After amassing student debt and then finding a graduate job, you should in theory have the means to start paying the money back. However, it can be easy to fall behind with the repayments. This article will consider student loan late payment removal and other measures a student can adopt to stay financially sound in a world that is all about your credit score when it comes to borrowing money.
Credit Score
Late student loan payments can have an adverse effect on credit scores. It is, however, possible to have them removed from a credit report. A goodwill letter can be written to explain how it has happened. Swift action is required, and you do need to fully explain your reasons, but it is better than then being told that you cannot borrow money towards buying a house in the future, when your finances have improved. They invariably will, as a graduate, when you find yourself promoted more quickly than others around you and soon receiving a higher salary to financially survive on.
Additional or Part-time Jobs
As a graduate, you have skills that are useful to people, so if you have not quite found the dream job, then you can consider ways in which you can make that education work for you in the meantime. For instance, you can sell your skills, look at tutoring others going through education and the same course, and even work for your university. Nobody can take your education away from you, and until you find the job that you desire, there are plenty of other situations in which you can work by considering your worth as a graduate.
So, if your subject was music, then you could teach others how to play a musical instrument in your spare time. If it was English, then you can help others with their literacy and reading skills. Knowledge is a valuable commodity and there will be somebody somewhere willing to pay you to pass it on. Employers have so many applications for one job that they cannot choose all the best people, and so you could for a while keep missing out. Lucky breaks usually come to those who are patient and skilled.
Budgeting and Saving
This might seem like something your parents did, but it is essential that you budget so that you do not run out of cash at times when important bills need to be paid. Bills that if you neglect will see you with a poor credit rating, and therefore unable to borrow money or buy your dream house in the future. Poor credit scores can stay with you for a while, so it is important to do all you can to avoid them. Your parents might be the first place to start for financial advice. Professionals who know all about investments can advise you on how to make your money work best for you.
A budget should include regular income and expenses, and to an extent, project any bonuses and one-off expenses that are likely. Large expenses can be spread over the various months. If you live at home, living costs are for the moment probably just a contribution towards the household costs. If you live on your own, or in shared accommodation, then you can add food to your budget and may want to consider sticking to basic foods, unbranded foods to save money, and only treating yourself on occasions. It is all about building up money. Living at home allows you to save at a faster rate for your independence.
From a saving point of view, try to set aside a regular amount each month that you can spare. This can be an amount that is regularly transferred from the bank account your wages are paid into to, and into an account for savings only. One that you only touch in the case of emergencies or for a larger purchase, such as a car that helps you to travel to work. Try to only purchase items that have a practical purpose when you are saving, and only on occasions, buy objects just for their aesthetic value. Items that can be resold to recoup most of their value are never a bad investment.
For more information on budgeting for your personal income and expenses, see the attached.
So, there are three ways to stay financially sound as a student who has left university. Credit scores can be protected when it is a matter of a missed repayment, graduate skills can be sold to others with greater ease, and budgeting is never a bad idea.
