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You’ve graduated from college, degree in hand, and are headed into the workforce. After countless applications, phone screens, and in-person job interviews, you’ve done it—you’ve secured your first, full-time job as an adult.

As you experience the thrill of getting your first paycheck, it can be tempting to splurge on a celebratory dinner or a new outfit for work. But before you spend your paycheck on something indulgent, it could be worth thinking about how to spend it more wisely. Here are our best tips for spending your first paycheck as you start your new job.

Set Up Your 401(k)

You’ll learn pretty quickly that you’ll end up losing a decent chunk of change to taxes. One way to offset that is to invest money in tax-advantaged accounts, including a 401(k). As a part of your offer package, you will likely receive information on the company’s benefits—including any healthcare and 401(k) options. It can seem easy to brush this information off as you get started in your career, but reviewing it closely is an important part of deciding whether to accept a job in the first place.

A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that allows both you and, depending on your plan, your employer to contribute to the account. Employers may offer a contribution match of a certain percentage or specific amount. Each employer offers contribution matches at their discretion, so if you’re not sure what your company offers, check with HR or consult company policy.

It’s never too early to start saving for retirement. The earlier you begin making contributions, the more time you give yourself to take advantage of compounding. Basically, the interest you earn can then be reinvested, allowing your money to grow over time.

Consider investing at least enough to take advantage of your employer match. If your employer matches 6%, contribute 6%. That way you’re not leaving any money on the table. (Once you set it up, the money you contribute will probably be taken directly out of your paycheck.)

Set Up a Checking and Savings Account

Before you get your first paycheck, set up a checking and savings account. If you already have these types of accounts, now is a good time to assess whether they are still a good fit for your current financial needs. Take the time to review interest rates at various banks and online financial companies.

For example, SoFi Checking and Savings is a checking and savings account that earns you more and costs you nothing. You can easily access your money online or withdraw cash fee-free from 55,000+ ATMs worldwide.

Once you’ve set up your checking and savings accounts, consider setting up direct deposit. That way you don’t have to worry about depositing a check every time you get paid and you can start earning interest on that money as soon as it is payday.

You can also consider keeping your spending money in a checking account and setting up automatic transfers to your savings account. It’s an easy way to force yourself to save some cash at the beginning of your career.
An interest-bearing savings account is a great place to store your emergency fund. Conventional wisdom suggests saving anywhere from three to six months of living expenses to cover emergency expenses, such as unexpected medical bills or car repairs.

We know you just got started at your new job and may not be ready to think about these scenarios, but, in the event that you get laid off or the company goes out of business, having an emergency fund will allow you to stay afloat until you find your next gig. Even contributing $50 per paycheck to your emergency fund can help set you up with a little safety net should something unexpected happen.

Make Payments for Student Loans

Another important expense you should factor into your first paycheck is student loan payments. Even if you start your new job during your student loan grace period, you should probably consider your monthly payments and start setting the money aside. If you have unsubsidized loans, use the money to make interest-only payments on your loans.

If you have subsidized loans, it’s possible to save some, then use the money you have saved to make a lump-sum payment on the loans when your grace period ends. Both of these options can help set you off on the right foot when it comes to student loan repayment. By factoring your student loan payments into your budget upfront, you get used to not using that money for casual spending on things like dinner out or drinks with friends.

It’s also a good time to review your repayment plan on your student loans. If you have federal student loans there are a variety of repayment plans to choose from, including the standard 10-year repayment plan and four income-driven plans. If you have a combination of private student loans and federal student loans, you could consider refinancing them with a private lender, like SoFi, in the hopes of securing a lower interest rate.

With a lower interest rate you could potentially reduce the money you spend on interest over the life of the loan. This could be a great option if you are on a standard repayment plan and are interested in securing a lower interest rate.

If you’re taking advantage of federal programs like deferment, forbearance, income-driven repayment, or Public Service Loan Forgiveness, refinancing your student loans may not be for you, as you will no longer qualify for those programs.

