Once you are in your twenties, you begin to realize that you can longer live your life with reckless abandon as you did in your teen years. Suddenly you start getting invited to housewarming and wedding ceremonies of your friends and it occurs to you that you have to embrace your adulthood wholeheartedly.
Financial planning is one of the key aspects to ensure a stable future. If you are already in your dream job, it is time to see how you can further your growth in it. If you are still looking for better career options, however, it is time to step up your game. It goes without saying that you should have started saving irrespective of the level of your income.
Here are the three saving milestones you should aim to reach by the time you are 27
Achieve Complete Financial Independence
If you are 27, it is time to grow up and start living on your own means. If you have parents who have coddled you financially until now, it is better to understand that it can’t last for long. Sooner or later, you need to plan your life and take complete responsibility for your finances.
Initially, it can be daunting for some who are used to regularly using their parents’ money as a fallback option. However, being determined to be independent will urge you to make judicious career choices. Taking control of your finances can improve your self-worth and lead to an overall shift in your outlook.
Being financially independent will also help regulate your spending. Since you have nowhere else to turn to, it will make you resourceful and encourage you to budget. Learning to manage money is a vital skill you need to master in order to grow financially.
Set Aside Considerable Money for Emergencies
You cannot make yourself completely immune to misfortunes that strike you unannounced, but you can be financially prepared to face them. In the absence of an emergency fund, the crisis can become dicier to handle. Having to run around seeking money during an emergency like an accident or medical procedure will only add to your woes. Therefore, it is advisable to put away money for such exigencies of life.
It is also essential to have adequate money in your emergency fund. The key is to consistently put your money into the fund even if you are on a tight budget. Fix a target of having at least three months or six months’ income in your fund. This is to make sure that you have enough money to cover your expenses even if you are unable to work for a few months.
Also, it is a good idea to know your eligibility for an instant personal loan, for any emergent situation.
Make Sound Investments
If you dabbled in investing in your early twenties as a novice making rookie investment mistakes, you would have gained some knowledge about what not to do. It takes some diligent research and learning to make prudent investments. As with most things, you tend to get better with experience.
Investing early in life lets you enjoy the benefits of compound interest. This phenomenon of your initial investment money and your interest together generating more interest maximizes your returns from an investment.
If you feel like you don’t have enough of an income to start investing, look for ways to cut down expenses. Eliminating unnecessary expenditures can give you spare money that you can use towards investments.
Give yourself a pat on your back when you accomplish these goals because it was done through tenacious effort and discipline. With 30 soon approaching, reaching these saving milestones can set you up for attaining bigger financial targets.