How often have we heard that, ‘the sooner you start saving, the better it will be’? Early savings will only bear sweet fruits, it will never cause any harm.
People, who are unable to save early, often wish they had. They share their experiences that saving early would have helped them avoid the mounting of the credit card debt, as well as help them be wiser with their expenses.
Let us share with you, a few imperative money lessons. These would be largely helpful for the readers, currently into their 20s.
1. Keep a check and control over credit card expenses:
Credit card – a magic card that lets you pay for everything you want with just a single swipe. Credit card purchases may be intriguing. However, before piling up things with this wonder card, you must actually decide whether you need what you are buying by swiping that magnetic strip.
The sooner you come out of your dream world to realize that nothing comes for free, the easier and better it will be.
2. Never make a comparison:
Comparison is never the smartest thing to do. Rather than comparing, one should lay his entire focus onto setting his own goals, and live up to the same. For this, you will have to prepare your own way, and patiently follow it.
Many times, this comparison leads to peer pressure. Peer pressure leads to not so smart money decisions like costly phones, accessories, extravagant outing…
3. Best time to begin saving is now:
Saving may sound a painful process, and we often tend to delay it. However, procrastinating to save can prove to be even more painful in the longer run. Therefore never wait to make a start, rather make an early start, to this fruit-bearing activity. In place of squandering up any of your extra cash at month-end, think over putting the same aside.
An SIP, can be a perfect way to start your financial journey with. You may even put aside 10-15% of your pay as emergency fund accumulation for an unexpected urgency. You may even start with your retirement fund, just to be sure of the time of skimpy salaries.
4. Invest for yourself:
Twenties is the best time to enhance your knowledge levels. Rather than investing all your time in a job that does not pay as much as you deserve, you must invest the same time doing a professional course and earning a masters’ or a doctoral degree. This is something that will truly bear results down the road.
Remember that 20s is the best time to learn and upgrade your resume.Make the maximum utilization of this time.
5. Be prepared for life’s big changes:
20s are undoubtedly that decade of everyone’s life, where you will be witnessing the maximum number and levels of changes. This may include getting married, owning your own home, and having children.
Therefore, it is important to think over these aspects of life while planning your finances.
6. Live Basic:
There is no harm in living a basic and economical lifestyle. Being conscious of your expenditures is and will, never be a bad idea. You can cut on a few expenses such as a PG accommodation, cooking and cleaning for yourself, shopping at the local stores, etc. These little things will help you cut down on your extra costs.
7. Free yourself from all debts:
It is impossible to survive for the first couple of decades, in our life, without any kind of debt, whether that may be from our parents initially. As expenses are an inevitable part of survival, the only option one can turn to is borrowing money.
Getting completely out of debts that may also include bigger debt like repaying loans or mortgages may take two or three decades. However, you must ensure not to add more debts, and do your best to free yourself from the existing ones as soon as possible.
20s are the most significant years of everyone’s life. Make the most of it, along with planning well so that you do not have to anguish later in life. For becoming a well disciplined investor and achieve your financial goals, you need to focus of creating a financial plan.
The author is Ramalingam.K an MBA (Finance) and certified financial planner. He is the Director & Cheif Financial Planner of holistic investment planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He Can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in
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