Everything will be okay if you keep on going on at the same rate. Right? Well, sort of. If you don’t take any proactive measures and you simply maintain the status quo, then things will be alright. Nothing bad will happen to you. On the flip side, nothing tremendous will happen to you either.
Where am I going with this? In our 20s, we all just go with the flow. We find the first job that we can, keep the same friends around, maintain consistent habits, and keep on moving along. While this is cool and all, most of us want more.
Most of us want a bit of the following:
- To enjoy work and not be miserable on Monday morning.
- To save up money for cool trips.
- To eventually buy a house or rent out a sweet pad.
- To not feel like we’re spending every penny on debt payments.
Last week we looked at how you can save up for anything on this planet. The reality that we looked at is that we can all have anything that we want. Just not everything that we want. We can still save up for fun trips and iPads, while dealing with student loans and rent.
A common theme that I’ve noticed is that we just can’t figure out how to afford cool things while trying to survive our 20s. We all have such a difficult time with trying to get ahead at an early age. Surviving and paying the bills seems challenging enough. Saving money? Forget about it.
Is there a secret strategy for being able to afford the things that you want while you try to survive?
Yes.
- Pay yourself first. I will preach this until the day I turn 30. Then who knows what’s going to happen. You’ll never save any money or get ahead if you don’t pay yourself first. Whenever you make a buck or a thousand bucks, you need to take a set amount and put it away. