Your graduation cap might not be the only thing up in the air after receiving your college diploma. What about your financial plans?
A recent study from Handshake, a career services platform, shows that nearly two-thirds of the class of 2025 with concerns about their careers cite a shaky job market and low starting salaries as the culprits. With job openings on the decline, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many graduates are worried about whether their first job will provide enough income—and stability—to support their future.
Amid these concerns, your post-graduation financial plans should reflect the realities of a tougher job market and volatile economic conditions.
From evaluating job offers to managing student loans and building credit, here are the most important money moves new grads should consider.
Package, Not Just Pay: Consider the Whole Offer
The post-grad job search is tough. If you’re lucky enough to have multiple offers, it’s tempting to look at just the salary—but your paycheck is just one piece of your overall compensation package.
The list of benefits employers might offer continues to grow, including:
- 401(k) contribution match
- Health insurance
- Student loan repayment assistance
- Life insurance or disability coverage
These are offered in addition to your monthly paycheck—sometimes at a small cost of your pre-tax dollars—but in the long run can save and grow your money.
401k Contribution Match
Though it might be hard now to imagine retirement, the sooner you start saving for it, the better. Life expectancies are rising, according to the CDC, so you’ll want to get a head start on your retirement planning now to live comfortably during your later years.
One of the best ways to maximize your retirement savings is to work for an employer that makes contributions to your retirement plan, typically by matching a percentage of your contributions to a 401(k). The average employer contribution is a match of around 4.6%, according to 2024 Vanguard research.
But just because your employer matches your contributions doesn’t mean the matching money is automatically yours. Many 401(k)s come with a vesting period—a set amount of time you must work at a company before you’re entitled to keeping its contributions. Once you’re fully vested, the employer contributions are 100% yours, even if you leave the company. If you leave before the full vesting period, you may lose a portion, or all, of the money the company contributed on your behalf.
There are a variety of different vesting schedules which an employer may use, including immediate vesting or laddered investing, meaning you may receive a percentage for each year of service with the employer, or after a defined amount of service, which could be multiple years.
Insurance
Even if you’re planning to stay on your parents’ plan until you’re 26, it’s worth reviewing what health insurance options your employer offers. Those years can sneak up on you before you know it, so understanding what’s included in your policy now can help you prepare for when that time comes.
In 2024, approximately 46% of private and non-federal public companies didn’t offer health benefits to their employees, according to KFF, an independent health policy research organization. Some companies fully cover your monthly premium or at least a portion of it, in which case the difference comes out of your pre-tax salary.
Having health insurance through an employer is important to consider because the average cost of a health insurance plan on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace is $590 per month, without subsidies. That’s a big bite out of your budget, should you have to get health insurance on your own.
Other benefits to consider are life insurance or disability coverage. Disability insurance provides a financial safety net in case an illness or injury prevents you from being able to work. Life insurance provides financial protection for anyone who relies on your income (beneficiaries) if you pass away.
Student Loan Repayment Assistance
Some employers offer student loan repayment programs, with up to $5,250 annually as a tax-free benefit. Similarly, they could offer the same amount if you’re planning on continuing your education or offer other financial coaching services. According to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, about 14% of employers offered student loan assistance as a benefit in 2024, and another 18% are considering offering this benefit in the future.
In some cases, you may have to work at a company for a set period of time to be eligible for this benefit. The payment terms—whether your employer makes payments directly or reimburses you later—can also vary.
Strategize Your Student Loan Repayments
One of the biggest financial commitments you’ll likely face after graduation is student loan repayments.
The average federal student loan debt balance in the U.S. is $38,375, according to the Education Data Initiative, and this number is higher for borrowers with private loan debt. Moreover, a 2024 study by EBSCO found that 85% of borrowers expect student loan repayment to cause financial hardship.
Paying off your student loans can feel intimidating, but the best way to combat that feeling? “Educate yourself,” says Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit that provides student loan borrowers with access to free loan advice and resolution assistance.
Here are four steps to take with your student loans once you graduate.
Step 1: Round Up Your Student Loan Information
Determine what you owe and where you owe it. “I run into a remarkable number of people that just don’t even know what kind of loans they have and what their options are around those loans,” Mayotte explains. This is crucial because you don’t want to have any late payments, and without knowing the details, you can’t make an informed strategy for repayment or relief.
This information is sent in the mail once you graduate, but you can also check studentaid.gov or your credit report to find the name of your servicer.
Step 2: Pick a Repayment Plan
Next, you need to decide how you’ll pay your student loans in a way that best suits your current financial situation. There are a variety of repayment plan options for federal student loans that span different time frames and come at different costs, including:
- Standard, graduated and extended repayment
- Income-contingent repayment (ICR)
- Income-based repayment (IBR)
- Pay As You Earn (PAYE) repayment
IBR, for example, makes your debt more manageable by basing your monthly payments on your income and family size, rather than your balance. Borrowers on this plan can have their remaining balance forgiven after 20 to 25 years of qualifying payments, depending on when you took out your loans.
Student loan repayment has gotten caught in political crosshairs, resulting in some proposed changes and uncertainty about the future of the plans. And while there are bill drafts proposing to change some repayment plans—and eliminate others—nothing has been passed into law yet.
