Advice needed please

no_money_4

Hi im a recent grad from uni and have secured a graduate job paying £23k.. Im after some advice as to where i can invest / save some of my wages per month.. I am a novice when it comes to savings etc.. I have no overdraft but have a student loan.

Im also thinking of getting a grad loan from my bank of around 3.5 - 4k to buy a car as my work involves alot of travelling, is getting a grad loan a bad idea?

Any advice is appreciated... Thanks

jonesMUFCforever

Congratulations about the job.
If you can't wait for say 3 months or so to make sure that the job is suitable and you lile them and vice versa then I would suggest a cheap runaround as a first option.You can apply for a graduate account and loan for up to 3 years after graduation so don't jump in feet first.
Once you're settled then consider a loan (graduate loans are quite cheap) to upgrade your car.
As for savings does your employer have a Pension scheme? Not the sexiest thing to consider when you first start work but essential to start as soon as possible IMO.
Open a savings account online with someone like Ing to get a decent rate and stash as much as possible to build up a savings and rainy day pot. Ideally you should have around 3 months worth of take home pay in this account.
You should be paying back your student loan from your pay package as your salary I believe is over the threshold of £16k pa so no need to worry there in the short term although there is nothing stopping you paying more now to reduce the debt.
If you work for a big company and they offer a sharesave scheme (saye) consider joining at the first opportunity as you could make a substantial amount over 5 years if the company's share price increases over that time, but you can't really lose as the worst thing that could happen if the share price declines is that you would get your capital back (+ interest)
Eric