Money Tips for Young Adults
What is the Money Date? A weekly time to check in. 3 things we review and update: 1. Spending 2. Earning 3. Savings
In this week’s Money Date, Anna reviews tips for young adults.
Create a budget & start an emergency reserve (Curveball Account)
Live cheaply. Know where your income is coming from and where your expenses are going.
Setting up a Curveball Account is a must. 3 to 6 month of living expenses is a good baseline for an emergency fund.
Break up with debts
Debt is the reality of most young people today. It’s unreal how many graduates come out of college with huge debts. Your number one focus should be to get rid of college debt, or any other debt, as fast as possible. You don’t want to be bogged-down by still paying your debts off in your 30s, if possible.
Do your numbers
Figure out how much debt you have? How fast can you pay it off? By now you have a budget in place, which will allows you to understand what your basic needs are. Most of your discretionary money should be spent paying down your debt. Focus on paying higher interest rate balance first. Adding additional dollars, beyond what you pay monthly will save money on interest paid over time and speed up paying off the debts.
Begin building credit
This will help you establish a track record of making payments on time for when you want to buy bigger ticket items like a first home.
Pay yourself first
This simple, yet very powerful concept of Paying Yourself First is something you need to drill into your head! There is no other way to succeed. Once you make more money, there will be lots of temptations. Look around and explore how successful people treat their money.
