After 7 long years of studying, I'm now what people would call a "young professional." I've been called a millenial, generation y, post baby-boomer, avocado toast latte generation, and an assortment of curse words. That being said, I am of the opinion that people of my age/generation are not totally incompetant and arrogant, as we are often perceived. With that little minor rant over, I thought I'd get onto the real reason I'm here. In my 4 years of being a young professional, I've picked up some very useful and practical pieces of advice, particularly financial stuff, that I thought I'd share with you all, in the hope that either it might help some of you, or you might have some stuff to add!
So, as a bit of further background, I'm a male, 25-30 age bracket, living in North America, earning the average wage in my profession.
1. Saving is not difficult
When I first started to earn a relatively decent wage, looking into some sort of savings was a priority. I wanted to get a car, maybe save up for a holiday, and eventually, a deposit on a house. Initially, I thought I would have to put away a tonne of my paycheque, but actually, a little goes a long way. I started off with $5 here, $10 there, and it actually built up pretty rapidly. The key to it is discipline. If you get into the habit of putting away regular amounts, you never really notice the money going out, but when you check your savings after a little while, it's nice to see how much you've put away!
2. Learn the tricks of your bank!
Banks have various smart ways of helping you save. For example, my bank set me up with a system whereby every time I use my debit card, it automatically transfers $1 into one of my savings accounts. I don't really carry cash, I use my debit for everything from buying a coffee to heading out for dinner. In the space of about 3 months, this added up to like $250. Not bad!
3. Set yourself goals or targets
This makes saving less... tedious. One of my savings accounts is my "fun fund" which I use for things like holidays, special occasions, or just having some fun like a night out! I have a separate one for saving for the downpayment on a house, but that's a long term savings objective, so I don't pay too much attention to that. The point is, having something to save for, I find, makes me more inclined to be careful with my savings. The more I save, the sooner I can get to my goal.
4. Live a little!
This is a critically important one. At the start, I was saving every little cent. Even things like a few beers with my buddies was something I spent ages looking at my finances to see how much it would throw my savings out of line. However, this got pretty boring and frustrating after a relatively short time. So I make sure I put a bit aside to go out and do fun things. It's a classic case of all-work-no-play! You don't have to give up your avocado toast and latte if you don't want to, but work it into your budget.
5. Consider an investment
The great thing about today's societies is that there's endless opportunities to invest in something, and there's options for everyone's budgets! One of my investments is a patreon account, where my $25 per month gets me on average a $45 return. It's not massive, but over 1 year, I'd rather the $240 in my pocket than someone elses. I'm starting to get into the world of cryptocurrency now too, which I'd like to use as another investment opportunity. That being said, only invest money that you can afford, and that you can afford to lose. Investments go up and down, so do your research, look at your budget, and make careful decisions based on what you know.
6. Don't be afraid to ask!
Banks have tonnes of financial advisors who are well paid to give you advice. Don't feel pressured to sign up to anything they put in front of you, but at the very least, they might know about a system or scheme that you might not. If they do, shop around incase it's better value else where. I've done that with my car finance and insurance, and I saved myself a couple of hundred each year, but, I didn't know I could do the financing through a separate institution. (It was actually my bank that advised I go elsewhere!)
There is tonnes of other little tips and tricks out there. But I just thought, as my first steem post, I'd share some of my tips and tricks that helped me to get on top of my finances, and make a few extra bucks on the side. I'm always on the look out for some extra tips, so if anyone has anything else to add, please do share!
-n