Your twenties are one of the most exciting periods of your life. You’re just getting started in the world of adulthood, exploring your career and planning what your future might look like. You might not have moved out of the family home yet, or you might be planning to find cash for your first rental. Unfortunately, while it’s tempting to live life on a day-to-day basis, you’ll quickly find that planning is crucial if you want to achieve your goals.
In the years ahead, the decisions that you make about your finances now are going to make a big difference to how comfortable you feel. With that in mind, here are some budgeting tips you might want to consider when you’re still young.
1. Improve Your Credit Now
Credit is one of those things that most of us don’t think about until the time comes to take on credit, apply for a mortgage, or even interview for a job. We don’t learn about credit much in high-school, but as soon as you’re thrown into the world of adulthood, everything seems to revolve around that score. The best way to protect yourself is to start improving your credit now.
As soon as you can, start setting up strategies to pay of your credit card debt as soon as you earn it. If you need something for your future now, like a new car to get to work, take out a small personal loan and pay it off as quickly as you can.
2. Have a Plan
As we noted above, one of the most important things you can have when you’re becoming financially independent is a plan. You need to think about what you want to accomplish in the years ahead, and how you’re going to get from the point you are now, to where you want to be. For instance, if you want to move out of your parent’s house by the time you’re thirty, and you’re twenty-five now, what do you need to do?
How much can you afford to put into a savings account each month so you can afford your own place? Do you need to consider applying for extra hours at your job, or cutting your expenses elsewhere?
3. Create a Good Habit
We all have bad habits when it comes to money. You might fail to check your bank statements for months at a time, and only recognize a problem when it’s biting you in the behind. You may even find that you’re always living from pay check to pay check. Whatever your bad habits might be, start balancing them out with good habits.
For instance, can you install an app on your phone that allows you to track how much you’re spending each month, and offers you tips on how to spend less? Could you create a savings account that you automatically pay any spare money you have into at the beginning of each month? Tools such as Cloud based QuickBooks hosted on Cloud Desktop can help you with managing your expenses and improve your budgeting.
4. Find Your Triggers
A lot of the bad habits that we develop with money come from triggers that make it difficult for us to avoid spending. For instance, you might be the kind of person who works hard and comes home to an empty fridge most nights of the week. In that case, you could be spending all of your money on take-out, when you could save a fortune by cooking at home.
If that’s your problem, then you can tackle the issue by planning your meals in advance and even making them ahead of schedule. There are plenty of snacks that you can prep in advance and put in the freezer for later in the week. Don’t forget to write a list whenever you go food shopping too, so you know exactly what you need.
5. Think About Retirement
It’s strange to think about retirement when you’ve only just begun your career. However, the quicker you can start thinking about the future, the better. Look into the retirement policies that your employer has to offer and pay attention to anything that you might be able to take advantage of to improve your chances of long-term earnings.
If possible, you could also speak to a financial expert about other ways that you can boost your savings in the long-run. While it’s tempting to focus on the here and now when you’re in your twenties, the sooner you start prepping for retirement, the more comfortable you’re going to feel. Don’t wait until you’re in your 40s to make a start.
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