The number one thing I was told when finishing up my last year of college was that I would miss school and pretty soon I'd want to go back because college is "the best time of your life." While I expected to hear this from my parents since they (understandably) had a romantic view of college given how long ago it was for them, I was quite shocked to hear this reiterated by my friends who had graduated only a year or two ahead of me."Going to work every day kind of stinks. Work takes up SO MUCH of your time...""Ugh, all these bills!""I feel like I never have any money left over…""Everything is so expensive..."While I can't argue with the first complaint—work does take up a ton of time Monday through Friday—in the six months since I've graduated and been living the so-called "grown-up" life on my own, I feel that I've done a good job of keeping my spending in check so that I do have enough money to do the things that are enjoyable to me. No one wants to feel like all they do is go to work so they can pay bills and with the following tips, you won't have to...Tip #0 - Budget your expenses on paperThis is almost a "pre" tip because all the other tips rest upon this one: budget your expenses on paper before you commit to anything. Before I actually moved into my apartment or bought my car, I played with the numbers of how much everything was going to cost me before I signed up for anything.Too often, young adults (and older adults too!) will get the idea in their head that they can afford something without truly knowing whether they can or not. They then run out and sign the lease for that expensive apartment or the papers for that expensive car note without realizing that (1) they can't really afford it or (2) they technically can but it will make things really stressful and tight for them. Then they complain about how they don't make enough money and everything in life cost too much…don't let this be you.By taking your POST-tax salary (there are plenty of calculators online that will take your gross salary and spit out how much you'll get in each paycheck after federal, state, and local taxes), dividing it by 26 (if you get paid every two weeks), and subtracting everything that you know you will have to pay for in the month, you will have a true idea of how much you have left over for things like cable, internet, cell phone, etc. This is what I did and the results surprised me, so I strongly recommend that you do this before you do anything else.Tip #1 - Negotiate your billsAfter you've got your budget down on paper and you know how much you can afford for certain expenses, go ahead and sign yourself up for them but negotiate like crazy! For instance, after doing my budget on paper I determined that for the amount I wanted to have in savings and free money every month, I could afford $50/month for internet and that I was not going to sign up for cable. With this in mind, I looked up two competing internet service providers (ISPs) in my area that offered what I wanted in my budget, and I signed up for the one that had a 30-day trial policy, meaning I could cancel within the 30 days if I wanted to. Before my 30 days were up, I called up the ISP and told them I wanted to cancel and that I was going to switch to the competitor. After much rigamarole with the "customer retention" folks, they reduced my bill to $30/month FOR THE SAME SERVICE just to keep me from canceling. Moral of the story? Start with what you can afford and negotiate ruthlessly from there. You'd be surprised at what companies will do to keep you as a customer. Also, check with your cell phone service provider to see if you qualify for an employee discounts, as their can reduce your bill by as much as 15%! Tip #2 - Eat like a Princess, spend like a peasant

After things like rent and car payment (if you have one) the next most expensive thing per month will probably be food. If you are a foodie like me and love treating yourself to gourmet meals whenever possible, your food expense can get really out of control. I actually learned to combat my rather expensive food preferences in college (when I really didn't have any money!) by cooking my "gourmet" meals at home instead of going out to restaurants all the time. I would figure out the recipes from my favorite restaurants, then focus on getting those ingredients for a low price.I do the same thing now, but with an added twist: I buy only ingredients that are on sale at local grocery stores and make my little gourmet meals strictly out of that. I learned this trick from the Cheap, Healthy Good blog; you can save quite a bit of money with just that tip alone.

I also try hard not to waste money by going to random fast food places like Chipotle, Potbelly, etc, during the week. I generally will want to go out to a restaurant once or twice on the weekend, but when I go, I don't want to be restrained and I want to order whatever I want. I'd rather avoid the $8 dollars here and there at places like chipotle so that I can have a meal I'll really enjoy at a nice restaurant on the weekend. Cooking at home with ingredients that are on sale during the week allow me this luxury without breaking the bank.Tip #3 - Go longer between non-essential servicesI have a secret. I don't take my dry-clean only (i.e. work) clothes to the cleaners after every wear. When I get home from work, I take the dry-clean only items off, neatly hang them or fold them up and (gasp!) I put them back in my closet. I even hit them with a little scented body spray or febreeze to help them air out. After the second wear, then and only then will I set them aside to go to the cleaners. Maybe some people may find wearing clothes twice gross, but with dry-cleaning currently running $3 per item, I need to get more than one wear out of an item before I take it to get cleaned. Stretching my runs to the dry-cleaner has cut my dry-cleaning bill in half and my clothes don't look (or smell) any less clean and fresh. Dry-cleaning is not one of my life's great financial priorities, so I try my hardest to keep those costs to a minimum.Other non-essentials I like to "stretch" are manicures and pedicures. Generally, at the beginning of the month I will get a professional manicure and pedicure. I'll maintain the pedicure by using a pumice stone or other tool in the shower every few days. I maintain my manicure by simply changing out the polish when it get a little worn, keeping my nails filed, and pushing back my cuticles with one of those orange wood sticks if need be. At the beginning of the next month, I get another professional manicure/pedicure and I start the process all over again. Cutting my nail appointments to once a month versus once a week keeps my hands and feet looking groomed without spending excessively.

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Stay tune for Part 2 of this post where I give my last three tips for living the "grown-up life" on a reasonable budget. How do you save money? what are the things that you prioritize financially?