned into a potential blog post, so I figured I would share some of my advice with you all.

If you are in the process of putting your business into action, then I want to personally congratulate you! Many people are so afraid to do this because society tells them that they will probably fail so kudos for taking the first steps! I also want you to know that even though you may not be able to turn your business into a full time gig for some time, you can rest assured in knowing that you will have extra cash coming in doing something you actually enjoy!

(Extra Tip: Don’t know what kind of a side business to start? Check out My Ode to the American Dream and 20 Side Businesses You Can Start On Your Own)

And so, without further ado, I present to you all some pearls of wisdom from running my own freelancing business.

1. Read FreelanceFolder.com

First and foremost, I highly recommend checking out FreelanceFolder.com. I wish I would have known about this blog when I first started learning about running a freelance business! They have great tips that pertain to anything from getting started to dealing with clients and taxes. The best part is that their advice can be applied to any kind of freelance business imaginable.

2. Business Cards

Business cards are a must. Some people think this is way too old school, but there is a reason why they have been around for decades. They are very inexpensive to make and allow you to make an impression on anyone you may meet. I personally like the quality of designs and paper from Moo.com

3. Set Up a Professional Website with it’s own Domain

A professional website is a must. Potential clients like to see portfolios and reasons as to why they should hire you. Websites allow for easy access to any information they may need to know about you, and allow you to show off your work to the world. I highly recommend using a .com for this because it seems much more professional. You can also get great features that you wouldn’t get on a free website builder.

4. Have a Blog.

Your website must have a blog. Believe it or not blogs are a great way to engage with potential customers. By giving them some advice it shows that you are not only human, but that you sincerely care in the well being of your clients. For the purposes of your business you could probably put together a great green living blog.

5. Maintain Significant Web Presence

Have a significant web presence. Quite frankly, any business that doesn’t have a Twitter or a Facebook by this time is really missing out on some great marketing and networking opportunities.

6. Set Up a Mailing List

This will keep you close to your regular clients and allow you to send mass emails with ease. I personally use AWeber, and although it’s not free it is easily one of the best marketing services out there.

7. Drive and Dedication

Most importantly, you need some major drive and dedication. You will probably have to burn the midnight oil at some point or try and make any free time you have productive in terms of your business (especially true if you already have a job like I do). I currently dedicate my weekends and any free time in between teaching to blogging, writing proposals, working on articles, and learning. Of course I also make sure to give myself some time to rest and watch some Mad Men.

I hope these tips are helpful for those of you wanting to actualize your business goals. Keep a look out because I plan on sharing whatever I learn on this freelance business journey.

Like this article? Share it with your friends!

Image via shortie66

Halfway into January 2011 and I bet a lot of people have already given up on the health related resolutions. Losing weight, staying fit, or exercising have been put on the back burner due to time constraints, too much work, or plain laziness.

I previously wrote a post where I compiled a guide for maintaining an exercise routine, however I know from experience that sometimes life gets in the way of being able to dedicate time to fitness. And so, I decided to compile another guide pertaining to easy ways to stay fit everyday.

After all, who said you had to go to the gym to exercise?

1. Walk or Bike to Wherever

While I love modern marvels as much as the next person, cars have contributed to our sedentary lifestyle. Unfortunately, we have grown accustomed to driving everywhere, even if it’s only a couple of blocks away. And let’s face it, the most exercise you get out of that is walking from your door to your car.

Ditch the automobile for a while and start walking or biking for close distances. Need to go to the drug store down the street? Walk there. Need to grab a couple of things at the grocery store? Ride your bike.

This is truly one of the easiest ways to make sure you are getting some exercise.

2. Use Public Transit

I am a public transit fan girl, which can be attributed to the fact that I live in the middle of a city. Not only does public transit save you money and help the environment, it also ensures that you get more exercise than you would if you were driving everywhere.

Let me provide you with a couple of examples. First, there is my grandmother. The woman is 80 and has the energy of a teenager with no major ailments of old age. The reason according to her doctor? She’s has either walked or taken public transit everywhere her entire life. The exercise she got from that has kept her fit and healthy well into old age.

As for the second example, I will use myself. I gained weight over the Holidays, just like everyone else. I even started getting some belly fat which I’ve never really had before. Over the last 2 weeks I have found myself walking a lot thanks to the fact that I have to take public transit to and from work, and guess what? My little belly pouch is gone.

If you’re looking for a subtle yet effective way to lose weight that won’t disrupt daily life, public transit may be the right regiment for you.