To see how much refinancing could impact your loan, take a look at SoFi’s student loan refinance calculator. When you refinance with SoFi there are no prepayment penalties or origination fees.

Start an IRA

Even if you’re already contributing to a 401(k), setting up an IRA could be beneficial. There are two kinds of IRAs, traditional and Roth. When you contribute to a traditional IRA, the contributions are deducted from your taxes, meaning you’ll pay taxes on distributions when you retire.

When you contribute to a Roth IRA, your contributions are taxed upfront but can be withdrawn in retirement tax-free—and that includes any capital gains you’ve earned.

You can contribute up to $6,000 to either type of IRA annually. If you are over the age of 50, you can contribute an additional $1,000 as catch-up contributions.

An added benefit to opening a Roth IRA: You could use it to fund part of a down payment on the future purchase of a home. As long as the Roth IRA has been open for five years, you’re allowed to withdraw $10,000 from your Roth IRA to buy your first home without any taxes or penalties. This could be a good start for saving for retirement or for your first house.

Still Have Money Left? Treat Yourself

If after paying your monthly expenses and contributing to your various savings goals you still have money leftover, you can use it to splurge on something you’ll really enjoy like trying out a new restaurant, buying tickets to a concert or a sports game, or having a night out on the town.

Or, you could use the additional money to save up toward another short-term goal—maybe an international adventure, a TV, or a new bed frame. Or if you’re feeling frugal, use the extra money to make an additional payment on your student loans.

Paying more than the monthly minimum is one of the fastest ways to accelerate your student loan repayment. At the end of the day, you’re working to earn money to live your best life, so make sure you are enjoying it and saving for your long-term financial goals at the same time.

The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.
Notice: SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. SoFi always recommends that you consult a qualified financial advisor to discuss what is best for your unique situation.
SoFi Checking and Savings®
SoFi Checking and Savings is offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA / SIPC . Neither SoFi nor its affiliates are a bank.

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Whether you just got married or you’ve been with your spouse for years, you may be thinking about combining your finances.

Doing so can be challenging, especially if you both have different perspectives on managing money. But it can also help simplify your financial plan and potentially even help you save money.

With an average of $37,172 in student loan debt per borrower , it’s more important than ever to find ways to simplify and accelerate the debt repayment process. Refinancing student loans with a spouse could help you achieve both goals.

Consolidating Through the Department of Education

If you have federal student loans, you can consolidate your loans with a Direct Consolidation Loan .

If you do, the Department of Education will take the weighted average of the interest rates from all of your loans and round it up to the nearest one-eighth of a percent.

This means that consolidating your loans with the government may help simplify your loan repayment, replacing several monthly payments with just one.

Consolidating student loans with a spouse isn’t an option through the Direct Loan Consolidation program. You can only combine loans with your name on them, making it impossible to add your spouse.

Refinancing Your Student Loans

While the federal government won’t let you consolidate student loans with your spouse, a private student loan lender, like SoFi, will.

The process isn’t always straightforward, though. Typically, you would apply for a refinancing loan and add your spouse as a cosigner. Not only would this help you combine your finances, but it could also help you spend less money in interest on your new loan.

That’s because your interest rate is typically determined by your creditworthiness and income, and adding a cosigner with a strong credit history and solid income can help you secure a lower rate, even if your credit history is strong on its own.

To give you an idea of how much you can save on interest, let’s say your (not consolidated) federal student loan debt is $30,000 with a weighted average interest rate of 6%. (For the record, the 6% interest rate is a hypothetical based on a federal graduate and undergrad loans, which currently have fixed interest rates of 5.05% on the low end and 7.6% on the high end, depending on the loan.) On a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan , your monthly payment would be around $333, and you’d pay about $9,967 in interest over the life of your loans.

Now, let’s say you were to refinance your student loans with a private lender and qualified for a 5% fixed rate with your spouse as a cosigner. If you were to keep a 10-year repayment term, your monthly payment would be about $318, and you’d pay around $8,184 in interest.

