{"id":17935,"date":"2017-07-31T15:42:37","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T20:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/?page_id=17935"},"modified":"2025-06-04T14:31:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T19:31:27","slug":"living-independently","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/living-independently\/","title":{"rendered":"Living Independently"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-modular-content-collection><div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>The resources on this page are designed to assist you with understanding your needs and lifestyle choices as an independent adult just out of college.\u00a0 Though they are not designed to be comprehensive, they should give you a place to start as you begin life after St. Olaf.\u00a0 In no way does this constitute legal or financial advice. For personal and detailed financial advice, consult a certified financial advisor. For legal advice, consult an attorney.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Living arrangements<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/apartments.about.com\/od\/apartmenthunting\/a\/findapartment.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to find the right living arrangement for you<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myfirstapartment.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My First Apartment<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the hunt, moving in, money, roommates, etc.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/relocation-resources\/\">Online Apartment Listings\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Use your local newspaper for finding individuals subleasing a house or apartment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Understanding employment benefits<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Ask your Human Resources representative to go over these, and any other, benefits you may receive with your position.\u00a0 Make sure to get clarification on the policies and don\u2019t be afraid to ask questions.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moneyfor20s.about.com\/od\/yourbenefits\/tp\/Commonbenefits.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Overview of common benefits<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gradspot.com\/guides\/understanding-health-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Health insurance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/money.cnn.com\/retirement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Retirement plans<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wisegeek.com\/what-is-life-insurance.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Life insurance<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Vacation, sick time, or PTO (Paid time off)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>General money management tips, tools and resources<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>iSeek Reality Check Tool\u2013 This interactive tool is a fun way to identify the cost of your desired lifestyle. (Designed for living in Minnesota)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/nextavenue\/2013\/05\/29\/11-essential-money-tips-for-new-college-grads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Money Tips for Recent Grads<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/web.extension.illinois.edu\/money\/introduction.cfm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">More for your money<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mint.com\/blog\/how-to\/10-tips-to-living-within-your-means-0813\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Living within your means<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aarp.org\/money\/budgeting-saving\/spending_less_calculator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The benefit of spending less calculator<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bankrate.com\/calculators\/smart-spending\/home-budget-plan-calculator.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Home budget calculator<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/us.thesalarycalculator.co.uk\/hourly.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Salary calculators<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Loans, credit and debt<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.ed.gov\/sa\/repay-loans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paying back federal student loans<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.experian.com\/credit-education\/understanding-credit-scores.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Understanding your credit report<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Credit and Debt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Savings and retirement planning<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Creating a savings plan<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bankrate.com\/calculators\/savings\/savings-goal-calculator-tool.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Savings goal calculator<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bankrate.com\/brm\/news\/advice\/20040317a1.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Prioritizing your finances<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/money.cnn.com\/calculator\/retirement\/retirement-need\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Retirement plan calculator<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The resources on this page are designed to assist you with understanding your needs and lifestyle choices as an independent adult just out of college.\u00a0 Though they are not designed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2555,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17935","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2555"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17935"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47196,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17935\/revisions\/47196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}