3. Download Your Favorite Workout Video

In addition to being a public transit fan-girl, I am also a big proponent of ExerciseTV. It’s easy, it’s accessible, it’s varied, and it’s affordable. Simply download your favorite workout videos, and play it on your computer whenever you have some extra time. My personal favorite is the Ass and Abs Crunch Workout, but they have a myriad of other great videos to choose from.

4. Cut back on eating out

I have previously mentioned that eating out is a big hazard to our health (and our wallets). Restaurants tend to serve very large portions and we really have no control over what’s in the meal. Start cutting back on how often you eat out, especially during the work week. You can accomplish this by making more meals at home, eating breakfast at home, and taking your lunch to work.

What are some of the things you do to stay fit everyday?

Image via sushi♥ina

If you haven’t already checked out Money Rabbit’s Gen Y financial blog, you probably should. Thanks to the fact that she records what she spends each week, I also started doing the same each day.

I was pretty appalled by how much money I spent last week on food and frivolous items, so I decided to try a little experiment this week and see if I could spend only what was necessary for travel, in this case being about $20 in bus fare.

This is how I did….

Monday:

$4 Bus Fare

No Spend Day

Tuesday:

$2 Bus Fare

No Spend Day

Wednesday:

$4 Bus Fare

No Spend Day

Thursday:

$4 Bus Fare

No Spend day

Friday:

$6 Bus Fare

No Spend Day

I’m proud to say that I did it! I only spent $20 this week, and it was only for traveling to and from work!  And believe it or not, it wasn’t very hard to resist the temptation of spending money.

How to Spend Less than $20 a Week

1. Use Public Transit, Carpool, Bike, or Walk to Work

I don’t have a car, and while this may be a pain sometimes, it also means that I don’t have any car payments or insurance bills to worry about. But most importantly, it means I don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money each week on gas. While everyone else is cringing over the cost of gas, I am sitting happily on a bus that will take me all the way to downtown for 2 bucks. I also get my daily exercise from this because there is some walking involved.

This may be easier for those of you who live in a bustling city with an actual transit system, but the rest of you still have many options. If you don’t live in an area where there is public transit you can always take turns carpooling with your co-workers. Better yet, kick it up a notch and do something healthy by biking or walking to work.

2. Make Your Own Breakfast Smoothies

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it gives you the energy you need and keeps you from starving all morning. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re in such a hurry that we either skip it or hit up the first Starbucks or smoothie place we see, which then creates a major dent in your wallet.

If you have some fruit, juice, yogurt, and a blender you can make a delicious breakfast yourself and take it to go. For instance, I have been making myself a mango-orange smoothie everyday this week. This completely eliminated my urge to grab a smoothie at Jamba Juice every morning before work and my bank account is very pleased.

3. Brown Bag Your Lunch

Eating out is a major inhibitor in our inability to save money. It’s also very bad for our health because restaurants tend to serve very big  portions. Avoid this by taking your lunch to work everyday. All you really need are leftovers from the night before or some deli meat and you’ve got yourself a meal that didn’t cost you any extra money.

(Extra Tip: If you are a serial snacker or have a crazy schedule like I do, make sure to pack some munchies too!)

You will be surprised at the amount of money you can save by taking these simple actions each week. It may not seem like much at first, but eventually it all adds up.

Oh, and all of the tips I mentioned are also eco friendly. So not only are you saving money, you are also going green!

What do you do to save money each week?

Image via Ed Bierman @ Flickr

This is a guest post by Patrick Mullaney over at HeyMullaney.com.

Patrick Mullaney currently resides back home in Downingtown, PA. His commute takes him to Radnor, PA, and the two are not far apart, hence his decision to live at home for now. He writes on his blog, HeyMullaney. Feel free to email him, as he loves to have conversations with other people, not just his imaginary friends: patmullaney24 [at] gmail [dot] com.

I know I’m not breaking any brand spankin’ new ground here with a post about living at home after college.

The New York Times beat me to it over the summer, and three years ago Ryan Healy wrote on the subject on Penelope Trunk’s blog. Apparently it’s a widely written about topic, but I want to give my two cents about it.

A quick thing about me: I’m 23, I live at home, I graduated from school two years ago (2009). I am thinking about moving out soon, but the whole saving money thing is great. Living at home really has its benefits.

