May and June are the months to celebrate graduations – to some, the beginning of adulthood. Whether you are graduating from high school or college, there are certain money tips recent grads should follow to get started on the right food – and avoid debt and other financial problems. Here are our top five picks:
- Be smart with credit cards – Always try to pay off your balance in full to avoid running up debt. Also, sign up for cards that provide rewards such as points for air fare and other incentives.
- Pay off student loans– Some loans are interest-free for the first six months after graduation. If you can, pay them off quickly to avoid the interest charges. Remember to keep in mind that paying off these student loans should not be at your saving’s expense. Check back next week for a more in-depth look at your loan repayment options and savings plan.
- Understand your taxes –Look into certain tax breaks for students and recent graduates with benefits of Roth IRAs and 401(k) plans.
- Live like a thrifty student – Only buy what you can afford. The more you continue to save, the more prepared you will be for large or unexpected expenses in the future.
- Consider waiting to go to graduate school – In order to avoid more student loans, consider waiting to go to graduate school and gain some work experience to build up your professional credentials. Sometimes your employer will cover a percentage, even all, of your tuition.
4 Comments
I enjoyed reading the top 5 ways to help yourself out after graduation. i wish I would have done more research and learned the importnace about financial stability after I graduated from highschool. I thought these comments were well thought out and important, like trying to pay off as much of your loans in the first 6 months to avoid interest. I believe that there are many tips and tricks like this that can truely make things easier for graduating students if they just remember to do some research to help themselves out.
I agree with all five financial advice tips you gave for many reasons. It’s always important to pay off your credit card balance as soon as possible; doing this is the easiest way to stay out of debt. I would also add a tip to number one that would say to avoid credit cards until you can be sure financially that you are ready to take on the responsibility of a credit card. Number four is another simple tip to follow because being able to live within your means is another easy way to stay debt and stress free. Don’t go out and buy a new car immediately after starting your first job, it is an easy way to dig yourself into an unnecessary hole.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog! I have not yet graduated, but I feel as if I can apply these 5 things to my daily life! The 2 most important for me was #1 and #4! It is so important to be smart with your credit cards. I know I have to be careful at all times or I will become careless and spend money that is not there! #4 is also such great advice! Every student who is trying to conserve money should try to live like a “thrifty” student. We should only buy what we can afford/need!
This article provides five substantially important financial tips for recent college graduates. Although I am not a recent graduate or planning on graduate for quite some time, I still enjoyed reading this article. I believe that it points out five important ideas that everyone should take note of, not just recent college grads. The fifth tip was the one that seemed to stand out to me the most. It states that it could be beneficial to wait a few years before attending graduate school. As someone who plans to sit for my CPA once obtaining the 30 extra hours prior to graduation, I am not so sure that I agree with this tip. I feel that from a financial stand point it is a good idea to wait, so unless you plan on becoming a CPA or something along those lines where you have to sit and take an exam for your future career, you should most definitely take a small break from school to pay off student loans. It would also be beneficial to take time off in order to accumulate some extra cash that could be used to pay for your graduate school, so you wouldn’t have to worry about incurring future student loans. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and I will definitely be remembering these tips as I graduate from college within the next year.