Click to head over to Mint and see the infographic in full!

Today is a VERY exciting day . . . I’m proud to introduce the newest member of the Life After College family!*

*Oh my . . .now I’m referring to projects as children. You know you’re hopelessly addicted to blogging when . . . 

In collaboration with Mint and Quicken, we’ve released an infographic today called “Your Roadmap to Life After College“ — an eye-candy CliffsNotes version of my book!

Our aim was to create something fun, interesting and useful, in a style that harkens back to the Choose Your Own Adventure books many of us loved as kids. The Roadmap to Life After College covers six major life areas: Home, Money, Career, Health, Social Life and Fun, with tips and statistics sprinkled throughout. A little virtual easter egg: If you look closely, you’ll notice that my dog Patches (may she rest in peace) is in the picture frame at the top

If you’re looking to take the roadmap even further, I encourage you to sign-up for my latest greatest Design Your Life course (inspired by the infographic) — six weeks to help you “stop spinning and start LIVING” in all the areas above. The best part? If you enroll, you get a friend in free. Accountability is sexy, baby! 

Whether you are nearing graduation, a few years out, or know someone approaching this major transition, we hope you enjoy the digital adventure on the Mint Blog!

That’s not it…

You can also purchase this infographic (reconfigured slightly) as a 18×24 poster, which I’m really stoked about. First official JBE merchandise outside of the book! I may be biased, but I think it would make a great gift for any soon-to-be-grads you know

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments here or on the Mint blog, and please share this with anyone and everyone who you think could benefit!

***

Make Sh*t Happen Doors are Open!

Thanks to the awesomeness that is AnyMeeting (h/t Sean Ogle), I was able to record today’s free Make Sh*t Happen Crash Course. View the recording* and set your biggest goals on fire for 2012! In a good way, of course

*If you can’t see the video and PPT, here’s the work-around from AnyMeeting: “Start playing the recordings in question and right click the area where the content is supposed to be playing. Press “Settings” on the small menu that appears and now a Adobe Flash Player Settings prompt window should pop up. Uncheck the “Enable hardware acceleration” box and close the prompt window. Refresh your browser a couple times and that should resolve the issue.” Sorry for the hassle! 

The full course is now open for enrollment, and I’m already in love with the early enrollees. It sold out in less than 24 hours last time, so make sure you get a jump on it if you know you’re interested.

Here’s what one of the participants, rockstar David Geier, had to say about his experience:

“I really knew very little about this course before I signed up. Someone I know tweeted Jenny’s blog post about leaving Google to pursue her dreams, and that post struck a chord with me. I realized that I have had dreams of new pursuits that were just that – dreams. But something about that post made me want to give the MSH course a shot. And I was shocked how great this course was for me, because everything about it is not at all like me (or my past me).

I remember very specifically how nervous I was typing my big goal into the response section, knowing that the other members of the course would soon read it. I had to open a bottle of really expensive wine I had been saving for a special occasion as I typed it. I hit enter with some fear, honestly. But then I read the other responses and I couldn’t get over how amazing everyone’s dreams and projects were. I felt like we were all starting an amazing journey.

Every step along the way – creating our support network, writing our vision statements, creating accountability, discussing our progress with other course members – made the journey more and more tangible. While I still have a long way to go to complete my goals, I am so much more confident that I can do it and that it will happen that it almost feels inevitable.

I can’t say enough how much Jenny and her course have helped me!”

—David G.

Cheers — to geeking out on infographics and to big goal swagger in 2012!

I had the great pleasure of speaking at Mint.com two weeks ago (hi Vu and team!) — a fangirl dream come true, seeing as I mention Mint in just about every money post.

Seriously, second only to Suze Orman knowing I exist, Mint.com was the number one company I dreamed about partnering with during the book tour. Well now that partnership might just be happening! In fact, I’d love your help brainstorming ideas — more on that soon.

The day before I was set to speak at Mint, I checked my paper credit card statement. I’ll admit — sometimes I don’t check every single line before I pay it. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Well – I will now be diligently checking from here on out.