If your plans change along the way, be sure to reevaluate your repayment accordingly.
“The right payment plan for you today might not be the right payment plan for you five years from now,” Mayotte points out. She suggests evaluating your strategy once a year, preferably around tax time, as you will have the necessary information in front of you to determine if any financial changes are needed.
Step 3: Explore Forgiveness Programs
If you have federal student loans, you may be eligible for forgiveness in some cases, meaning you won’t have to pay back all of your loans after making payments for a set period of time. Those programs include:
- Public service loan forgiveness (PSLF): Available for full-time employees of government or qualifying nonprofits. Must make 120 qualifying monthly payments on a qualifying income-driven repayment plan. Balance is forgiven tax-free.
- Teacher loan forgiveness: Available for teachers who teach for five consecutive years at low-income schools or educational service agencies. Up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness.
- Income-driven repayment forgiveness: Available to borrowers on income-driven repayment plans (IBR, ICR or PAYE) who make 20 or 25 years of qualifying payments. Income must be recertified yearly, and forgiven loans may be taxable at the state level.
To check your eligibility for a specific forgiveness program, visit studentaid.gov or speak with a financial advisor.
On March 7, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order attempting to change the eligibility requirements for the PSLF by excluding “organizations that harm American values and the public interest.” However, the executive order offers limited details on exactly which organizations it specifically targets.
Jennifer Prosise, a certified student loan professional and certified financial planner, notes that the PSLF program was enacted by Congress in 2007; therefore, it is legally protected and would require another congressional vote to repeal it. As of right now, there are no immediate changes to the PSLF, and borrowers don’t need to take any action, according to studentaid.gov.
Step 4: Consider Consolidation Carefully
Another option to make your student loan repayments more manageable is to consolidate them. There are some pros and cons to this approach worth considering.
Consolidation involves combining all your loans into a single, larger loan, resulting in one monthly payment. This can simplify the payment process and, in some cases, reduce your interest rate.
You can consolidate both private and federal student loans. However, consolidating federal student loans could result in losing credit for payments toward forgiveness, depending on your loan. In some cases, consolidation may also mean paying for a longer period, which could mean paying more interest in the long run.
Consolidating private student loans is typically referred to as refinancing, meaning a private lender pays off your student loans and issues you one new loan, and there are typically strict eligibility requirements. Consolidating federal loans into private loans also runs the risk of losing any repayment assistance plans depending on your financial situation.
Build Your Credit and Your Budget
A key priority to include on your to-do list as a recent graduate is to start building your credit. Aside from qualifying for a credit card, your credit score is also used to determine your eligibility for a multitude of financial products, including auto loans, insurance and mortgages.
Make Your Student Loan Payments On Time
One easy way to build credit straight out of college is by making on-time student loan payments. Since payment history is 35% of your FICO score, automated payments can help you stay on track. If you have direct federal loans, signing up for autopay can reduce your interest rate by 0.25%.
Missing any type of credit payment is a big deal. For federal student loans, the first day your payment is past due, it’s considered delinquent. If the payment is delinquent for 90 days or more, your loan servicer will report it to the national credit bureaus, negatively affecting your credit score.
Avoid Student Loan Default
If you miss student loan payments for 270 days (or less for private loans), you’re at risk of your loan going into default.
Defaulting on student loans has serious consequences: Your full balance becomes immediately due, your credit takes a hit, wages may be garnished and tax refunds or federal benefits can be withheld. You also lose eligibility for repayment plans, deferment, and in some cases, your loan servicer can take legal action against you.
The Department of Education paused collections on defaulted loans in March 2020, but resumed the process May 5, 2025.
To recover, you can repay a defaulted loan in full, consolidate, or rehabilitate the loan. Loan rehabilitation is a longer process, but it offers benefits that aren’t available through consolidation. In some cases, depending on your income, your monthly payment could be as low as $5.
If you face financial difficulties or become delinquent, contact your loan servicer to discuss your options. You may be able to switch repayment plans to lower your monthly payment, change your payment due date or get a deferment or forbearance.
Consider Other Credit-Building Options
Another tactic to increase your score is to add one of the best beginner credit cards to your wallet. Use this card to make everyday purchases you would make with cash, such as groceries or gas. When the bill arrives each month, ensure that you pay it in full and on time.
“You don’t want to pay extra money in interest and flush your money down the toilet,” Prosise explains. Additionally, avoid swiping your card too often, as your credit utilization accounts for approximately 30% of your credit score. Credit utilization is the percentage of available credit you’re currently using; in other words, the amount you owe divided by your total limit. You generally want to keep it below 30% if possible to improve your score.
Last, create a realistic budget and strive to adhere to it as closely as possible. One way to simplify this is by downloading one of the best budgeting apps. This makes it easy to track your spending, set goals or automate your savings.
Bottom Line
One last reminder: You can negotiate more than just your salary. Ask for better benefits, signing bonuses, more PTO, stock options or relocation support—especially if you bring in multiple offers or have special skills.
Graduating can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to have your financial future figured out as soon as you receive your diploma. “I always say it’s that old expression, ‘How do you eat an elephant?’” says Mayotte. “One bite at a time.”
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