Financial advice young adults

Financial advice young adults. To help you get started, we'll look at eight of the most important things to understand about money, if you want to live life comfortable and prosperous.

• Learn Self Control
If you're lucky, your parents taught you this skill when you were a kid. Otherwise, keep in mind that the sooner you learn the subtle art of delayed gratification, the first will find it easy to keep your finances in order. Although you can effortlessly purchase on credit the minute you want it, you better wait until you've actually saved money. Do you really want to pay interest on a pair of jeans or a cereal box? (To learn more about credit, check Understanding credit card interest and our debt management capabilities).

If you make a habit of putting all your purchases on credit cards, regardless of whether you can pay the bill in full at the end of the month, you could still be paying for those items in 10 years. If you want to keep your credit card for the convenience factor, or the rewards they offer, always make sure to pay your balance in full when the bill comes, and do not carry more cards than you can keep track of.

• Take control of your financial future
If you do not learn to manage their money to other people will find ways to (mis) manages for you. Some of these people can be malicious, unscrupulous as designers of the finance committee. Others may be good intentions, but do not know what they are doing, how his grandmother Betty who really wants to buy a house but can only afford a variable rate mortgage treacherous.

Instead of relying on others for advice, take charge and read some books on basic personal finance. Once you are armed with knowledge of personal finance, do not let anyone take aback - if a significant other that slowly siphons your bank account or friends who want you to go out and blow tons of money with them every weekend . Understanding how the money is the first step to making your money work for you. (For information on how to have fun and still save money, see Budget without blowing Off Your Friends.)

• Know Where Your Money Goes
After crossing a couple of books on personal finance, you will realize how important it is to make sure that expenses do not exceed income. The best way to do it in the budget. Once you see how Java adds morning during a month, you will realize that making small manageable changes in your daily expenses can have as much space an impact on your financial situation as getting a raise. Moreover, keeping the monthly recurring charges as low as possible even save you a lot of money over time. If you do not waste your money in a stylish apartment now, you may be able to afford a nice condo or a house before you know it. (To learn more about the budget of our budget for 101 special feature.)

• Start an Emergency Fund
One of the oft-repeated mantra of personal finance is "pay yourself first". No matter how much you owe in student loans or credit cards and no matter how low the wages may seem, it is wise to find a certain amount - any amount - of money in the budget to save in an emergency fund each month.

Having money in savings to use for emergencies can really stay out of financial trouble to help you sleep better at night. Also, if you make a habit of saving money and treating it as a non-negotiable monthly "spending", that very soon you will have more than just emergency money set aside: you'll have the money for retirement, holiday money and also money for a house down payment.

Not only sock away the money under the mattress, put it in a line of high-interest savings account, a certificate of deposit or money market account. Otherwise, inflation erodes the value of your savings.

• Start Saving for Retirement Now
As we headed off to school with hope your parents' prepare for success in a world that seemed eons away, it is necessary to prepare for retirement in advance. Due to compound interest works, the earlier you start saving, the less you will need to invest principal and ending with the amount you need to retire, and before you will be able to call work, an "option", rather a "necessity".

Company-sponsored retirement plans are a particularly great because you get to put in dollars before tax and contribution limits tend to be high (more than you can contribute to a pension plan). In addition, companies often match part of your contribution, which is like getting free money. (For more information, see understanding the value of money and Retirement Tips for 18 - to 24 years of age).

• Get a Grip on taxes
It 's important to understand how income taxes work before you even get your first paycheck. When a company offers a starting salary, you need to know how to calculate whether that will pay enough money after taxes to achieve your financial goals and obligations. Fortunately, there are plenty of online calculators that have had the dirty job of determining payroll taxes, such as Paycheck City. These calculators will show your gross pay, how much goes to taxes and how much can be left, which is also known as a network, or take-home pay.

For example, 35 thousand dollars a year in California will leave you with about $ 27,600 after taxes in 2008, or about $ 2,300 a month. For the same reason, if you're thinking of leaving a job to another in search of a pay rise, you must understand how your marginal tax rate will affect your raise and a salary increase of 35 thousand dollars 'year to $ 41 thousand a year will not give you an extra $ 6,000, or $ 500 per month - will just give an extra $ 4,200, or $ 350 per month (again, the amount will vary depending on your state of residence). In addition, you'll be better in the long run if you learn to prepare the annual statement of the tax yourself, as there is plenty of bad tax advice and misinformation floating around out there. (To learn all about taxes, visit our revenue guidance.)

• Guard your health
If meeting monthly health insurance premiums seems impossible, what will you do if you have to go to the emergency room, where only one visit for a minor injury like a broken bone can cost thousands of dollars? If you are uninsured, do not wait another day to apply for health insurance, it is easier than you think, to conclude in a car accident or a trip down the stairs. You can save money by getting quotes from different insurance providers to find the lowest rates. Moreover, taking steps now to keep you daily in good health, like eating fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, not smoking, not drinking in excess, as well as defensive driving, you'll thank yourself for the road when you aren 't paying exorbitant medical expenses.

• Guard your wealth
If you want to make sure that all your hard-earned money does not disappear, you must take steps to protect it. If you rent, get insurance to protect the owner of the contents of your place by events like theft or fire. Disability insurance protects your greatest asset - the ability to earn an income - providing a steady income, though never able to work for an extended period of time due to illness or injury.

If you want to help you manage your money, find a fee only financial planner to provide impartial advice that is in your best interest, rather than a director of the finance committee, which earns money when you sign up with his back investment company. You'll also want to protect your money from taxes, which is easy to do with a retirement account, and inflation, which can be done by having all your money is earning through vehicles such as high interest savings accounts, money market funds, CDs, stocks, bonds and mutual funds.