That’s a savings of nearly $1,783 that you can use for other financial goals. To see how refinancing could impact your student loans, you can take a look at our easy-to-use student loan refinance calculator.

Considerations to Think About

Student loan debt and marriage may be a challenge, so it’s important to make sure refinancing student loans with your spouse is a good choice for your situation.

The primary consideration is that both you and your spouse as a cosigner would be legally responsible for paying off the debt. This means that if you experience financial hardship and miss payments or default, it could ruin both of your credit histories.

Some student loan refinance lenders offer a cosigner release program that allows you to remove a cosigner after a set number of consecutive, on-time payments.

Another thing to consider is that refinancing federal student loans will result in the loss of certain benefits the Department of Education provides. Specifically, private lenders typically don’t offer income-driven repayment plans. Also, you won’t be eligible for certain federal student loan programs, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

So as you consider the benefits of consolidating student loans with a spouse through refinancing, make sure you also include the drawbacks in your process.

Finding Out Your Potential Savings

Having student loans in a marriage can be challenging, but with open communication, you can stay on track.
If you’re even remotely considering refinancing your student loans with your spouse as a cosigner, check your rate offers to see if doing so can save you money. Whether or not you qualify for a lower interest rate, exploring the option may help make your decision easier.

The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.
Notice: SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. SoFi always recommends that you consult a qualified financial advisor to discuss what is best for your unique situation.
The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
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While we’re already a ways into the year, it’s important to reflect on those resolutions that are meaningful and actually achievable. It doesn’t matter how big or small they are—as long as you stick with them and work to make them a reality.

Paying off your student loans may sometimes feel like a pipe dream, but it doesn’t have to. Of course, if you have other forms of debt, those might take precedence over your student loans. For example, if you have credit card debt with a higher interest rate, you may want to be focusing your efforts there (while paying the minimum on your student loans, of course).

But if knocking out a chunk of your student loan debt is your top priority, let’s talk about how to make a bigger dent on your loans this year. As long as you tell your loan servicer you’d like to have extra money go toward your principal instead of interest, you could start to chip away at that balance a little at a time. Here are a few ways you can make student loan payments bigger in the coming year.

1. Budgeting for It

Review your budget to see if you can move money around. Perhaps try going to one less work lunch a month or one less coffee shop each week. You can put that extra cash toward your student loan principal each month.

If you’re having trouble making ends meet and you can barely afford the minimum payment, this might not be the right option for you. But if you have the opportunity to chunk away at your loan by spending less elsewhere, it may be worth trying.

2. Putting Your Bonuses Back into It

Sometimes the minimum payment may be all that you can afford, which is still okay—but when you get a little extra cash, that could be a great opportunity to get ahead on your student loans.

If you get a raise, you can start to increase your monthly payments. A little bit can still make a difference every month and may help you pay off your loan sooner.

If you get a bonus or a tax refund, you can make a big, one-time payment. And as we said earlier, consider contacting your loan servicer to let them know the extra payment needs to go towards your principal balance—otherwise your lender may be required to apply your extra payment to your outstanding interest first.

3. Finding Your Match

Sometimes, companies will match student loan payments up to a certain percent, like a retirement match. See if your company offers this and if so, consider taking advantage of what is essentially “free” money.

If you aren’t sure what student loan-related benefits your company offers (if any), it might be a good idea to schedule a sit-down with Human Resources. Student loan repayment is becoming a more popular employer benefit as student loan debt continues to rise. As millennials further populate offices across the U.S.—they’ll make up 75% of the workforce by 2025—they’re making it clear to their employers that student loan reimbursement is a benefit they want.

4. Refinancing Your Student Loans

Refinancing your student loans can be a smart way to potentially pay off your loan sooner. While refinancing may help you secure a lower interest rate on your loans, you could also shorten your loan term such that you’re required to make higher monthly payments, thus chipping away at your debt faster.

