Personal Finance

MrWenger1982

Hi,
I am just recently out of college and starting to manage my own finances for the first time. I am new to having money to save, invest etc so I have a lot of questions to ask. I know Bank of Ireland offer free financial advice which obviously is going to sell their bank as the best. Should I go to talk to them?

Should I keep track of my spending for a month and then see how much "discretionary" money I have before I talk to any advisors? How did other recent college graduates go about setting themselves financially up after college?

Blackjack

Probably best to get a few months out of the way before deciding what discretionary income you may have. Costs will change from month to month, so 3 to 6 months would be best. Save what you can in this time and it will give you an idea on what you need to survive. Try to keep track of your spending, and get an idea of what your monthly bills will be. Internet banking is handy for this as you can get the details from your statement for the past few months and get a good picture of what your outgoings are on a monthly basis.
I generally take a look evey 6 months to re-assess, have been doing for a number of years. Your Outgoings as well as your income will change over time, so it's worth doing this every 6 months to a year as well.

MrWenger1982

Thanks Blackjack. That's exactly the sort of advice I'm looking for.