12th September 2022

The last semester at uni begins: good plans to prepare for your future

The back-to-school season often coincides with a new stage in your life. You still remember your early school days and here comes the last semester at uni. Next year will be a big unknown! Entering the world of work, doing additional training or taking a gap year? Any project requires a financial cushion!

During your student life, you have necessarily learned how to manage your budget: rent, charges, shopping; in short, all of a household's expenses!

Now that your last semester at university will start, you will surely be asking yourself questions about your future. What to do after your studies?

Whatever your decision, here are some good plans to prepare for it!

1. Entering the world of work

Entering the world of work requires preparation! First step: a nice CV, because it is your entry ticket for a first recruitment interview! To prepare for it, here are a few tips:

Look to the future: you applied for a job and you landed your first employment contract.

Congratulations! Who says first job, says first salary!

Here are 3 steps to prepare your active life from a financial point of view:

Step 1: Be prepared for your first pay slips

Even if your joy is legitimate, the world is full of temptations and everything has a price. You will have to deal with expenses that you have probably not faced as a student: insurance, health care expenses, loan repayments, etc.

Of course, you are on cloud nine with this first pay slip, but you will have to come down from it. To avoid unpleasant surprises, find below some tips so that the landing is not too hard!

  • Create reserves
  • Have a good view of your fixed expenses (rents, fees, loan repayments, etc.)
  • Keep an eye on your variable expenses
  • Avoid compulsive shopping

Step 2 : Plan the repayment of your state-guaranteed student loan

Have you opted for the state-guaranteed student loan? The first repayment must be made 2 years after the end of your studies and the loan must be repaid in full after 10 years.

The state-guaranteed student loan that you received half-yearly during your studies is EUR 3.250 per semester (to this are added the increases for registration fees of a maximum annual amount of EUR 1.900 and a grant based on social criteria of EUR 4.420). Interest on the loan is payable half-yearly!

After 5 years of study, the loan can therefore easily amount to more than EUR 60.000, which corresponds to a monthly instalment of EUR 676,75* starting from a repayment over 8 years.

We advise you to draw up a repayment plan based on your salary and to set up a provision for the repayment, starting from your first salary.

* The calculation is based on EUR 60.000 of borrowed capital and the maximum interest rate of 2% guaranteed by the State. This example is provided for information purposes and does not commit Spuerkeess.

Step 3 : Start thinking about tomorrow

Even if your first paycheck is modest, it's important to get into the right habits from the start. Set aside a portion of your salary automatically.

Find out more about the different options below:

BHW
BHW
Saving today to build tomorrow
S-Pension
S-Pension
Benefit from a complementary pension
Speedinvest
Speedinvest
Invest in a general way
S-Invest
S-Invest
To go even further
In any case: your first salary will allow you to save and invest in your future.

2. Continue my training

Splendid! You thought about going even further in your studies.

You are a student and you don't have a regular income, but even by starting with small investments, it is possible to create reserves for the future.

Check out our tips for creating reserves starting today:

BHW
BHW
Saving today to build tomorrow
Speedinvest
Speedinvest
Invest in a general way
S-Invest
S-Invest
To go even further

3. Make the dream of a gap year happen

Are you dreaming of a gap year for travel, volunteering, internships abroad, extending your horizon? Be aware that this is a year that needs to be prepared in detail, because you will most likely have no income, but a lot of expenses!

A few tips to prepare for your gap year:

  • Make a plan of the activities you want to do during this year and set your goals to achieve. This will prevent you from regretting missed opportunities;
  • Make a financing plan. It is advisable to build up savings previously used to cover expenses for a full year:
  • Cost of living
  • Housing costs
  • Travel costs
  • etc.
  • Avoid financing this year with a loan! The money is quickly spent and you don't want monthly loan payments to weigh on your monthly budget at the start of your professional career.

This article is provided for information purposes only and has no contractual value. It shall not, under any circumstances, constitute or be equated to an investment recommendation (within the meaning provided under regulations on market abuse), investment advice or an offer to buy or sell financial instruments.

Readers should form their own opinion on the products or services referred to in this article. They are free to contact a Spuerkeess advisor if they have any questions about investing.

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