There are plenty of mistakes graduates make when they first get paid. So much so that there's a special course offered to help students manage their finances and their famous tips are...

There’s this university in the USA that runs some sort of successful personal finance course. It’s been getting rave reviews and after 15 years it's one of the institution’s most popular courses.

The university is East Carolina University. The lecturers are Mark Weitzel, Bill Pratt, and Len Rhodes. They are The Money Professors.

Long story short: the course advises grads and almost-grads how they can control their money so that they never have to worry about having too little or struggle. These grads are challenged: 500 students must collectively squirrel away (you know, like squirrels do with their nuts when they hibernate) $100 000 before or at the end of a semester - if you do the exchange rate maths, that's well over a million rand!

Infographic: How does your disposal income measure up?

But the success of the course isn’t important. What’s important are the lessons that you, young South Africans can learn so that you too can make the best decisions regarding your finances. These 3 money experts' 5 tips are:

 1. Don’t be a copy cat

Most people aren’t financially successful. Have a look around at your friends, uncles and aunts or even the people in the mall that you usually judge. If most aren’t really financially successful (we mean rich and more than comfortable), then we’d advise that you now copy their purchasing habits either. Just because they get a new car every 5 years does not mean you should too. Just because they do grocery shopping every second Friday, does not mean you should too.

Design your own budget.

2. Spend less than you earn.

This seems obvious but you’ll be surprised how many entry-level employees make this rookie mistake. You absolutely have to remember that your salary is not the same as your colleagues. And even if it is, your expenses do not equal theirs, e.g. commute costs, family responsibilities, rent, debt, etc. In other words, your cash is personal and your spending habits should be personal too.

Follow the budget you designed.

3. Start saving now!

Yes, it sounds boring and you’ve got all these big dreams where you’re going to make all this big money someday anyways so you might as well blow your cash on fun and all the things you never had as a kid... But be careful to not throw all your eggs into one basket.

These American Professors advise you to start saving for retirement immediately. Sure, you can buy 200 Tamagotchis all 100 versions of the PlayStation console and all the Wonderland tokens in the world, but that won’t keep you secure when you’re 65 – it won’t even earn interest. In other words, they’re less than completely useless.

It’ll save you a lot more money in the long run if you make smart investments. Really.

Read: Dear younger me: a few money lessons I wish you learnt sooner

4. Have a Plan

You’re going to slip up. You aren’t a robot so it’s unrealistic to expect your finances to go 100% smoothly. But that’s why it’s important to have a financial plan. Get some expert advice as to What Why How and Where. Don’t be like most people who get to 50 and are only then able to catch up for retirement after all the recklessness, credit making, debt settling, etc. When you’re in your 30s, a comfortable 50s should already be paved out.

Plan. Plan. Plan.

5. Discuss financial goals with loved ones

Relationships are actually very important in building a healthy financial position. Part of the course encourages students to talk to parents and siblings about money matters and financial goals. Financial woes have a sneaky way of leaking over into your spiritual social and relational life; “You can’t divorce your life from your money,” Len Rhodes says.

Listen to others for advice, the hard lessons they’ve learned and ask plenty questions too. Even before you get married, become accustomed to your spouse’s spending habits so ensure that your (and their) financial future is not a risk.

Be smart.