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Mitigate Effects Of Credit With Tangible Money
Right now you are standing at a fork in the road.  If I could tell my younger self who blasted past that fork without noticing it what to do, I would say:  Research "Financial Independence" and "Early Retirement" and "frugal living".  If you do it right you can be financially independent in 5-15 years depending on your comfort level with frugal living. Many people celebrate graduation by financing a new car.  It's like a quadruple whammy.  New car brings sticker shock.  Financing is paying to use someone else's money.  Buying a car period is buying into the commuter lifestyle.  And the cash flow could have gone to reducing debt or building savings.  One blog I read advises that this step adds ten years to the time you have to work before you become financially independent.