I thought my first salary would make my economic troubles disappear. The boy is me wrong.

If, like me, you just graduated from school and suddenly found yourself being overwhelmed by adult things – disposable income, rent and a balance between comfortable living and plenty of savings – you might also think: I need a strategy To save more money. Read on and see how I did it!

I want to be sensible about my new salary, but still indulge in the little fun of life. I want to study hard and excel in the classroom, but travel in New York and the United States is still very enjoyable. But what should I do? Here are my three recommendations:

1. Review your lifestyle

When I first moved to New York, it was great to be able to earn my own salary. I think that $1,500 is a lot of money, compared to the $800 monthly allowance that I used to get in Singapore.

But I forgot, I am now facing the expenses I didn't have when I lived with my parents. I feel very painful whenever I realize that I have to use my hard earned money to pay for household necessities, groceries, clothes and other miscellaneous expenses. In addition, I forgot that the price of food in New York is more than twice that of Singapore. I took the credit card away, as if there was unlimited money in my bank account.

I spent my first salary on shopping and restaurant lunches and made up to $1,000 on credit card bills - much more than I thought. I have to use my personal savings to pay off my bill. I reviewed my consumption situation and my credit card bill is very good for me. I realized that I spent an average of $12 on a big lunch and dinner, and I could never finish it. I started to go to the buffet, like the frame and Essen, I was responsible for paying for what I ate. Since then, in addition to controlling diet, I have reduced my expenses to $7 on average.

I am not suggesting that you should turn into a calorie-focused restaurant to avoid saving money. It all comes down to adjusting your lifestyle expectations and how much you actually withdraw from your salary each month. I have tempered my lifestyle and reduced my social expenses as much as possible. My friends and I don't eat gorgeous brunch and mimosa, but go to a cooking party. I canceled my class pass subscription and gym at blink, saving at least $100 a month. This is the first step to improving my financial situation.

2. Develop and maintain a budget

As mentioned earlier, I was very careless when I first paid my salary. The freshness of earning money to support my family makes me feel that I should treat myself well, which tempts me to spend all my hard-earned money on myself.

The situation changed when I faced a lot of high-value bills—housing, utilities, cable, WiFi, telephone, and insurance—that weren't incompatible with my past financial habits. I realized that unlike previous allowances, my wages are not all disposable income – I have financial obligations and I should meet and prioritize them based on daily necessities.

In the past two months, I have developed the habit of keeping my expenses in the last penny in my Notes app. At the end of the month, I will copy them into an Excel spreadsheet so I can review me. The expenses are gone. The Mint automates the things I do by hand. If you don't need paper, you can make sure everything is explained.

Developing this habit helps me understand how much I need to set aside for my recurring expenses, weaknesses and how to cut expenses. This weekend, I found out that I spent $100 on Amazon to buy books - which is close to 20% of my disposable income. When I realized that I had returned those books and borrowed an electronic version from the New York Public Library. All are free. The microphone is falling.

3. Saving and then spending

In short, I think it is good for me and can keep my financial burden on the water. I started to budget my salary and put the money where it belongs. I basically keep half of my salary as housing, utilities, cable TV, wireless internet, telephone and subway passes. I deposited this money into a major checking account, specifically reserved for these deductions and my paycheck direct deposit. I deposit a quarter of my salary in my second checking account to cover my daily expenses. The problem here is that I don't have to use a debit card to shop. I use a credit card to connect to this checking account via a debit card so that I can get a reward on my credit card and treat my credit card as a debit card. For the remaining quarter, I divided them into bank savings accounts and investment accounts.

Budget and conscious savings will make life easier for you as a recent graduate. We often don't track where our money flows, and as a result we spend it all, or worse, more than we earn.