You graduated college—CONGRATULATIONS! That’s wonderful news, and now you’re off to the real world. What kinds of tips and tricks can we give you to prepare you for postgrad life? Well buckle up, because there’s a lot to learn if you want to be financially fit.
1. Loan repayments don’t start the day after you graduate, but they will begin in a few months. You’ll want to visit nslds.ed.gov to learn who your loan servicer is. If you borrowed subsidized or unsubsidized federal loans, those will have a six-month grace period before you start repayment. A Perkins loan has a nine-month grace period and is repaid to the University.
2. Visit Federal Student Aid to learn more about repayment plans. You can estimate your repayments and read about your loan servicer.
3. The federal government also makes great videos about loan repayment.
4. Repaying your loans can help build your credit, so get started early.
5. Check out Pinterest for budgeting resources. There are tons of great budgeting sheets to help you build your first budget, like this one:
6. Use Financial Avenue. If you didn’t check this out in undergrad, you might want to take a peek now. It can teach you all about credit cards, budgeting, and more. Did I mention it’s free? The UR access code is 967FBF.
7. Keep reading our Financial Aid blog every month and following us on Twitter @URFinAid to get great tips each week for #ThriftyThursday.
8. Last but not least, always consider your wants versus your needs. That’s one of the biggest principles that can guide you to financial wellness. You may want a beautiful loft apartment in the hippest neighborhood in town, but do you need it? You may want a new iPhone, a new Fitbit, or a new car, but do you need them? Keep asking yourself this question. It’s not always easy to tell yourself that you don’t need that one item you really want, but if you’re able to resist buying it, your budget will thank you!
Good luck out there, and kick some butt in the real world!