3 Financial Hacks For Recent College Graduates

Are you a recent college graduate? If so, you must be thrilled to start a new chapter in your life. Although this certainly is an exciting time, it also can be quite stressful. Job searching, looking for a new place to live, and getting by financially, all these factors can impact you. However, as stressful as it is, there are ways that you can overcome such stress. Consider three hacks that you should be including in your life right now.

Create a Realistic Budget

The first hack to balancing your finances is creating a realistic budget. While in college, you certainly had a budget system set for class resources, food costs, and other necessities. Now that you have graduated, this budget will be completely different since your lifestyle will be adjusted. If you have just graduated, try waiting one month to get an accurate estimate of your expenses. At this point, you may have a part-time job that you’ve kept during college. This will undoubtedly continue to assist you in paying off your expenses as you look for job openings in your field. If you are currently unemployed, then this will be a bit more difficult to budget your expenses and bills. You may need to analyze aspects of life that could wait until you get a steady income. Cut out unessential items and focus on bare necessities. See if you could apply to some programs designed specifically for recent graduates. They can offer excellent advice on how to set and stick with your budget.

Have a Savings Plan

After analyzing your budget, it is time to consider how you want to pay off your student debts. As discussed previously, if you are just getting by now, then this is not something you want to consider. Yet, although you may not financially be able to start paying this off now, you can start creating a savings plan to go towards your student debts. You first will want to know how much debt you are in. Ensure that you include your college tuition and the many other costs and fees involved. Once you have your final amount calculated, you can go from here. There are various ways that you could approach creating your savings plan. One way you could make your saving plan is by using a smart goal, which will help keep your plan organized and more attainable. Some important factors to examine are how long you want your plan to be and how much you could set aside to start paying off your debt. All these factors can be understandably overwhelming. Speak with a financial advisor for practical advice for your specific financial situation. They will be able to assist you as you create a suitable savings plan.

Build Your Credit Score

The best time to focus on your credit score is after school. As you enter the working world, you also want to build your independent credit score, which reflects your finances. How can you improve your credit score? This is a genuine question most, if not all, college graduates ask themselves. It can take a lot of work to build your credit score quickly. It can take many months to make it to your desired score. There are some strategies, though, that you can take advantage of to help quicken this process. One common way to build your credit quickly is by applying for a credit card with a low credit limit. A credit card is the best way to show that you can responsibly handle your finances. By keeping your limit low and paying your card off early each month, credit bureaus will take note of this and slowly increase your credit score. If you have the means to do so, starting to gradually pay off a small amount of your student debt each month can also show that you are handling your debt promptly.

These three financial hacks are relevant for all recently graduated college students. When you incorporate these financial tactics in this new stage of your life, you can successfully manage your finances.

Sources

-Lamberg, Erica (2022). Take After Getting Their Degree. Real Simple. Retrieved from 

https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/money/money-planning/financial-advice-for-recent-graduates

-Paul Trina (2022). Why Creating a Student Loan Payment Plan is Important, Plus 4 More Money Tips For New Grads. CNBC. Retrieved from 

https://www.cnbc.com/select/personal-finance-tips-for-new-graduates/