Money Moves to make in your 20’s
Hello and welcome! If this your first time here, My name is Victoria and I share my favorite tips on elegant living and personal growth.
I believe that everything happens for a reason in life. I try to live life with very little regrets, because I want every day to become a learning experience.
One thing that I will regret for the rest of my life is the way I managed (or didn’t manage) my money in my 20’s.
I didn’t have any financial education growing up, so I made a lot of money mistakes when I was younger. I can’t go back and change the past, but what I can do is share my tips with other people so that you can learn from my mistakes and avoid the struggles that I overcame.
I only have 9 more months and then my 20’s are over.
It blows my mind, but time has really flown. And the only thing that I regret from my 20’s was the financial decisions that I made. I was so careless, uneducated, and I had no determination to save money. Looking back, I can’t believe that I lived that way.
Now at the age of 29, I have spent the last 2 years cleaning up the mess I made in my early 20’s and regretting the poor decisions that I’ve made.
So I’m here to save you from self destruction by sharing all the money tips that I wish I knew.
Understand this one crucial thing…
Time is something that you cannot get back, and the decisions that you make will determine your path. No matter what age you are, always remember that time is precious and the earlier you get on track with your finances, the better.
You might think that since you don’t make enough money, or you have to go to college, or that you will have time to save later in life but I can assure you that these thoughts and decisions can have serious financial consequences.
Remember that some finance mistakes will reflect on your credit score, which is brutal because those negative marks will remain on your credit for 7 years.
If you take the right steps, you can get ahead in life so that you don’t make terrible financial mistakes that you will regret for years.
1.Always have a plan for your money
Another huge mistake people regularly make is not having a plan for their money. When you get your paycheck, you should already have a plan for where that money will go.
If you don’t, it will get spent frivolously and over time you will find that you have been working all this time and still don’t have much to show for it.
This is dangerous and it was how I lived my life for many years. It led to me having mild depression, feeling like I failed, and just a bunch of other feelings that you do not want to experience. Once I made a plan for my money, my life changed!
2.Organize your finances
After learning lessons the hard way one my own, I can assure you that being organized is a key factor in your financial success. You have to be able to keep track of your money, your bills, all of your important documents, etc.
Millionaires and other super successful people are highly organized. They are meticulous about where their money is going and this is why they are able to retain their wealth and build more wealth.
If they don’t have the time to manage their money themselves or if they have a lot of different investments, they hire people to help them manage their money for them.
Resource Alert: How to organize your finances
3.Pay yourself first
Perhaps my biggest mistake is not paying myself first. I started working when I was still in high school. My first job was in retail at the outlet mall and I made a couple hundred dollars per week.
I have no idea what I did with all my money, but I definitely didn’t save any of it.
I remember opening a savings account but I never put any money in it. Whatever you do, make sure that you are paying yourself first, no matter how much money you make.
You might think that you don’t make enough money to save and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Pay yourself until you have a baby emergency fund, and keep growing that fund.
4.Don’t create unnecessary debt
It’s so easy to create debt when you are young because you need so many things. You may need a car, help paying for school, necessities for life, and things that you don’t need but you want.
It is so tempting to get a credit card, personal loan, student loan, etc, because you think “oh i’ll be able to pay this off later”
Well, I am here to tell you that a lot of the times, you can’t pay it back because you got in over your head.
Don’t open a credit card with a high limit if you know you can’t afford to pay it back if you spend a lot. Don’t finance a car that is way higher than necessary. You need a car to be safe and reliable, you don’t need a luxury car in your 20’s. Yea I said it!
Understand and appreciate the power of delayed gratification.
-Victoria Coburn
Delayed Gratification is sacrificing instant happiness for long term happiness and success.
A good way to explain this is when it comes to buying a car. When you purchase a car the traditional way, you are financing the car and you have to pay monthly for the car plus the cost of interest.
If you pay for the car in cash, you have no monthly payments and you don’t pay any interest at all. You are saving money and making an awesome financial decision.
5.Keep a good credit score
I wish I knew this when I was fresh out of high school. Your credit score will literally make or break you in your adult life.
Since financial education is not taught in schools, many people are intimidated by credit and don’t fully understand how to maintain it.
The secret is that it isn’t as hard as it seems. Pay your bills on time, don’t let anything go to collections, and you will be just fine.