For example, let’s say you want to pay your loan off in, say, five years instead of 10. Refinancing may allow you to select higher monthly payments and a shorter term to meet that goal. Refinancing can help lower your interest rate, which may help you pay off your loan faster if you also shorten your loan term.

A lower interest rate and shorter term could ultimately mean you pay less interest over the course of your refinanced loan. One caveat to keep in mind: If you refinance with a private lender, you’ll lose access to federal loan benefits like income-driven repayment plans, forbearance, and deferment.

5. Getting a Side-hustle

Whether you capitalize on your hobby or you like to walk the neighborhood dogs, a side-hustle can help you make some cash.

Sometimes day jobs don’t pay enough for “extras.” If that’s the case for you, getting a side-hustle can be another way to earn additional income to pay for those “extras.” And one of those extras might be increasing your loan payments.

If your student loan payment strategy is to put more money toward your principal but your full-time job doesn’t cover it, there are plenty of side-hustles available. If you’re crafty, you can sell your goods online or at a local market. If you’re a math whiz, you could consider tutoring high school or college students. And if you have an extra room, you could think about renting it out.

The options are endless! And who knows? Maybe your side-hustle will start earning you enough to become your full-time gig.

6. The Debt Snowball Method

Slogging through debt isn’t that fun. But if you’re only earning enough to make minimum payments—or not make any payments at all—there are a few debt elimination tactics that may be worth trying. One of those is the debt snowball method.

The debt snowball method is when you pay off your debt in order from smallest balance to largest balance, regardless of interest rate. You’d continue to make minimum payments on all your different debts except the smallest—that’s where you’d pay as much as you possibly can.

When the smallest debt is paid off, you would then start to pay off the next smallest debt while still making minimum payments on the rest. You’d repeat this until all your debt is paid off.

The downside to this method is that, because you’re disregarding the interest rates attached to your loans, you may end up paying off lower-interest loans before the ones with high interest rates. And that could mean paying more interest in the long run.

Making Your Contributions More Impactful?

Regardless of how you choose to make student loan payments this new year, remember there are options. As we discussed, one such option is refinancing, which could get you a lower interest rate than what you’re currently paying on your student loans.

If you’re committed to increasing your student loan contribution this year, consider learning more about student loan refinancing with SoFi. With increased contributions and a shorter loan term, you could get out of debt faster than you thought possible.

The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.
Notice: SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. SoFi always recommends that you consult a qualified financial advisor to discuss what is best for your unique situation.

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If you’re a college grad, you may likely be among the 44 million American adults with hefty student loans to pay off. Collectively, Americans owe more than $1.5 trillion in student debt, with an average of $37,172 owed per graduate.

Add that on top of other monthly expenses and savings goals, and many adults are struggling with making wise financial choices, particularly when it comes to deciding between paying off their own debts and saving for their kid’s future educational expenses.

Fortunately, you may not need to choose. Although it can be difficult, there are steps to help you pay off your student loans while saving for your child’s college expenses.

Starting to Save for Kid’s College Tuition

You may have heard people recommending waiting until you’ve paid off your own student loan debt before you start saving for a child’s college costs. For many, however, this may be impractical. In fact, it also conflicts with the other frequent adage parents hear about saving for their kid’s college tuition: Start early.

When you start saving early, your money has time to grow, which means that you can get more bang for your buck when it comes time to pay that tuition deposit.

So what’s a parent to do? Well, there are a few things to consider when deciding when you want to start diverting some money towards college savings every month.

First, even though you may not be finished paying off your own student loans, you may want to consider it if you’re on track with your other financial goals. For example, do you have an emergency fund and a plan for retirement?

For many, these goals may need to come first before saving for your child’s college. After all, you don’t want to end up in debt during retirement because you prioritized education expenses.