Here are five reasons I say that:

1. Freedom

You might think this word sounds ridiculous in this discussion, but hear me out. While your home, if you’re lucky,  you have the freedom to search for the job *you want**.* You don’t have to settle for the first job you see out of college. If you have cool parents, they will give you the time and space you need to figure out what you want  to do. Many people feel like they cannot be independent at home, a friend of  mine moved out because he couldn’t stand answering to his mother, I wouldn’t  have
that problem. While my mother did worry constantly about when I was  going to find a job, she allowed me to find a job I was comfortable with. Even  though she once suggested I try to get a job at WaWa or Kohl’s, I forgive her.

2. Re-Energize

Some people take a year off after college to see the world or whatever. I’m not suggesting you do that, but you can if you want
(obviously). All I’m suggesting here is you recharge your  batteries back at home for a bit. You just spent four years at a college working your butt off. Take some time for yourself to rest and rejuvenate.

3. Bonding Time

If you love your family as much as I do, you want to spend as much time around them as possible. You were just away  from
them for a long time, so hang out for a bit. If I was working in L.A. right now I would not have been able to meet my nephew right away. I was able to be there the day of. I know I could have taken a plane back to see  him if I was working somewhere else, but the closeness is an advantage. Being closest to the people that love you the most is the most important thing you  can do for yourself in a trying time like post grad life.

4. Free Food

There’s nothing better than some home-cooking. And you can get your laundry done. I hope that your parents make you pay for
some stuff while you’re at home, but they usually will provide some  perks for you as long as you are proactive about finding a job.

5. Money

The single most important reason for living at home: it saves you tons of money. Sure, your parents can ask you to pay for some rent
and utilities, but it won’t be anywhere near what somewhere like New York City (or even Philadelphia, which is the closest city to me).

Now, having said all these things, if you have the opportunity to get out on your own, by all means, do it. This is not the “5 Reasons You Have to Move Back Home” list, I would move out myself if I felt comfortable in doing so. Because I know that if I were to move out now, I wouldn’t be able to save as much money as I want to. I’m building a nice nest egg for when I do eventually move out (and I swear I’m going to soon, Mom and Dad).

You all know how to make decisions for yourself. I just wanted to show you a few of the many reasons why living at home after college is a very smart move.

Now be sure to be home by 11.

Got something to say? Grad Meets World is always looking for guest bloggers!

Image via Ž. Markevičius

One of the reasons post grad anxiety and quarter life crises occur is because of our fear of the unknown.  For the first time in our lives, no one is really telling is what to do and we’re not really sure where our next steps will lead us.

Sure, you’re supposed to find a job. But hey, we inherited a crappy economy. I was very fortunate to find a job within six months and start a side business, but the same can’t be said for everyone.

Sure, you’re supposed to move out. But there’s no work to be had that will give you sufficient funds to do so.

Sure, you could go to grad school. But that’s a lot of student loans and still no guarantee of work when you’re done.

Sure, you could go abroad. But of course that’s not free (or cheap).

Our futures are uncertain, and no matter how many plans we make, a piece will always remain uncertain.

Scary thought, isn’t it?

Of course, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t do the things you want. If you want to go abroad, go to grad school, start a side business, move across the country etc., figure it out and do it. People have been figuring it out for decades and you won’t be the last ones in this position.

However, you will still have to deal with a little uncertainty.

This is where some people prosper while others fail. You can either let it control you and turn into a nervous wreck, or you can take on a new perspective and enjoy the present.

5 Ways to Overcome Fear of Uncertainty

1. Make plans, not expectations.

Expecting a fantastic outcome without actually planning for it is a major faux paus when it comes to this kind of stuff. You only end up setting yourself up for disappointment if things do not match up to your expectations. And let’s face it, when does life ever go according to anyone’s expectations?

Focus on what you can do in order to create the experience that you want. Do you need to save money? Can you start looking for jobs before you graduate? Do you need to find roommates?

Of course, sometimes life throws us some curveballs, which brings me to my next point.

2. Prepare for different outcomes.

A true sign of maturity is being able to gracefully handle a situation that does not go your way. Make a list of the different outcomes of your plans, that way if you are met with a curveball, you’ll at least have an idea of how to handle it.

3. Focus on what you can control.

I previously mentioned this concept in a previous blog post, Dealing With the Ugly Monster Called Anxiety.  The fact of the matter is that we cannot control everything. I know this may be hard for some of you (including myself) to swallow, but you are only fooling yourself if you think you can control every single aspect of your life.

There are some things which you can control. For instance, let’s say you have moved across the country and can’t find anything because you have a ton of clutter lying around from unpacking. Rather than freaking out because you can’t find your favorite coffee mug, start organizing the space little by little.

