Finally graduating from university can be a confusing and conflicted time in life. On the one hand, you’ve managed to make it to the business end of three long years of studying and living off instant noodles and warm lager.
On the other, you’re leaving behind the safety and comfort of education for the horrors of the ‘real world’ and you’re being chucked back into the fray without a safety net.
Perhaps the most terrifying prospect is the financial stress you’ll be under until you’re able to get yourself a steady job. Those first few months after leaving university are often the hardest on the pockets, so we’re here to offer a few handy graduate financial tips to keep you afloat. Financially at least.
Student Discount
You might not be a student anymore, but your student discount might still apply. Make a note of when your discount card runs out and try to make the most of it while you can.
Student Loan
This will be taken directly out of your account once you start earning enough, so don’t worry about it just yet!
Living Situation
Unfortunately, with house prices at an all-time high, many graduates are forced to move back in with their parents until they can find a decent graduate job and start building a life for themselves. However, some graduates also choose to stay in their university town if they can secure employment right away, so all hope might not be lost.
Graduate Accounts
Note that some student bank accounts will automatically transfer you to a graduate account (with 0% overdraft) but others won’t. Do your research!
Online Accounts
Online banks such as Thinkmoney are becoming more popular and more mainstream, particularly amongst millennials who spend most of their lives glued to one screen or another. These banks are tailored to keep you on track of your account and your bills, with many other handy extras not offered by traditional brick and mortar banks. Thinkmoney, for example, keeps the money for your bills aside in a separate account to make sure they’re paid on time so you don’t end up falling into debt.
Save
Without your student loan as a safety net, you’re going to need to start pinching every penny. To lend a helping hand there are a number of automatic money-saving apps designed to save small bits of cash into a virtual savings pot. You can even earn interest with some of these accounts.
Get a Job
We mean any job, not necessarily the job you paid for. It doesn’t need to be forever, but taking a retail job or a job in your local pub for a few months will at least give you enough capital to either start putting towards a mortgage or a tenancy deposit.
If all else fails, you could always go back to university and become a Masters student. Postgraduate study is more popular now than it ever has been, so if you really can’t cope outside the warm embrace of student life, you’ll at least be in good company!