Someone stole my credit card number, ladies and gentlemen, and though I have no idea how, they could have yours too.

See Exhibit A:

Quiet Credit Card Fraud

As you can see, the charges were small enough not to raise any fraud alert flags, especially since I travel so often. I can assure you, though, that I am not bouncing back and forth from NYC to Memphis to get my Kroeger’s and Walmart fix every other day.

When I talked to Wells Fargo, they said that someone had been manually entering the number (not swiping it). I have absolutely NO idea how the fraudsters got a hold of it — probably an online payment that wasn’t secure. The other strange thing is that this is on my business credit card, which I use far less frequently than my personal one.

I’m calling this quiet because this type of fraud doesn’t raise any alarm bells immediately — your balance doesn’t skyrocket overnight, and for all your credit card company knows, one of your online retailers could have headquarters in another state (thus explaining the multiple purchase locations). The ONLY way to discover this kind of fraud is to be vigilant about monitoring your statements. With that…

Important fraud prevention basics:

• When you finish reading this post, go check every single line of your credit card statement. Make that a monthly habit from this point forward.
• Beware of services like paperless and automatic billing — for me, that’s when I tend to get careless. It’s fine to be notified online and to auto-pay, but it doesn’t get you off the hook from going line-by-line through each of your bills every month.
• Be careful when (better yet, avoid altogether) making financial transactions over non-secure internet connections (coffee shops, open wireless networks, etc.)
• If you found this reminder helpful, forward it to a friend or two who could also use an awareness nudge

I’d love to hear from you (and help other readers) in the comments:
Got any credit card fraud tips or stories to share?

THANK YOU for the outpouring of love and support last week. You helped me see without a doubt that I am making the right decision and that I won’t be alone on the road ahead.

I am so incredibly blessed to have such a supportive community. Each of you continue to blow me away with your kindness, intelligence and support!

A quick note on the survey:

So far almost 200 of you (!!!) have filled it out. Thank you! I’ll wrap-up the results in an upcoming post, but it’s not too late to share your thoughts!

I heard from a small handful of you that the posts have gotten too personal and “meta” and that you’d like to see more practical tips. Those will return soon, I promise! Between the book launch and quitting Google, life has taken center-stage, and it’s important to me that I let all of you in to “backstage” experience. However, I NEVER intend for this blog to be all about ME ME ME, so know that I am fully committed (now more than ever) to delivering the best possible content for all of you.

***

A little backstory on the month leading up to my Big Decision

At SXSW in March, I was walking down Sixth Street with Andy Drish at 2am eating Philly Cheesesteaks, and he asked if I was going back to Google after my sabbatical. I hesitatingly said yes. He looked me in the eyes and said, “JB — you’re better than that.” I started crying…telling him I was too overwhelmed with my book launch to even THINK about leaving…and to be honest, I was too afraid to even entertain the thought. Looking back, I’m so thankful Andy had the guts to plant that very important seed, even though my response wasn’t a very receptive one at the time.

Fast-forward to May 15. I was chatting with my (now) very good friend Michael Ellsberg, author of a soon-to-be-released game-changing book called The Education of Millionaires, and he asked me, “How will you feel if one year from now you haven’t made any changes to your life?” My eyes welled up with tears (common theme, I know).

I could not imagine one year out, still in limbo, still hesitating. When I told Michael my fears of leaving Google and becoming self-employed, he looked at me and said, “You can do this. I — we (your network) — WILL NOT LET YOU FAIL.”

At that point, I had only known him for one week. And yet, Michael’s conviction, his genuine belief in me, and his encouragement felt like oxygen to my semi-suffocated, paralysis-by-analysis dream. It was on that day that I *knew* what I needed to do — I just needed to find the courage (and the financial footing) to do it. The decision-making roller-coaster continued as I spent the next month working through it all.

