Graduation Speech For Today

Rick Spence has written an article in the Financial Post about what he would say to grad today if he were asked to give the key note address.  Rick is a Marketing Consultant specializing in helping small businesses.

You can check out his whole article in the link.

A few highlights:

You are a free agent
You are a small cog emerging from a big bureaucratic machine. Most of you will soon exchange your student number for an employee ID badge. But you don't have to be a cog. Think of yourself as a free agent, choosing where and how you work. A job is not your life, just a contract. Many new opportunities will present themselves. Some will be dressed as job offers; others disguise themselves as business opportunities, bad bosses, new technologies or career roadblocks. To stick with one job or one employer is to settle for a

Finances in your 20’s – or The Age Of Debt

Your 20’s are an exciting time.  You are determining your career, possibly even changing career paths a couple of times.  You usually finish your concentrated formal education (university, college) during this time period, and most of you have gone into debt to pay for your education.  You purchase your first vehicle with a bank loan, usually around $4,000 to $5,000, and you wonder how you can make the payments.  For many, they are wondering about starting a family and if it’s time to invest in a house and avoid paying rent.


The 20’s is a time of accumulating debt.  There is nothing wrong with that.  It is normal.  However, you want to make sure that the debt makes sense and its accumulation is controlled.


Education debt – It is normal for students to leave a 4 year degree with over $30,000 in debt.  That is a lot of debt when you don’t have a career job to help pay it off.  At $30,000 over 7 to 9 years, that means you will be paying over $500/month to student debt.  If that debt is built by going through a program that will give you a good living, it may be worth it.  However, if that debt paid for ski trips or a program that only offers $20,000/year in job salaries, you will have a very heavy burden for a long time.  While education debt may be necessary, try to keep it down.  You will appreciate it when your friends are still paying it off at 34 years old and you are free and clear.