4. Become confident in your ability to adapt.

As human beings we are very capable of adapting to different situations.  I mean, come on, we’ve been adapting since the beginning of time. The problem lies in that we are not always very confident in our ability to do so.

Ask yourself “What’s the worst that can happen if x, y, and z don’t go my way?” Unless it’s a life or death situation, I’m sure you’ll be fine.

5. Balance.

Ok, this may be kind of out there, but hear me out. One of the biggest problems I had in dealing with the uncertainty of the future is that I spent every waking hour trying to figure it out. If I had to read X Book about running a business, I would stress out about it as if my life depended on it.  What eventually ended up happening is I never took any time to relax anymore. Sometimes I thought I had even forgotten how to relax.

Balance is key no matter what stage of your life you are in, but I think it rings particularly true as a 20something trying to figure their lives out for the first time.

What other ways are you guys dealing with uncertainty?

The Situation:

Currently, most of us Gen Y folk either a) can’t find a job and were forced to move back home after college, b) are doing internships for little to no money, c) are working at a low paying job to get by as you begin to climb the career ladder, or d) went straight to grad school in order to avoid the economy.

The good news is that although the situation may look bleak, we are not the first (nor will we be the last) to start from the bottom and work our way up. Furthermore, we are generation of movers and shakers who are open to dialogue and not afraid of change.

Now for the bad news; as a whole Gen Y has cultivated terrible financial habits and is being faced with many hurdles that our parents didn’t have to deal with. Namely, employers cutting back on everything from retirement to healthcare, the inexistence of job security, paying off baby boomer debt, lower salaries with a higher cost of living, and a recession.

(If you want to read more about the financial traits of our generation and the challenges we are facing check out this article from USA Today.)

The Problem:

I know that I can speak for a lot of people when I say that I had horrible spending habits for quite some time. Spending habits, that even now after college, I am having a little trouble getting a handle on. In fact, as I look over the last week’s expenses I am pretty sure that Jamba Juice has received a nice piece of my last teaching paycheck.  While this is a huge improvement over my previous expenses commonly known as bar tabs, clearly there is still room for improvement.

Now let’s talk about debt. While I personally have not accumulated debt and make sure to pay off my credit card every month, the same cannot be said for most of the Millennial Generation. According to Fidelity Investments, Gen Yers carry an average of 3 credit cards with 20% carrying a balance of $10,000 or more.

Clearly we need to start making some changes.

The Solution:

Obviously, us Gen Yers are being faced with a multi-faceted problem. There is not going to be one fix all cure for this mess that we find ourselves in. It will require some serious changes in our financial habits that will take time and patience to cultivate.

However, we have to start somewhere, and we can start by actually saving money.

5 Money Saving Tactics for Gen Y

1. Monitor your spending this week.

Do you hit up a Starbucks every day before work? Do you brown bag your lunch or find yourself eating out? How often are you running up a tab at the nearest bar? These kinds of habits are just a few of the major culprits in our inability to save money.

This coming week, try to pay attention to what you are spending your money on. I did this by walking around with a little notebook and writing down what I spent. At the end of the week, assess the damage to your bank account and see where you can make some changes.

Of course, you don’t have to completely give up on your the upside down caramel machiatto with skim milk and whipped cream. Maybe you can cut it down to a couple of week, or, if that is still too painful for you try simplifying your order (even that makes a difference).

2. Open Up High Yield Savings Accounts

We need our money to make money for us. Unfortunately, many of the brick and mortar banks have terrible interest rates for your accounts. I mean, 0.4% interest for a savings account, really?  Then they have the audacity to charge you ridiculous fees.

Check out some web only savings accounts like Emigrant Direct or FNBO Direct. These banks usually have much higher interest rates than brick and mortar banks. They also have zero fees and allow you to open up several different accounts so that you can see exactly what you are saving for.

3. Cut your check up into percentages.

Our generation is full of part-timers, permalancers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and interns. As a result, the amount of money we get in our checks may vary month to month.

The only way to really make sure you are saving enough money is to cut your check into percentages and allot money into the appropriate savings accounts. For example, 20% of every check I make goes into a high yield savings account that I will use in order to eventually move out. Another 10% goes into an emergency fund and 5% goes into a fund I will use to open an IRA.

Your percentages of course will depend on how much money you make and your expenses. For a detailed explanation of how this works I highly recommend picking up The Money Book for Freelancers, Part-Timers, and the Self-Employed. The tactics mentioned in this book are pretty much good for anyone.

That’s all for now. Keep a look out for tactics on how to tackle debt.

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