4 Things to Consider After College

Published on May 1st, 2015 | by Hypeline Staff

You’re about to graduate from college and you’re freaking out. It’s 2am and you should be studying for your LAST. FINAL. EVER.

Instead you’re Googling about adult life and post-college life and how to write a resume. Maybe you should have visited career services once during your 4 years on campus but it’s too late now.

Here’s 4 things to consider as you enter into your post-college life.

Fix your sleep schedule.

Your sleeping pattern takes one of two paths when in college. You’re either the “early riser” with 8 am classes all week long, or the “professional napper” who stays up late and then falls asleep anywhere and everywhere.

If you’re the first of these two, don’t let your sleep schedule slide post-graduation. Just because it’s your last summer ever doesn’t mean you have to stay up every night and sleep in every day. Turning your sleep schedule back around is tough, and when you land your dream job, you’ll have wished you kept with your early morning routine.

Now, if you’re the “professional napper,” it’s more than likely your post-college job won’t fit with your current sleep schedule. The same goes for you. It’s hard to turn your sleep schedule around so you better get at it!

Create a workout plan.

Everyone talks about the Freshman 15, but what about the post-grad 20?

You used to jump out of bed and sprint to your 8 am. Then you walked uphill (both ways!) to the library. In the afternoon you hit up the gym with your buddies or took your mandatory health class.

Now you’re a college graduate and those days are no longer. Unless you scored an awesome job out in the open, you’re energy expenditure will drop way down and your weight may go way up. Creating a work out plan will help you stay fit and avoid the post-grad 20.

Create a budget.

Every parent will tell you to create a budget. But parents make it sound like you have to be poor and frugal forever. That’s simply not the case; you just need to know your priorities!

If Starbucks is what makes your world go round (and your brain function) you’ll need to make that a priority in your budget. There’s nothing wrong with knowing what small perks are necessary for your survival in adult life, but you should plan accordingly.

Perhaps you rather drink Starbucks every morning than be able to pay for a movie ticket on Friday night. There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself, but know where that money is coming from. You can’t do all the lofty activities, but you can do a few.

Start paying student loans.

You took out student loans so you could have the best 4 years of your life at your dream school. But now, it’s time to pay up.

Studies show that student loans may become the next economic “bubble” to affect Americans, and especially young ones at that.

Instead of putting the loans off for another 4 years, start taking care of it now. Every little bit helps, and when you’re not used to having that money, you won’t miss it when it’s going towards loans. We guarantee, it’ll be harder to start allocating money towards loan payments two years from now when you’re used to spending that money on something else.

Here’s a pro-tip: There are many ways to pay off your loans quick, whether it’s a part time job, or a loan forgiveness program which is available to those working for a NGO or government job. If you took out more than one loan, you may want to consolidate. Coming up with a smart plan to pay off your loans is better than just throwing money at the problem.

Tags: adult life, college, student loans

Originally published at hypeline.org.