When you’re in your 20’s with a wealth mindset or at least you pay attention to your finances, you’re going to do a much better job. The biggest advantage you’ve is your time. And time plays a major role in generating wealth.
Here are more advantages which only you have:
- You have got a lot of time to take risks and try new things.
- Your time will easily help you grow your money through compounding.
- Your small decisions now will impact your finances drastically.
Therefore, you’ve got a blank page right now, you can write whatever you feel like. However, make sure that these are smart money moves.
Taking these smart money moves will help you achieve financial freedom. These moves will help you achieve your dream, life goals, peace, and happiness. Although you’ve got time by your side, we still don’t want you to waste much of it.
This is why these money moves will help you make wise decisions when it comes to personal finances, budgeting, financial education, earning passive income, investing, and so on.
Here are 5 smart money moves that will help you generate wealth in the future.
1. Understand the power of compounding
Here’s a quick example to show power for compounding. Let’s say you’ve $100 and you decided to invest it in mutual funds. Now, for the sake of example. If you invest $100 each month from 20 years of age up to 60, and you’re getting a 10% return, then when you turn 60, you’ll have around $42,500,948. And this money just compounded from $100.
Amazing right? The beauty of compounding is that you don’t have to earn millions to grow your money, all you need is your time. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you have got an entry-level job, you can still start saving something and then invest in a mutual fund. The best is to start a monthly SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) so you don’t have to worry about budgeting.
2. Pay of your debts as soon as possible
No matter how far we run away, our debts will still find us. Credit card loans, personal loans, education debts, student loans will eat you up if you don’t make it the priority. It’s that simple. Especially the loans with interest will become more harmful as the rate of interest will increase. Therefore, forget everything, save and earn for now to pay off your loans and debts so that they don’t steal your independence.
If you think that you can always pay back when you earn more in the future, then you’re mistaken, my friend. You’ll have more responsibility, you’ll not be able to invest and you’ll have less money to spend on yourself. Your goal should be to get rid of the loans in your 20’s so that you can invest in your 30’s and have some money for yourself also.
3. Don’t have fun for now
It might sound dramatic and pessimistic but it’s not. Chances are that you’re not earning too much right now. And if you’d spend all that hard-earned money of yours on the lifestyle you can’t afford, then nobody will be able to save you. And this will follow along even after a decade even after you earn more. Because when you’ll start earning more, you’ll upgrade your lifestyle.
This lifestyle that you spend on will never give you happiness. So understand this. Buy things which you really need and rather than buying material stuff, buy your time and experience. Spend money on learning new skills and spend on making good memories. If you start making it a habit to save and spend on essentials only, you’ll be wiser and way ahead with your friends who go to fancy restaurants because everybody else is going.
4. Teach yourself more
Like we said if you absolutely want to spend money, do it to teach yourself. This is going to be your most successful investment. Invest in technical skills that will constantly upgrade your knowledge and keep you ahead in the career game. The good news is that you don’t always have to spend money to learn something. We are so lucky to be living in such an age where quality knowledge is free to consume; you just need to make it a priority.
If you already have a full-time job, why not learn to freelance. If you’ve some writing skills, why not learn to become a freelance content writer. And if you are still studying, why not pursue some of the highest-paid jobs in tech, etc. All the fields we mentioned require a certain amount of skill, most of the knowledge required for such skills can be found online. Watch YouTube, read blogs, read books, and so on. Whatever you do, remember that these upgrades will add to your income sources and you’ll become a highly demanding individual.
5. Build a healthy credit score
The best way to build a good credit rating is to use credit wisely and conservatively. One credit card with a low limit that is paid in full when the bill arrives; a cell phone that is paid according to the contract and so on. These are some of the wise methods to look good on your credit cards. Ask yourself, “what is the purpose of a credit card?” Perhaps it is to build credit scores that will help you get good loans in the future when you’ll need them the most.
When it comes time to buy a home or apply for a business loan, having a good credit rating is essential. As a young person, your credit report may contain more information than you realize. Unpaid student loans are reported as a lump sum. Credit reports show whether or not a borrower makes timely and agreed-upon repayments once repayment has begun. Therefore, a credit card is very risky if you are not serious about it, but if you control your bad habits and learn to build a good credit score, you will be able to take advantage of your credit card.
6. File your taxes on time
When we are young, we barely consider filing our taxes. However, just like any other financial responsibility, this is also your own responsibility to take care of your taxes. If you don’t have any idea about taxes, take online courses, watch free YouTube videos, and educate yourself. We mostly think that taxes take our money and there’s no point in learning about it.
However, there are different conditions based on different situations. And what you might find interesting is that once you learn more about it, you’ll be able to save tons of money on your business, tax returns, investments, and so on. So it’s not just about learning to pay your taxes, it’s also about saving money from your taxes.
7. Have a positive mindset
Have you seen any pessimistic who are successful and happy? They don’t because they doubt everything. They are pessimistic about their abilities, about the government, about their friends who are doing well about startup ideas, and about most of the things. That’s why you don’t want to be like that. You also must avoid the company of people like that because they will make you believe that you’ll eventually fail.
Remember that failing after you try is always worthwhile rather than not trying at all because you are scared to fail. Have a positive mindset about finances. Find people who share similar ideas. Learn more about investment and read books. Have a strong belief in yourself. If you’re already reading this, you’re smart enough to figure most of the things. The only final step here is to be patient and have a positive mindset.
Conclusion
If you belong to a middle-class family, you know the struggle. There is always money to buy the essentials but there’s no money to spend on a nice vacation. This happens because most of our parents had no financial literacy. They didn’t know how to save and where to invest. Their poor choices from a very young age made them never realize this.
However, you still have a lot of time to save, invest, and enjoy your life. But just like any other pursuit worth achieving, financial freedom also requires sacrifice and hard work. So again, don’t spend on a lifestyle that will only make you miserable anyway. If there are things you want to do which will make you happy but you can’t afford, then do it in your 30’s. The crux is to save, invest and earn in your 20’s and have fun (which makes you happy) in your 30’s. Keeping in mind that you’ll still be serious with your habits but you’ll have more freedom and peace.
