SoFi Blog

As the year draws to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on your finances—especially if you’re a recent grad who’s newly employed. You’re likely bringing home a significant paycheck for the first time in your life, but also have big-time monthly bills to pay, including student loans. Without proper planning, that debt can easily drag you down.

So how can you balance paying your bills, eliminating your debt, and saving for your future while still allowing yourself a few bucks for fun?

Start achieving your 2017-and-beyond financial goals by asking yourself these key questions:

In the latest of our 3 People series, we meet three women from diverse backgrounds, cities and careers, who open up about overcoming financial adversity caused by credit cards. Each person’s credit card debt was caused by a different reason, yet each used a SoFi personal loan to take control of their debt and get their finances back on track.

For young professionals today, there’s been a “good news, bad news” financial scenario developing for a while now.

Good news first: The unemployment rate for college grads, ages 22-27, is finally on the decline. Recent data from the New York Fed outlines a 7.1 percent unemployment rate in March 2011 and a 4.9 percent in 2015.

The bad news? Despite the fact that there are more jobs available for younger workers, widespread wage stagnation and decline has made it hard for 20- and 30-somethings to play financial catch up. Add to that a record volume of student loan debt, and you’ve got an entire generation suffering from a generational “wealth gap.”

Ready to make your debt sweat in the New Year?

Whether it’s a credit card carrying around extra poundage after the holidays, a student loan that sweats when it walks up the stairs, or a mortgage that requires multiple airplane seats, we’ve got a plan that will whip your debt into shape by making it so skinny, it literally disappears.

Read on for our 5-step debt shape-up guide, and make 2016 the year you shed some serious debt.