College students today are a lot more clued into the realities of the world than a generation ago. Nowadays, students understand that they may not get a job immediately – and may never get a job in the field in which they studied. They also understand that student loan debt will continue to impact their lives for decades to come.
If you’re coming towards the end of your student life, you are probably wary of the financial responsibilities you’ll soon need to face. You want to be ready to balance your student debt while paying for all your basic necessities.
Here are some tips to get you started.
Reduce your monthly expenses
Student loan debt is going to take up a chunk of your monthly budget, and as such you will need to find space for it. Reducing your monthly expenses is not easy but it is possible.
Start by considering the things that are non-negotiable. Your insurance policies – including health insurance, college renters insurance, and car insurance – are crucial for financial stability. But you may be paying more than necessary. Compare quotes from different insurers to get the cheapest premiums possible.
It is also important to remember that things like car insurance are more expensive the younger you are. Your premiums should change based on your life circumstances.
Other monthly expenses you can try reducing include subscriptions to any streaming services you don’t use, as well as student resources you will no longer need.
Learn to cook
Learning to cook is one of the best things you can do to reduce your spend on food. Many young people who have been students for years have never had the opportunity to spend time learning to cook. As such, they get takeout every night or buy relatively expensive frozen meals.
If you know how to cook, however, you can buy only the groceries you need and use them to make meals which are nutritious, delicious, and affordable. You can make meals by following basic recipes online, but by taking time to learn to cook properly, you will save a lot of stress in future. Cooking is a massive chore when you aren’t confident in the kitchen. With a strong foundation, it becomes much less of a burden and you might even enjoy it.
Freelance
Some college students have jobs lined up for them when they finish studying, but they are the exception to the rule. The end of student life means unemployment for most students. However, this does not need to be the case.
Regardless of whether you can get a job or not, you have skills that you can sell. Starting a freelancing career is easy in 2022, with sites like Upwork and Fiverr accommodating gig workers around the world. This may not be your dream career, and it does not have to be permanent. In fact, you may only delve into the gig economy for a few months before finding full-time work.
But those first weeks and months after graduating can be taxing both emotionally and financially. By the time you get a full-time job, you may have gotten into further debt or had to compromise on your quality of life. Instead, find jobs on freelance websites, even if the pay is not great.
Who knows? This may end up being the career you choose, finding that the benefits of working in the gig economy are suited perfectly to your personality.
Learn to budget
Even those students who have a degree in a financial field are novices to the realm of personal finance. It is not something that most universities value but it will be a massive part of your life from now on. Financial literacy in this sense is not difficult to achieve, as long as you put some time into reading up on it.
Budgeting is one of the best skills you can learn. It is a straightforward skill but it is transformative. By budgeting effectively, you can balance your debts and monthly expenses, gaining peace of mind in your ability to pay the bills rather than living on edge.
Getting ready to balance your student debt loan is never easy, but many have done it before you and there is a lot of great information out there. Take a look at your expenses and research using some of the best personal finance resources.