Recent graduates are notorious for not having a freakin’ clue where their money goes. If you’re going to thwart financial disaster in the adult world, you need to have a budgeting plan. Seriously, don’t even think about investing until you get a handle on this subject. It’s not hard. Just do it. The first part of any budgeting process is to figure out where your money is going right now. Keep track of every penny you spend for a month. Hit Burger King (or the fast food franchise of your choosing) twice a week and you’re coughing up over $500 a year. Toss in a couple of daily sodas from the vending machine and you’re looking at another $300 annually. Geez, you could have taken a modest vacation with that coin. Or maybe began saving for investments. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person; just that you have a few bad habits to break. Tracking your expenses for a month will give you an idea of how to handle routine expenses but you can’t ignore the unexpected. It’s a lack of planning for the sudden expense out of left field that will waylay your financial plans. Here are some items to think about: car repairs, medical costs, holidays and birthdays, weddings and baby showers, emergency travel, office parties, broken appliances, job loss, and much, much more. In the coming days and months we’ll revisit basic budgeting. It’s that important. For now, get busy with your 30 days of logging expenses.