An Open Letter to My Graduate

Graduation season is in full swing; pass on more to your children or relatives than money, pass on your wisdom.These are 6 things I wish someone had shared with me.

By Kerry FaixEntrepreneur, Real Estate Investor, COO and Founder of Stone Bay Holdings @kerryfaix

To My Son, Steven,

This moment has been years in the making, and its finally time to move your tassel from the right to the left and enter the world as a new graduate. As you get ready to join the workforce, I encourage you to reflect and plan for a moment, to set yourself up for success in this next phase of your life, some ideas that I wish someone had imparted to me when I was your age.

Enjoy and Celebrate Your Achievement

In any period of transition, it is important to carve out some time to celebrate the milestone you’ve achieved. You’ve earned it! Pause for a moment and really celebrate what you’ve done, how far you’ve come, and all the hard work that brought you to this moment! Celebrations help motivate us for the coming work as well.

Write Your Goals

As you open a new chapter in your life, take some time to think about and prepare for your future. What does it look like? What do you want? Think about things like your career, relationships, finances, health.

• Write down your goals.

Writing your goals instantly increases your chances of attaining them.

• Describe them in detail.

It is important to understand what your goals look like. Vague goals are difficult to work towards.

• Write down 3 action items you can do immediately.

Tackle your goals as soon as possible to keep them from getting forgotten.

Check out my article here for more on how to create achievable goals for yourself.

The point is to keep yourself focused on your purpose. It is crucial to know where you are headed. You don’t need to jump on the hamster wheel with no direction in your life. Figure out what your plans are and work towards them. Remember; revisit your goals periodically, your plans are allowed to change.

Find Your Balance

Before getting too swept away with the hustle and bustle of daily life, orient yourself to the balance you would like to maintain. God, family, career, health, etc. Decide what is important to you. Prioritize and plan how you are going to keep those boundaries as you go forward.

Be Responsible with Your Newfound Cash Flow

It’s exciting when you start earning full time income! It can be tempting to splurge on luxuries you’ve always wanted, especially when you see the money deposited in your account. They can be fun, but try to keep the bigger picture in mind. There is a difference between wants and needs. Even though you can afford them, life isn’t always about the material things.

Work towards building a minimum savings of 4 months or more, consolidate and payoff any student loans, and if your company offers it, take advantage of a 401k or IRA and contribute as much as possible.

Let’s look at some numbers…

If you start contributing $5,000 every year to your IRA when you are 25, at an 8% return, you will have saved $1,507,528 by the time you are 65 years old. This is $417 a month, the equivalent of a nice car payment.

If you wait to start contributing the same amount of money until you are 35, at the same 8% return, you will have saved $662,043 by the time you are 65 years old.

This is a difference of over 50%! Your older self will thank you when you have secured financial freedom early instead of collected cars or gadgets. Try to stay focused on where you are headed when making fiscal decisions for yourself. The decisions you make now have a massive impact later down the line.

Start Your Side Hustle

Now is the time to start your side hustle! Earning even a little extra, with the magic of compound interest, can benefit you massively in the long run as we’ve seen. While you’re still young and have the extra time, take advantage of your resources and hustle! You don’t have to be constantly working without a break, but fill your time in ways that bring exponential benefits, and have fun with it! Soon enough, you’ll have a family and responsibilities and the opportunity to earn like this will have passed.

Invest in Yourself

Continue to invest in yourself even after you’ve completed your schooling. Check out seminars, conferences, meet with a mentor, join an accountability group. Read books to grow yourself as well. The One Thing, The Compound Effect, and Think and Grow Rich, are all books that will help push you forward personally and professionally.

Go Get ‘Em!

This is your time! You have all the opportunity in the world, and you really can accomplish anything that you dream of. Keep God first, stay focused and positive, be thankful, help those in need and always give your best. I am so proud of you and super excited to watch as you make your mark on this world!

Kerry is an entrepreneur, real estate investor, COO and Founder of Stone Bay Holdings. With extensive experience in building companies from the ground up, she owns and operates part of a $150 million RE portfolio. She is passionate about helping others achieve their dreams.