Being part of the work force and a young money maker does present some unique challenges and opportunities but the 3 things you should already be doing or should be planning to do are
You should be living alone
You must be many months away from your first ever salary or payment (remember-the one you gave to your parents according to tradition?) and now have some work experience and a regular money earner. So, living alone should be where you are at now or it should be high on your to-do-list; whether you are male or female!
Find your own accommodation and put all bills in your own name, buy your own furniture and live alone. Do not go from your parent’s house to married life then kids. Live alone before the spouse and the kids come!
Learn to be responsible for much more than getting to work and back to your parent’s home; to cook dinner or watch soccer. Move out and learn how to live alone and take care of things in your own home and garden (if you can find a premise with a bit of garden).
Learn some home maintenance, learn how to cook different dishes, learn how to entertain and host your friends. If you already own a car, go the whole hog and learn basic car maintenance so you’re not taken advantage of at the next filling station or by the next mechanic.
You should be understanding your finances
The fact is that there are many young people making money but very few give their finances the attention that they deserve. It can be difficult being a new earner and entering the world of finances, but not taking the proper financial steps is going to make it a thousand times worse. So start understanding what it means to be financially independent and what responsibilities come with it.
Know how much you’re spending and a sure fire way is to having a budget. A budget is one of the most important things that you can do for your finances and it will help you keep tabs on how much you spend month to month on food, clothes, transport, entertainment, and much more.
Budgeting is one of the best ways to track all of your spending and identify any areas that you’re spending too much and will root out the places that you could cut back on.
It is really vital that you know how much money you can spend every month and how much money you can save.
You should be saving some of your money
As a money earner you must be saving some of your earnings and the best way to begin saving is to make it a regular habit to remove a set percentage of money you receive and put it away. If you receive a regular salary it is easy for you to make this saving automatic. Even if you have an irregular income you should be saving. Before you open the savings account; remember to check the interest rate you can earn, as well as the fees and minimum deposit requirements
If you depend on payments from contracts or your business make it a habit to save a percentage of the payments you receive and to separate this money from your usual business and personal account.
