Usually our caregivers take care of all the financial matters when we are younger. Therefore, we find no need to gather information or experience related to this subject until usually our early twenties. This leaves us with little to no financial knowledge on our finances until our late teens. Which is when we go to college and fall into many money managements mistakes until we learn.
With all the things that we find out that we must understand, this might leave us stranded in a limbo where we go latching for any crumb of information or advice as we march into our twenties.
The best thing that one can do is to have enough time to fully grasp different financial approaches before falling into that to ease into the real world with no anxiety or stress.
Here are a few tips to give you a head start for knowing how to manage your finances as early on in life as possible:
1. Work!
Yes, I know no one wants to work unless they have to, but work doesn’t have to be a chore or only for the sake of making money!
Starting with small side hustles will not only give you an idea about the real world but it’s a perfect introduction course to many skills you’d want to excel at later in your life, including:
Spending & budgeting: having any sort of income will make you realize money’s worth, and as you start spending from your own money you’ll not only have the joy and pride of feeling productive, but also, you’ll start to feel the need to cherish this money and know where to spend it and how.
Understanding revenue & investment: maybe you chose to start a small business based on one of your talents or abilities, like selling handmade merch for example; as your capital and assets are probably aren’t yet overwhelmingly big, it’s a really great experience for you to understand inputs, outputs on a small scale and researching and finding out how to manage those procedures will definitely come in handy later in life, especially if you decide to expand your business.
2. Build credit:
It is so important to understand banking systems and credit score. Many people make the mistake of ruining their credit score because they don’t fully understand how credit score works or because they don’t know the consequences which come with bad credit.
It’s so rare for someone not to deal with banks at least at one point in their lives, as now most money transfers are done electronically, so the earlier you are on board the better!
Do you think this blog was helpful? Let us know your thoughts and what you do to manage your finances, and check out our other blogs for more financial advice!