Managing Student Loan Payments While Saving

If you’ve decided to start saving for your kid’s college while still making your own student loan payments, it is important to stay organized. It can be a big mistake to miss student loan payments in favor of sticking money in savings for future expenses, as unpaid student debt can rapidly snowball.

Likewise, your unpaid student loans can continue to rack up interest if a balance remains on the debt, so making smaller payments because you’re saving for a child’s tuition might leave you owing more in interest on your own student loans, which could negate the positive effects of starting to save for kids’ college early.

If saving for their college tuition and expenses while managing your student loan payment seems daunting, student loan refinancing may help you save money on your student loans so that you can put that money towards the future.

Student loan refinancing allows you to trade in all your student loans for a new loan with a potentially better interest rate and more favorable repayment terms. Why trade in old debt for new debt?

Refinancing your loans allows you to use your current circumstances (aka a good job, good credit score, and likely more stable finances) to possibly get a lower interest rate than the current rate on your student loans. This is especially true if you also refinanced to a shorter loan term, thus expediting your repayment timeline.

Additionally, refinancing gives you one loan instead of multiple, such that you only have to make one monthly payment. You can also refinance for an extended loan term, which will give you a potentially lower monthly payment. While this will not save you on interest, it could free up some cash flow and make your student loan payments more manageable.

Saving Money for Your Child’s College

Once you’re ready to start socking away those pennies for your little one’s future art history degree, you have several options for saving. One of the main benefits of starting to save for college early is that you can start saving smaller amounts that could grow over time and offer a good return on interest once college rolls around.

But instead of just sticking $100 a month in a coffee can on top of the fridge, consider the many different savings mechanisms out there that can offer great benefits when it comes to college savings.

For example, 529 savings plans and Coverdell ESA plans are both tax-free when the money in the accounts are used for college. Both plans allow you to invest in stocks or other assets in order to save for your child’s education.

Wondering how much to save for college? The cost of college is on the rise. In fact, the average tuition cost has surpassed inflation by 3% . Over the last decade, college tuition and fees have increased to almost $35,000 per year. It is likely that by the time you’re ready to send off those tuition checks, the price will have climbed even higher.

That being said, the smartest amount to save may simply be what you can afford. If you’re juggling paying off your own student debt while also saving for your children’s future educational expenses, you don’t want to neglect other financial obligations in your life.

Navigating student loan repayment while also saving for the future can be difficult, but smart choices—like considering student loan refinancing either to lower your loan’s interest rate or lower your monthly payment with an extended loan term—could help set you up for success.

The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.
Notice: SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. SoFi always recommends that you consult a qualified financial advisor to discuss what is best for your unique situation.
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As a college graduate, getting started in your career and planning for your financial future should be top priorities. For 44 million college graduates , part of this includes repaying student loans. The average college student graduates with approximately $37,172 in student loan debt.

Repaying student loans can cost a substantial amount of money when you factor interest into the equation, but if you’re planning on working for a non-profit organization or a government agency, public service loan forgiveness could save you years’ worth of payments. But federal loan forgiveness is not necessarily for everyone.

Another option is potentially refinancing your student loans at a lower interest rate—an appealing way to save money over the life of your student loan, especially if you don’t qualify for public student loan forgiveness.

After starting your new post-graduation career and creating a budget, you’ll also want to consider your student loan repayment options and have a plan for managing your student loans.

As with any loan option, there are pros and cons to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. You’ll have to decide if it’s right for you or if refinancing your loans could be a better option for your finances in the long run.

What Is Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness?

Also known as PSLF, the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness is a federal program that may forgive or cancel the remainder of your Direct Student Loans if you work in a qualifying public service job and meet certain stringent criteria, including making 120 qualifying monthly payments. There is no cap on how much can be forgiven, so if you are able to meet the criteria, the rest of your loan goes away.

What Are Public Service Loan Forgiveness Qualifying Jobs?

The first step to qualifying for any kind of federal loan forgiveness program is filling out the employment certification form . Often people wait until after a few years of making payments before filling out the employment certification form, only to then find out those payments didn’t qualify because their job didn’t meet the requirements.

