If there are any lessons I wish I learned sooner, it would definitely be about money and personal finance. Some of the practical lessons surrounding money, how to make it, how to save it, and how to invest in the future are really powerful tools. Here are some things I’ve learned along the way to adulthood.
Don’t Do It For The Debt Culture
This is probably the first and most important lesson I learned thus far in adulthood. Getting out from the bounds of this debt culture we grew up being so accustomed to was a pretty big epiphany for me. I had comfortably lived in my youth believing that debt was inevitable and it was a part of the whole process. To be honest I didn’t think twice about any of my debt. Be it student loans, or my first new credit card, car loan…I believed it was all a part of the plan unless you came from money. This was how normal people lived. How wrong was I! And I do realize it isn’t just me, this is what we are taught really and the conversation of debt continues to be a topic we don’t regularly have.
I have to give major credit (no pun intended) to Dave Ramsey who I started listening to years ago and who really opened my eyes to this very simple concept. Fyi, if you’re thinking about getting a credit card straight out high-school, don’t. As money guru Dave Ramsey likes to say “debt is dumb, cash is King!” Don’t put things on credit that you can’t purchase with cash today.
You Are Your Credit Score
I would say this is the next best place to start because it’ll pretty much be the deciding factor for most major financial scenarios in your life. Meanwhile you can build your non-existing credit history by paying your other bills on time. I never EVER thought about my credit score until I needed to purchase a car, and then it mattered. But by then I had already accrued debt in a few different places so I had limited options in financing and a high interest rate. Your credit score will determine everything in your life such as getting a bank loan, renting an apartment, buying a house! It becomes increasingly important the older you get so know this now! Your credit score is everything and an excellent credit score makes you pretty powerful.
Pay Yourself First
This is most definitely a phrase that’s been recycled by many a financial guru, but as a normal person who has difficulty saving, this is the best piece of advice I could give. And I don’t mean give yourself a shopping spree or make an impulse purchase. If you can determine what you’re left with after you subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly income, you can determine just how much to put aside every month first. After paying off your basic necessities and your cost of living, put the rest in a savings account and don’t touch it! Saving for that rainy day should start as soon as you got your hands on some money.
I always thought there was time for everything and time to save later down the road, but unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, then you can never really be prepared to tackle some financial burdens you may experience throughout the years. Although you can prevent that from happening, just think of the chunk of change you’ll have saved over the years.
Mint Bills: Pay On Time
Is an awesome app for making sure all of your monthly expenses are paid on time.
Digit
Is another great app making it easier to save by automatically moving a bit of your money into your Digit account daily. Before you even miss it, you’ll be well on your way to saving a good amount.
Hi By Dave Ramsey is another great tool. Although the functionality of this app makes it so that you know exactly where every single dollar is going and what you can stash away after expenses.

Invest In Yourself
Saving money isn’t just about having enough money to deal with incidentals and unforeseen costs. I wish I known how important spending productive time and money on myself was going to be. I always had a healthy balance of my time spent on myself and also my time spent on my social life. But I wish I had used the time on myself more productively and more so on finding out how I could potentially begin doing something that I enjoyed and creating goals for the future.
Planting the Seed to Self Sufficiency
Begin the process of being self-sufficient and eventually self employed. Unless, you know you plan on actually being a scientist or a doctor or anything else that requires a very linear path. I was a liberal arts major and also loathed the idea of having a 9-5 for the rest of my life. I wish I had thought about that much sooner I might’ve been somewhere in middle of my success rather than the beginning stages of this self employment plan. In today’s day and age where most millennials are making their own income via social media and such, it’s inspiring to think about becoming a person who works for themselves and makes their own money pursuing a passion. The biggest pro to this in my opinion is never having to be at the mercy of an employer the rest of your life. There’s great power in knowing you are the only one calling the shots where your financial futures is concerned.
You do hear about that a lot when you’re young though – pursue your passion. But I can remember not having a clue about my passions. All I could think about was what could I do that could translate to the perfect career after college. A career working for someone else, which was nothing I wanted. Thinking about my own interests and how I could potentially develop an income from it, was a daunting concept at first. These days I think about multiple avenues of revenue. Adults call these investments or streams of revenue. Yes it may take some time to know or learn what your interests, talents, or skills are, but I think if you think of them sooner and in terms of ways you can create self-employment, you may be surprised how easy it is to get the ball rolling.
Money Talks
No one tells you when you’re younger, that it is hard finding a career-catapulting job after college. And if you are a liberal arts major well good luck finding a niche job. That’s why I believe it is important to become self sufficient much earlier than later. Envision your future and turning your hobby/interest/passion into an income, then start planting the seed for that business and for your future. And guess what you my not succeed and you might even fail at first, but starting your own business venture is all about changes, and you’ll find those changes are often, but that’s all apart of your growth and success. So take a portion of that savings and put it towards your future. Pretty soon that side hustle may be the thing that keeps you following your passions and working on your own schedule and terms in your life.
