Setting yourself up for a rosy financial future is not always the first thing one someone under the age of 30 thinks about, but it should be. What you do in your younger years can not only set you on a path to financial security, it will give you the financial discipline you need in order to succeed.
Know What Your Goals Are
Think about where you want to be financially in the short term such as five years from now. Do you want to have the money to buy a home, a car or finance a wedding? Identifying your goals is the first step in achieving them.
The next step is to identify what goals you want to reach in the long term. Do you plan on having children? Will you want to own your own business or would you like to be able to afford a vacation house? Knowing what you want further into the future can help to achieve those goals with the proper financial planning now.
Get Rid of Debt
If you are swimming in student loans or you have misused your credit cards in the past, get rid of that debt as soon as it is possible. Starting out on the wrong foot will keep you from achieving those things you truly want and debt is nothing more than a ball and chain that will hold you back. Only pay cash for the things you want. If you don’t have the money, don’t buy it, or set up a savings plan so that you can buy it in the future. Staying out of debt is the smartest way to a bright financial future.
Start Your Savings Now
Start a savings plan right now. Don’t wait until later while you blow all your money on gadgets, toys and entertainment today. Tomorrow comes a lot quicker than many young people realize and with an emergency fund firmly in place it gives you a lot of leeway if you should lose your job or have some other emergency situation arise. Paying into a savings account will allow you have the financial freedom to buy what you want or have money available in case you should need it.
Learn about Investing
Finding smart ways to make your money grow is also important if you are to experience financial freedom in your future. Investing in stocks and bonds can give you an excellent return on your money. Find out ways to avoid paying taxes on your income in ways that will have the money you invested grow. You don’t have to be a financial wizard to understand the benefits of investing in the market. With all the tools that are available on the internet, you can easily find out which stocks and bonds you should be investing in for your future.
Don’t make the mistake of putting off financial security another day. Times have changed drastically since your parents had to worry about financing their future and the earlier you get started the better off you will be.
#2 is a big one to getting started: Get Rid of Debt.
If you never get that monkey off your back, investing sounds like something that will never hit on your plate. When you have a few extra $, you start to realize that it isn’t just for the wealthy…
Investing in stocks can also cause you to lose a lot of money as well as time. Therefore, it is a good idea to first learn properly how to buy stocks online, trade with play money and only then invest real money into it.
This is a great article, but lets be realistic – unless you inherit money, 30 years old is barely enough time to get out of debt once you pay for kids, houses, cars, and college loans.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to start investing and saving for retirement before you are out of debt. Most people that do are just kidding themselves into thinking that they ready for the future, when in fact their net worth is still declining because they are adding debt faster then they are saving for retirement.
I better strategy is to focus on a budget, living on less then you make and get out of debt first and foremost. After you are out of debt at 35-40 years old, then start thinking about investing for retirement.
The most important thing is to focus on making more money. This sounds obvious but to often people focus ad nauseum on saving and cutting costs, and although this is important if one focuses more on trying to generate more streams of income or on expanding current streams they will most likely find themselves with significantly more money than if they were to focus on savings alone.
Clint, very nice thoughts.
One has to start planning his/her financial future from the very young age. You must know about your goals if you would like to achieve anything and lead a financial secure life. I agree with you that we must get rid of debt as soon as possible.
Jeff Clair