Where did your Grad $$$ go?

Laurie8504

Laurie8504

chocolate...where?
O.G.
Sep 10, 2007
2,814
7
#1
I'm graduating college (university to you Englanders) in May, and I would love nothing more than to blow all of my gift $$ on a Dior Cannage Tote. I try to justify it to myself by saying, well, it's really like they're all going in together on a gift for me...

I have no debt/student loans/car payments, so I wouldn't feel any guilt about not paying something off, it just seems...IDK, excessive. I feel like I should just throw it in the bank.

So, what did you do with any money received when you graduated, and what would you do if you were in my situation?
 
#2
Well, I didn't really get any money when I graduated college. A little here and there but it was mostly because I was going to have to commute to my new job and they knew I was buying a car. So what I got helped beef up my down payment.

My family would have been REALLY offended if I bought something like a bag with graduation money. They gave it with the feeling that graduation money is supposed to help you start your new life (similar to like, a housewarming gift) and you should use it for something like a security deposit on an apt.

I guess it depends on how your family would feel about how you use the money- and what you're going to do next i.e. job or grad school. Personally, I wouldn't blow that money- I'd use it to start a nest egg. With the job market what it is, I've got a large emergency fund and it really comes in handy.
 
#3
nauticalstar said:
Well, I didn't really get any money when I graduated college. A little here and there but it was mostly because I was going to have to commute to my new job and they knew I was buying a car. So what I got helped beef up my down payment.

My family would have been REALLY offended if I bought something like a bag with graduation money. They gave it with the feeling that graduation money is supposed to help you start your new life (similar to like, a housewarming gift) and you should use it for something like a security deposit on an apt.

I guess it depends on how your family would feel about how you use the money- and what you're going to do next i.e. job or grad school. Personally, I wouldn't blow that money- I'd use it to start a nest egg. With the job market what it is, I've got a large emergency fund and it really comes in handy.
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Thank you so much for your reply, you brought up a lot of good points.

I do know that I will be receiving pretty much solely monetary gifts because my sister graduated before me. I guess I don't really know the intention of the gift-givers though, which is why I definitely need the input from people who are out of college and wiser than myself. However, this isn't something I would flaunt that I spent all my money on.

My apartment is paid for through August, then I'm going to leave the country for a year and work/travel abroad. I plan on earning the money for that this summer, but this is something I am also considering putting the money towards.

I then plan on returning and going to grad school...which is also already paid for. And I do have what I consider to be a decent nest-egg for a graduating college student.

I don't want to sound like I'm really pushing this or not open to advice, just trying to explain my situation a little better so I can get the best advice possible.

Thanks again!
 
#4
My graduation money went towards traveling to S.E. Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, etc.)! Best money ever spent! And I got some great (and cheap) shopping done on the side ;)
 
#5
I didn't get too much money for graduation, about $300 total. All of it was used towards new professional style clothes. I basically lived in jeans, flip flops and tank tops in college :P
 
#6
Laurie8504 said:
Thank you so much for your reply, you brought up a lot of good points.

I do know that I will be receiving pretty much solely monetary gifts because my sister graduated before me. I guess I don't really know the intention of the gift-givers though, which is why I definitely need the input from people who are out of college and wiser than myself. However, this isn't something I would flaunt that I spent all my money on.

My apartment is paid for through August, then I'm going to leave the country for a year and work/travel abroad. I plan on earning the money for that this summer, but this is something I am also considering putting the money towards.

I then plan on returning and going to grad school...which is also already paid for. And I do have what I consider to be a decent nest-egg for a graduating college student.

I don't want to sound like I'm really pushing this or not open to advice, just trying to explain my situation a little better so I can get the best advice possible.

Thanks again!
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Well your reply addressed a lot of questions I had in my post- it sounds like you're pretty well set up!

But I agree that the traveling abroad would be a GREAT thing to put the money toward- you're only going to have that experience once! There will be plenty of shopping abroad too, and plenty of places you'll want to go and eat. and hey, if you've got money leftover while you're there, you can still buy the bag! Or maybe you'll find something you want more.
 
