Earlier this week, I did an interview with the Geezeo blog about life after graduation.   One of the questions asked was what financial advice I had for current college students preparing to graduate, and my first thought was save a bunch of money.   I suppose just about anything goes better with $3,000 in the bank, but I thought I’d break down some of the expenses I didn’t think about after graduation.   Graduating from college is basically losing your job–so this is the classic emergency fund situation in action.

If you’d asked me 12 months ago what I’d be doing right now, the answer would have been grad school.   I was terrified of graduating and decided to stay in college forever (no, literally forever–I was going to go into Higher Education Administration).   It wasn’t until spring that I decided to brave the mysterious land of rent and debt repayment.   Then, in July, I decided to quit my summer job and move back to DC three weeks early for the safety of my mental health.

Are you doing the math?   That means I needed more money and made less. I did, in fact, end up running out of money (probably exactly the amount of my summer stipend that I gave up, which was, trust me, a good choice), but that was after paying the big expenses and while waiting for my first paycheck, so I was okay.

Still, a few things to keep in mind.   First, job searching can be expensive.   You’re driving or public transit-ing all over your area, buying clothes, and printing resumes and business cards.   You’re also keeping yourself alive during this time.   Temping or part-time work help, obviously, but my experience with temp gigs was that they weren’t very flexible for interviewing for real jobs.

Apartment searching is definitely expensive.   You’ll be laying down application fees, a deposit, and at least one month’s rent.   One hack is to start searching now, and lay down a deposit to seal in the deals leasers offer during dry seasons–around graduation and during the summer, those deals are harder to find.   The tradeoff is, of course, that you gamble on sticking to your plans and finding the kind of job and income you expect.

There are tons of expenses for your first apartment you’ll never pay all at once again, from a spice rack to a vacuum cleaner to a mattress.   You need a good wad of cash, more if you’re moving someplace far away.

Think seriously about whether you’ll be able to live with your parents, and for how long, if that’s your plan.   I signed a lease before I had a job–like four days before, but still–because trying to live with my dad was flatly not working.   He cosigned our lease in return for our getting out of his house.

Obviously, not everybody goes straight to job-and-apartment life.   But I think I’m a good example of how many unexpected things can change, especially during an important transition.   Make like the boy scouts and hook up on camping trips–I mean, be prepared.