How I got my heart, gut, brain (and bank account) to play nice

Last week’s post focused mainly on the “what” and the “why” of my big decision — today I’m going to (do my best) to explain HOW I reached my decision — particularly after the conversations with Michael and Andy where I felt the need to reconcile my practical reality with my “I’m so inspired!” reality.

Bottom line: very deep down, my gut knew all along. But being the THINKER that I am, I had some work to do to rally the committee in my brain (particularly my hard-driving “show me the numbers so you don’t end up in a van by the river” CFO) so that I could actually muster the courage to leave my cushy job and go out on my own.

• Identify who is on the committee in your brain – this might be too woo woo for you, but many of us have a committee of voices contributing to any big decision (this is also often referred to as Parts Psychology). In my case, the big discussion was between my Creative Director (the one concerned with me doing my best work) and my CFO (the one concerned with making financially sound decisions). Neither voice is right or wrong – they represent various concerns we have about different aspects of a decision. In the end, you — the CEO — has the final say, but you might feel better to ask each of your “committee members” what they need in order to feel comfortable moving forward. To appease my CFO, I set an income goal for the month of June as a challenge to prove that I could do this without going broke. I’m happy to report that I reached my goal, but one week after I gave my two-weeks notice.

• How far will your savings stretch? You don’t have to have a saving account to make a big career decision (especially if you line up the next thing before you leave), but it certainly does help. It’s a fine line between saying, “If I wasn’t working full time, I could…” and meaning it, versus just using that as an excuse. In my case I did everything I could to maintain my sanity, my side hustle and my full-time job to avoid that “if/then” limiting belief. Once both became too much to handle, I looked to my savings account to provide my runway. I have about six months of savings, and I was finally willing to spend every single dime to take the risk of making it on my own. I took solace in knowing that even if I didn’t lift a finger I could live for six months; so I felt a lot better once I realized how hard I was willing to work in that time, and that I could definitely find creative ways to make money.

• Rank “Worst Case Scenario” action steps – Let’s say you take a great leap, and you fail. What then? I worked through the worst case scenario, particularly on the financial side. I made a list of back-up plans and ranked them. If I am not succeeding on my own (ie making enough to pay my bills) within six months, I will do the following (in order): use my cash savings, sell my car, sell my stocks, GET A JOB, then sell my condo. You can see that I would look for employment again before it came to selling (or defaulting on) my house. What does your worst case scenario look like, and what would a course of action look like?

• Expect the unexpected. Accept that you will hit a dip. Accept that you are choosing a certain level of chaos and uncertainty. These were all HUGE for me. If you can’t already tell, I’m a planner (haha, hello Captain Obvious) — I like to have things mapped out, and for a while that really worked for me. Before I started college, I mapped out every single class I needed to take in a fancy four-year spreadsheet. Jumping into self-employment means ACCEPTING chaos and accepting uncertainty. I also KNOW that I will hit many dips where I feel like a failure and want to quit, or maybe even regret my decision. But I know that I will work through them, and that they are par for the course when taking great leaps.

• Realize that you can’t plan everything before making the decision. When it comes to big decisions, you will not always have all of the information you need. Sometimes you have to take the first two steps so that you can see the next two. While I did some income modeling, I do not have an accurate view of exactly how I will consistently make money for the next 12 months (though I have many ideas), and that is slightly terrifying. But this is what I signed up for, and it’s the challenge that I asked for to continue learning and growing in my life. I knew that at some point I needed to leap in order to give myself the real motivation to figure it out. I also specifically chose not to look for contract work with someone else as a safety net — I would have just stayed with Google part-time if that’s what I wanted; instead, I had to really challenge myself to devote my FULL time and attention to my own business, not someone else’s out of fear that I wouldn’t be successful on my own.

• Avoid fear-based decisions. This one is a biggie. Imagine sticking your arms out like an airplane — on your left fingertips is fear-based decision-making, and on your right is “soul-stirring,” intuition and excitement-based decision-making. Where do you tend to fall on this spectrum? Choose one of your proudest decisions — was it based fear or avoidance of pain, or was it about moving toward something thrilling? This requires discipline, but try to catch yourself when you are making choices based on fear, and instead ask, “What do I want to run toward?”