In general, PSLF qualifying jobs are more about the employer than about the specific role you’re filling at the organization. The important thing is that the employer qualifies as a public service organization.

That includes government organizations and 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organizations. There are a few non-profit organizations that are not officially 501(c)3 but still qualify—but only if they provide certain types of qualifying public services. Working as an AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteer also counts as a qualifying job.

Employers that don’t qualify—even though working for them can include meaningful and important jobs: Labor unions, partisan political organizations, non profit organizations that are not official 501(c)3 tax-exempt organizations, and any for-profit companies.

You also must be working full-time in the qualifying job, which generally means at least 30 hours per week or whatever your employer’s definition of full-time is.

Other Requirements for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

There are a number of other requirements and specifications necessary to qualify for public student loan forgiveness. For example, only Direct Loans are eligible for PSLF.

If you have other kinds of federal student loans, particularly if you borrowed before July 1, 2010, then you may be able to consolidate your federal student loans into one qualifying federal Direct Consolidation Loan.

However, none of the payments you might have made on your Direct Loan before consolidation will count toward your 120 monthly qualifying payments.

The slightly more confusing part of the requirements are the 120 monthly qualifying payments. These do not necessarily need to be consecutive—if you leave a qualifying employer, you do not lose credit for previous payments you may have made under the employer.

The payments do have to be on qualifying repayment plan, however. Generally, to qualify for federal loan forgiveness programs, you need to be on an income-driven repayment plan. There are four different kinds offered, with the most desirable being the Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE) and the Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR). These typically set a cap on how much your monthly student loan payment will be based on how much you’re currently earning.

For example, if you’re on the Income-Based Repayment Plan, then your monthly payments will be either 10% or 15% of your discretionary income (depending on when your loan was disbursed), but never more than your payment would have been under the standard federal 10-year repayment plan. Your discretionary income is calculated each year based on your family size, location, and salary.

If you’re making income-based payments each month, then it might take longer to pay off your loan because your repayment term will be longer (20-25 years for IBR and 20 years for PAYE), and you’ll be paying interest during that whole time—which adds to the total amount you’ll end up paying.

However, if you meet all the requirements and make the payments, then you could ultimately have your loan forgiven. But even after you’ve made all the 120 qualifying monthly payments, you do not automatically get loan forgiveness or have the rest of your loan cancelled. You still need to apply.

Is Loan Forgiveness Right for You?

While loan forgiveness seems like the ultimate dream, there are downsides, too. Income-driven repayment plans are, obviously, tied to your income.

That means if you have a large loan but a small income and are making very small payments on your student loan, then you could end up paying more over the life of the loan as the interest compounds and gets added to the remaining balance.

If for some reason you make the 120 qualifying monthly payments but then aren’t able to get the remainder of your loan forgiven, all that extra interest could end up costing you. And, unfortunately, many students find it challenging to get their loan forgiveness application officially approved.

Another downside is that your loans have to remain as federal direct loans in order to qualify for potential forgiveness. That means you cannot consolidate or refinance them as private loans, even if the lower interest rates might save you money.

For example, the federal interest rate for undergrad Direct Loans is set at 5.05% through June 30, 2019. A $37,000 federal loan, paid back over 10 years, with a monthly payment of $393, would end up costing you about $10,202 in interest payments on top of the principal. That’s a lot of money.

Student Loan Refinancing with SoFi

And, of course, there’s the fact that if you want to pursue a career that doesn’t fall under the public service definition, then you might want to consider other student loan repayment options, like refinancing. When you refinance your student loans, you take out a new loan—potentially with a new interest rate or loan term.

Depending on your earning potential and credit score, you could qualify for a lower interest rate, which might reduce the amount you pay in interest over the life of the loan.

The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.
Notice: SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. SoFi always recommends that you consult a qualified financial advisor to discuss what is best for your unique situation.
The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
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