Post-Grad Personal Finance

With the rise in education costs and student debt, financial literacy and knowledge has never been more important. Sadly, the current reality is that financial literacy is not a staple in the curriculum for most of the American education system. Budgeting, saving, building credit and many other financial skills are key parts of your life right after college and very few students come out of school with a solid understanding of them. The goal of this paper is to introduce a few key elements of personal finance for those students and recent graduates who have little to no exposure to them. The topics I chose to discuss are budgeting, student loans, investing, and retirement. The numbers and salary figures are from Arizona State Career services to set up scenarios that many ASU graduates will face right out of school. More specifically the budgeting section is set up to mimic what income level, rent expense, and student loan payments graduating Sun Devils can expect to see right out of school. It was also important for me to introduce topics for long term planning like investing and retirement. Setting goals and preparing for the future, no matter how far down the road it seems, are fundamental for establishing a healthy financial foundation. Building a healthy financial foundation takes time, patience and understanding but it is a possibility for everyone. Establishing a very basic knowledge of these topics can help students immensely and utilizing this guide, along with other outside resources, students and graduates will be able to start their journey toward a more secure financial future.