• Engage your network. Your network is much bigger than you even realize. There are many people in this world who will send you love and support — even if it comes from unexpected places. Especially from unexpected places! It’s amazing to me that someone like Michael could play such a transformative role in my life after only a week of knowing him, but it proved the true power of connecting with individuals who see the best in you and the kindness of “strangers” who are willing to offer their guidance and support. Don’t feel like you have to make a decision (or face the consequences of a choice) in isolation — remember that there are many people who have gone before you, and many who will be there to catch you if you fall.

• Ask the big questions. What will you regret more? What choice honors your biggest dreams? If not now, when? What are you waiting for? What if you are MORE successful than you can even imagine? What would people you most respect advise you to do? In my case, all answers pointed to taking the leap. Particularly because I’m in the personal development field, I felt it was critically important to walk my own talk — otherwise I’d feel like a fraud.

Despite working through everything above, I am still facing some very real fears. Right now they tend cross my brain like clouds passing — I watch the dark ones carefully and try to address the practical side of the concerns without giving them too much attention (for fear that focusing on them will cause them to create a torrential downpour of despair).

My remaining Very Real Fears:

• Do I deserve all this freedom? Is the other shoe going to drop?
• How do I balance working hard versus getting rest, knowing that I want more than anything to make this work?
• What if I get bored or burned-out doing my own work?
• What if something terrible happens and I am unable to work?
• What if I have some crazy medical emergency that sends me spiraling into mountains of debt (even with health coverage)?
• Will I still be able to save money for emergencies and retirement?
• Will I be able to get back into a routine that works? Will I learn to say no more so that I don’t keep getting overwhelmed?
• Will I be able to prioritize and balance “revenue-generating” activities with everything else?

You can see that most of these are hypotheticals or things that I will figure out as I go — so I just remind myself to “cross that bridge when I get there,” confident that I will be able to figure it out.

As for the “What if I end up living in a van down by the river” concern? I smile every time I think of Marc Luber’s encouraging words: “If you actually do end up in a van down by the river, you’re someone who will for sure find a way to teach swimming lessons, start a fishing business or give kayak tours.” And that goes for you too, I’m sure

***

The Greatest “Out in the Wild” LAC Book Picture Yet!

This picture is just too great for words!!! Katie (of KatieBlogs.com) takes Hootie on the road…and gives him some reading material so he doesn’t get bored:

CLASSIC. Katie's Hooters Owl wises up on Life After College.

With South-by-Southwest panel submitters campaigning for the popular vote, SXSWi has definitely been a hot topic of conversation (at least among us online nerds) in recent weeks.

A reader sent me an email asking if I had any ideas for how she could make her big goal of attending happen, and I thought others might benefit from the response (which could apply to all goals with a financial component). I also know that my readers (ahem, YOU) are some of the most encouraging, brilliant people I know. If you have extra ideas please share your two cents in the comments!

As a quick aside: please take a moment to support my Big, Scary, Hairy Goal of speaking at SXSW by voting for my panel, “Got 99 Problems But a Blog ‘Aint One” (from blog-to-book: how to pursue a traditional publisher) by this Friday, August 27. You do need to create a free account to vote…so thank you in advance! I’ll be so excited (albeit terrified) if the powers-that-be actually choose my panel…

Without further ado…StacyAnn’s Question:

Hi Jenny,

I’m writing to ask about a goal that I have set for myself. I know you routinely give great advice on goal setting. My goal is to attend SXSW in 2011. However I fear this is not a practical goal and Suze Orman would probably deny me since I’m currently campaigning for a new job. How do balance an experience goal vs a stuff goal?  What about balancing feelings that you will have to push your goal back?  Finally do you have any tips on making SXSW more affordable?  I couldn’t find any posts on this topic.

