June 2025
Financial Planning

Helping Graduates Manage Their Money Wisely

By Dee Kerr CFP®

It’s likely that someone in your immediate family or circle of friends is celebrating the accomplishments of a recent college graduate. Graduation is a major milestone, and for many, it marks the beginning of managing money independently for the first time. While this responsibility may seem overwhelming at first, building good financial habits early on can set the graduate on the path to long-term financial freedom.

Here are a few key tips to help graduates—or anyone new to personal finance—start off strong:

1. Create a Budget

The first step to smart money management is creating a budget. Begin by tracking your income and expenses. Distinguish between essential expenses (“needs”) and discretionary spending (“wants”). Making mindful spending choices, rather than impulsive ones, can be the difference between financial stability and living paycheck to paycheck.

2. Build an Emergency Fund

Start setting aside money for unexpected expenses. Most financial advisors recommend saving enough to cover three to six months of living expenses. This fund acts as a financial cushion in case of job loss, medical emergencies, or other unforeseen events.

3. Tackle Student Loans

Many graduates leave school with student loan debt. It’s important to develop a repayment plan as soon as possible. Start by organizing and prioritizing your loans. Pay attention to the interest rates and avoid missing payments—doing so can harm your credit score and result in added costs.

4. Use Credit Responsibly

Credit cards can be useful tools, but only if used wisely. Resist the temptation to open multiple credit card accounts. Instead, choose one with a rewards program that aligns with your spending habits and pay off the balance each month to avoid debt.

5. Don’t Skip Health Insurance

Even if you feel healthy now, unexpected illnesses or injuries can have a major financial impact. Make sure you have adequate health insurance coverage. This is especially important if someone has co-signed your student loans or other debts, as they could be affected by your financial instability.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025! We hope these financial tips help new graduates take confident steps into adulthood and build a solid financial foundation for the future.

MARKET UPDATE
401(K) ALLOCATION

To download the June 2025 Newsletter: CLICK HERE

Copperwynd Financial, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Copperwynd Financial, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Copperwynd Financial, LLC unless a client service agreement is in place.

Copperwynd Financial, LLC provides links for your convenience to websites produced by other providers of industry related material. Accessing websites through links directs you away from our website. Users who gain access to third party websites may be subject to the copyright and other restrictions on use imposed by those providers and assume responsibility and risk from use of those websites.

This commentary reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints and analyses of the Copperwynd Financial, LLC employees providing such comments and should not be regarded as a description of advisory services provided by Copperwynd Financial, LLC or performance returns of any Copperwynd Financial, LLC client. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.

The S&P 500 Index or the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies. The S&P 500 is a float-weighted index, meaning company market capitalizations are adjusted by the number of shares available for public trading. Note: Investors cannot invest directly in an index. These unmanaged indices do not reflect management fees and transaction costs that are associated with most investments.