3 ways you can be money savy in your 20s
Save money in your 20s? 3 ways to do it!
Spend less than you earn and get out of debt
As obvious as it may seem, many people, especially young people, find it difficult to control the budget to keep expenses within the limit of what they receive from their sources of income.
This creates complications that can keep them from financial independence, such as debt and the difficulty of having resources to invest.
A good piece of advice for anyone who wants to have money to invest on a regular basis is to first define a value to save monthly and fit the rest of the accounts into the surplus.
That is, when receiving, save first and spend later.
In addition, it is important to get out of debt such as the car, financing and travel that are out of control, as well as to be careful and plan before taking on new debt.
To have good financial planning and follow this advice without difficulty, the first step is to recognize the problem, that is, to recognize that you are not in total control of your expenses and you do not know how to achieve financial independence.
Understand the risks involved in your life (work, health, employment, for example), reorganize the budget and list your financial goals to achieve independence. Finally, understand that you don’t have to totally sacrifice your income today to enjoy it in the future.
Start investing as soon as possible
In addition to starting to save, the second and most fundamental advice for young people, in any economic scenario, is to start small investments with what has been saved.
Planting the seeds when they are still young is the first initiative to generate equity in the future.
Use technology in favor of your personal finances to save money
To carry out financial planning and have more control over your expenses, you can resort to applications, spreadsheets and other specific technological tools for this purpose.
Young people are great at using technologies and discovering new ones, so they should take advantage and use this skill to their advantage.
Through these tools, you will have full knowledge of where you are spending more, where you are making mistakes, how to save and make plans for the future.
More tips on how to save money in your 20s
Set small and big goals
In addition, with full knowledge of your spending, it is essential to also define your financial goals. Based on your personal dreams and goals, set achievable goals to get there.
You can do this by defining a main goal − like buying an apartment − and smaller goals that will pave the way to achieving it, such as: creating a monthly savings plan, recurring investing, studying real estate market rates , etc.
Goals, however elementary they may be, are fundamental to achieving what you want and not falling into financial disarray, as they also help to have control over impulse and/or unnecessary purchases.
Don’t buy on impulse and don’t underestimate small expenses. Two “invisible thieves” of our income are impulse purchases and small expenses. In isolation, they may seem minor and harmless, but on a monthly basis, they wreak some havoc on personal finances. After all, who has never been scared to see how much they spent on transport by apps on their credit card bill, right?
So, the tip here is to increase control over these small expenses − the apps we suggested in the previous topic are great for this − and avoid impulse spending.
To spend less impulsively and keep an eye on purchases, follow attitudes such as:
- Make shopping lists.
- Be careful with promotions, sales and discounts.
- Be extra careful with purchases in installments, the term and size of the installments.
- Save on fees by choosing a credit card with no annual fee.
- Ask yourself why you are buying each thing (investigate the real need).
- Do not go shopping when you are psychologically shaken for some reason.
- Do not go shopping with people who are more consumerist than you.
- Before buying, ask yourself if you can wait and buy it later.
Invest in your development and training
Another key tip for financial success and for young people to save money is to continue investing in their education and training.
To give you an idea, those who have a university degree are more likely to be employed and earn at least twice as much as those who have only completed high school.
As essential and basic as this tip may seem, good education and skilled labor are still market differentials.
That is, do not view education as an expense, but as an investment. Always continue training and improving your professional skills, which will prove to have a positive impact on your financial life.
Adjust your standard of living if you want to save money
One of the most fundamental issues driving consumption habits among young people today is image recognition. Building your own identity and style are pitfalls that are often explored by modern advertising.
It is very common that these issues are linked to the images of other people or groups. After all, what young person wouldn’t want to dress up, consume and go to places like that celebrity or influencer, right?
However, recognize that this has a direct impact on your financial life. Key here is the understanding that you shouldn’t “live other people’s lives.”
Adjust your lifestyle to consume according to your tastes, such as what you like to wear, what you like to eat, where you prefer to go, etc. Thus, you do not ignore what is important, but adapt your financial life and have the possibility to start saving money.
That done, your income and financial planning should support this standard of living. One of the most critical factors in uncontrolled debt is when people try to live above their current standard of living.
Build an emergency reserve
Knowing how to save money is important, because in life we have emergencies. One of the main teachings of financial education, whether for young people or for the most experienced, is the formation of a good emergency reserve.
The emergency reserve is that money that you keep in an application with good liquidity, that is, easy to withdraw when you need it in situations and unexpected expenses, such as: unemployment, health expenses not covered, unforeseen maintenance on the car, among others.
The size of this reserve, experts estimate, varies between 6 and 18 months of your monthly personal expenses. This will give you more peace of mind to make other investments and draw up plans with financial freedom, that is, without being held hostage by money.
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