Thank you,
Stacyann

My Response:

Hi Stacyann,

I think it’s AWESOME that you’ve set a goal to attend SXSW in 2011, and you’re not alone in needing to figure out how to raise the money for it (I have lots of blogger friends in the same boat). If you are excited and energized by the goal and it’s important to you, Suze Orman would definitely give you the go-ahead, she would just tell you to make smart choices about how you get there (ie don’t go into debt). When a goal is really “soul-stirring” (a term coined by Tim Gunn), you can almost always find a way to make it happen. That said, if you end up having to push it back, don’t beat yourself up over it.

Here’s what I would do:

• Research: Figure out exactly how much money you would need to attend (hotel, conference pass and daily expenses)
• Make your goal clear: Write it as a question at the top of a sheet of paper: “How can I raise $X between now and Y-DATE to attend SXSW 2011?” Then brainstorm for 30 minutes — or until you reach 50 ideas.
• Get motivated: Make a list of reasons that it’s important to you to attend (just part of getting the motivation you’ll need to pursue the goal)
• Brainstorm ways to cut costs: See if you can stay with a friend or a friend-of-a-friend in Austin – that would cut costs way down. Brazen Careerist and 20-Something Bloggers also have sub-groups for SXSW – I’d join those and see if other bloggers are looking for roommates.
• Cost-cutting part two: Look at your last two credit card statements (I use Mint.com) and see what you could cut between now and next March to save money. If you really want to get serious, set-up a side account and have money direct-deposited every month between now and then (I use INGDirect)
• Brainstorm ways to raise money: Do you have any ways of making extra income between now and then? Babysitting, tutoring, consulting, etc.
• Ask for help: Put out a call to your network – consider starting a Smarty Pig account to raise money. You might also ask for contributions for Christmas (or a birthday if you have one between now and then).

Good luck!! I know you can do this — and you’ll have such a blast. Austin is awesome, and the people who go are so smart and so much fun. You’ll have to keep me posted on your big goal!

Jenny

***

I’d love for you to chime in since nothing beats crowd-sourced wisdom: do you have any other ideas or words of encouragement for Stacyann (or others) raising money for a Big, Scary, Hairy Goal?

I know you are all probably out barbecuing, soaking up the sun and generally unwinding – or so I hope – but it’s book giveaway time again! I am giving away a copy of Suze Orman’s The Road to Wealth (this one is the size of a door stop – it covers everything money-related you could ever want to know).

Watch the video below for instructions on how to enter (hint: it’s related to my money manifesto). The deadline is Friday, July 9, at which point I will pick a winner via Random.org.

I am headed to Brazil to deliver coach training for a group of managers next week…wish me luck!

Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone!

***

P.S. If you’re in the mood to watch another short video, check out my thoughts on digital literacy – a submission for George Haines‘ video project. George is an elementary school teacher in New York working on an awesome video compilation about technology for his students:

This post is a submission for the 20SB Blog Carnival on Friends & Money.

The blog carnival is sponsored by Charles Schwab, which happens to be my long-time bank. I’ve been “talking to Chuck” since I first started fumbling through my finances as an independent adult; Schwab has helped me save and invest and cash-out for big purchases, always with great customer service.

20SB is an awesome community of 20-something bloggers with a membership of 12,000+ strong – I highly recommend checking it out. If you are already a member let’s be friends! Check-out the new 20SB Cafe Press Store too…I just bought myself a nice little tank top for summer.

Freedom: My Money Manifesto

I’ve talked before about how we all have different motivations when it comes to money; that money is merely a means to an end. My end is freedom (by way of independence) – and it is based on two core principles:

• I made a promise to myself a long time ago – before I ever started collecting paychecks – to never stay in a job or a relationship because I can’t afford to leave.
• When I was in college my mom told me that even if I get married someday, I should always know how to support myself. I should always know where my money is going, how to bring home a steady paycheck, and how to pay the bills if anything ever happened (like death or divorce).

