Tuesday, September 16, 2014
If you want to secure a good financial future, it is important to develop good habits as early as possible. Even in childhood, people can begin to become financially responsible by doing small jobs to earn money and putting all or most of the money they receive in a savings account. By the time they reach their 20s, the lessons are a bit more complex, especially for those who did not have a solid financial foundation to begin with. Young adulthood is the perfect time to learn these important financial lessons. Creditnet.com, a leading online authority for finances, has announced these top five lessons consumers should learn at a young age:
Building Up Savings
It is never too early to start saving. In fact, due to compound interest, it is best to start as early as possible. A hundred dollars deposited in a savings account at the age of 20 will be worth far more in the long run than a hundred dollars deposited at the age of 30. For example, putting $10,000 in the bank when you're 20 will get you over $210,000 by the time you're 60. If you put the same amount in when you're 30, you'll only get about $160,000 at the age of 60. It may be difficult to think about the distant future at such a young age, but when it comes to retirement, many people wish that they had starting saving when they were much younger.
Saving at Regular Intervals
While it would be nice to put a large chunk of cash away in savings, most people don't have that kind of money lying around. Instead, the thing to do is to contribute to savings regularly. Commit to putting a set amount aside every month; at least a hundred dollars a month is an ideal amount. In many cases, you can have this money automatically withdrawn from your paychecks into your savings account so that it will accumulate almost without your noticing.
Avoiding Bad Debt and Securing Good Debt
Generally speaking, you should not buy anything that you can't pay for. It is all too easy to get into the habit of buying things on credit when you don't have the money to back it up. Unless you know for a fact that you can pay it off before it's due, you should not buy something with your credit card. Instead, you should learn to be frugal, avoiding unnecessary expenses like dinners out, magazine subscriptions and new clothes. However, it can be a good idea to acquire debt for the sake of a large purchase, such as a house. The key is to remember all of the expenses involved with a house beyond just the mortgage and not buy something out of your price range.
Getting Insurance Early
When you're young, it may seem silly to pay out a significant amount of money every month for something that you don't see benefiting you. However, it becomes harder and harder to get good insurance the older you get. You want to have a reliable policy in place so that when you need it, the insurance is available to you. If you don't pay for insurance early, you may end up having to pay much more later on.
Being Financially Aware
Finally, it's important to treat your finances like a priority. You don't have to make a lot of money to be in fairly solid financial shape. As long as you plan ahead and make wise decisions regarding the funds you bring in and the ways that you spend it, you will have at least some tools to help you get ahead in a fiscally challenging world.
Money causes a lot of stress in people's lives, but that stress can be diminished if you get an early start on being financially responsible. Save as much as you can as often as you can, don't go into debt unless you absolutely have to, and buy insurance even if it doesn't seem necessary to stay ahead of the game.
Source: Creditnet
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