When you leave university or college, the reality of the world you are stepping into can hit you like a ton of bricks, and paint everything with a murky grey brush.
The pressures of paying back your student loan, getting hired for a job that actually appreciates and uses your degree, and moving back into your parent’s house who may be putting the pressure on for you to get your own place, can be incredibly overwhelming.
Everyone is telling you that you are a full grown adult now and can make your own way in the world when just last week you were spending most of your money on Jagerbombs and McDonalds. It’s a bit of a shock to the system and can be hard to decide where to put the most of your time and energy. Here are some investment options that may help you to decipher where your time and money belongs in the adult world.
Invest time and trust in yourself
Even though this may seem cheesy, it is incredibly important upon graduating to invest time in yourself and allow yourself to say yes to the opportunities that come your way. It can be extremely easy when trying to break into your chosen industry to doubt yourself and your own abilities and feel like you are not good enough.
Taking the time to concentrate on building an industry-specific CV, and going to training courses that can build on your desirable skills and qualifications will help you to build confidence in yourself. It is important to know your own worth, some companies will try to tell you that your lack of experience makes you less employable, but that doesn’t mean that your time is not worth money. Do not accept work that does not pay or does not allow you to earn enough to pay your bills.
Invest in an ISA: Cash, or stock and shares
Of course, you will need to start paying back your student loan as soon as possible, but that doesn’t mean you can neglect other areas of your future. It is important to focus on the most important investments a person can make in their life, and set yourself a timeline of goals to start making real progress on those objectives.
Try setting yourself the target of putting aside 10 per cent of your net income each month into a savings account. You may be interested in researching bitcoin colocation pricing as part of your savings and investment strategy, and that’s fine, but don’t forget to utilize the more traditional options like ISAs.
There are two main types of ISA accounts to use. A cash ISA allows you to put your money somewhere safe and usually offers a relatively low but incredibly safe interest rate on your savings. A stock and shares ISA will invest your money as you build it, meaning that over a substantial period of time, your savings could be worth a decent amount more than the money you invested in the first place.
Although everyone tells you university is the best time of your life, it doesn’t have to be. Making smart choices now can set you up for a prosperous, comfortable and successful future.
Contributors