#7
i bought 2 bags (nothing too crazy) with my graduation money. both my parents were with me when i did so it wasn't a super secret thing hehe.

like nauticalstar said, putting it towards your trip abroad would be a wonderful idea. but since you have a job set up to earn money for the trip, then a little splurge wouldn't hurt either.
 
#8
kaykayyy said:
My graduation money went towards traveling to S.E. Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, etc.)! Best money ever spent! And I got some great (and cheap) shopping done on the side ;)
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That is a good idea, but I'm afraid that if I did shopping overseas, with the dollar being so weak, I'm worried it will cost me twice as much. :s


huong said:
I didn't get too much money for graduation, about $300 total. All of it was used towards new professional style clothes. I basically lived in jeans, flip flops and tank tops in college :P
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this is a great idea too! I think if I were going directly into the job market I would definitely go this route.

nauticalstar said:
Well your reply addressed a lot of questions I had in my post- it sounds like you're pretty well set up!

But I agree that the traveling abroad would be a GREAT thing to put the money toward- you're only going to have that experience once! There will be plenty of shopping abroad too, and plenty of places you'll want to go and eat. and hey, if you've got money leftover while you're there, you can still buy the bag! Or maybe you'll find something you want more.
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you're a smart cookie. I'm going to wait until I'm sure, the bag will always be there, but I might need the money for something else later on. :tup:
 
#9
People getting lots of gifts for college graduation kind of surprises me - I always thought that was really something that was only acceptable in high school. I'm not even ordering announcements for my graduation in May. Maybe it's a regional thing, I'm not sure. I figure I'll get something from my parents, but I'd be surprised to get things from my extended family.

As such, I'd resist the urge to use the money on a handbag - maybe save that sort of splurge for your first real paycheck? Try and put the money towards something practical. In this economy, you never know what your employment situation will be like, and "found money" like gifts should probably be saved or used for real needs.
 
#11
I saved it all! I put it in a high interest savings account. I probably used most of it for the down payment on a car (it was about a year and a half after I graduated), but I saved it.

You could always save some spend some if that would make you feel better. That's what I've done with my bonuses since I've started working. I still get a treat, but feel good about saving for the future.
 
#12
I blew my high school graduation money on trinkets, trips to the mall, going to the movies with my friends, amusement parks etc.... Best. Summer. Ever.

Any money I ever got after high school was spent responsibly but I will always remember that summer before college as one of the best times of my life.
 
#13
This was my fault, but it was sort of like having a birthday on Christmas? I graduated college a week before our wedding - so I got a little bit of cash, we got the bulk of our gifts the next week down in Tahoe.

We had a pretty good savings going from that, I did a tiny bit of shopping with my money - I found a North Face fleece for 50% off (June in California haha) and a hoodie...but saved a lot of money.

Then our darling Spirit was so ill, we had to use our wedding savings and our paychecks to pay for the tests to find out what was wrong with her - turns out there's no cure for what she has but if she gets symptoms they can give her medication to curb them. It was hard looking at our nest egg disappear overnight, I won't lie, and we have JUST barely started to recover from all that. I guess it makes me mad because there is no closure for Spirit, like she's just going to be a sick old dog until she dies - that pretty much pisses me off.
 
#14
For my undergraduate degree.. I took a backpacking trip through Europe for 5 weeks, and that's pretty much where all my parents' love and $$ went.

I think for my current program, when I finish, I will have to ask for a watch or something. :graucho:
 
#15
amanda said:
People getting lots of gifts for college graduation kind of surprises me - I always thought that was really something that was only acceptable in high school. I'm not even ordering announcements for my graduation in May. Maybe it's a regional thing, I'm not sure. I figure I'll get something from my parents, but I'd be surprised to get things from my extended family.

As such, I'd resist the urge to use the money on a handbag - maybe save that sort of splurge for your first real paycheck? Try and put the money towards something practical. In this economy, you never know what your employment situation will be like, and "found money" like gifts should probably be saved or used for real needs.
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I didn't get anything for highschool :shrugs:

I won't get my first "real" paycheck for another four years. :sad:
 
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