These two ideas drive almost every financial decision I have ever made. Since the day I started earning money consistently in college, I have always had a second source of income on the side. Whether it was getting paid to take lecture notes, babysitting, doing web development tutoring, coaching or most recently the book – I have always had my main paycheck and my “hustle” check.

Both fund my independence. Independence from credit card debt and from the fear or not being able to pay my bills on time. It is important to me that I’m not waiting for or depending on another person to fund my financial goals. Of course I look forward to dreaming with the person I eventually marry and to making big things happen as a team, but I won’t go into a marriage expecting him to save me or to pay for things that I couldn’t pay for myself.

So I bought myself a condo, a diamond ring and a new car (paid in full). I max out my 401(k). I am still paying off my student loan, but I don’t have credit card debt. I scored 95/100 on Charles Schwab’s Financial Fitness Check-Up Tool. According to the quiz, the only thing I’m missing is a will (I’ll get on that soon, Suze, I promise!). I realize that some people might feel suffocated or tied down by these purchases – the exact opposite of freedom – but for me, they create a sense of comfort. I’m not sharing my financial report card to make you feel bad – and I really hope I haven’t. I’m sharing because it’s important to me that I put my money where my mouth is.

My mouth is on freedom and independence – on always being able to support myself. I bought those things because they helped me feel free. And if there is anything I want to tell or show my friends about money, it is that you can get a handle on it too.

It is important to note that we are all in different places – some have high paying jobs, some do not. Some don’t have jobs at all. Some have families who can help out, some do not. I am incredibly fortunate to have had a steady paycheck for the last six years, and a family that is willing to help me out a little bit when I stretch to make big purchases.

Friends and Money

This post is supposed to be about friends and money. I try to stay out of my friends’ business when it comes to money, but I find that a lot of them come to me for help, advice, or even just a little inspiration.

In the last two years, two of my friends got divorced. One was married for 15 years, and met her husband when she was 20 years old. The other was married for 10, and has a young daughter to support. When they couldn’t see the other side of their financial picture, I helped reassure them that it would be okay. That they could get their finances figured out. That they could learn how to pay bills and rent on their own, even though for many years they had shared those responsibilities with another person.

I wanted to show my friends that they could stand on their own two financial feet even as they walked through heartache. I was living proof that you can be a single woman, manage your money, and still find ways to be fabulous. They looked to me and I told them it would all work out. That I would be right here. And that they could do it. And they did.

It’s Never Too Late

It doesn’t matter whether you are 25 or 45 years old, it is never too late to start getting a handle on your money. If you are looking for a place to start, I suggest the following three things:

1. Admit your fears and flaws – what are you afraid of? What are your biggest financial weaknesses? What do you avoid when it comes to managing your money? Check out my previous post: The Emotional Side of Money.
2. Raise your Awareness — what is your current state of affairs? How much money do you have in the bank? How much debt? What is your monthly income and outflow? Check out my Four-Step Budget for help getting this figured out.
3. Start somewhere – At the very least, sign-up for Mint.com so that you know where your money is going. Next step? Set-up a short-term savings account (I use ING Direct), and start having $50 automatically deposited every month for an Emergency Fund. To see how I distribute my money, check out A Day in the Life of My Paycheck.

My Hope for All of Us

What I want most for myself, for my friends, and for all of you is to see money as a source of freedom, not imprisonment. Of empowerment, not guilt or shame. Of conscious choices, not feelings of frustration or ignorance. No matter where you are starting from today, I know that you can do it.

Forget for a minute about how much money you have in the bank. I wish I could look you square in the eyes, but for now just hear me when I say: you are worth a million dollars, no matter what your bank statement says. You are smart, creative and resourceful. There is nothing you can’t figure out. Even this. Especially this.

***

For more Schwab resources: check-out their new site aimed at young adults. They have also recently launched Money Mondays, a series of weekly money tips, and a Twitter account @schwabmoneywise. To submit a post for the 20SB Blog Carnival, post drop a link to your post here by midnight on June 30th, and tweet with the hashtag #$friends.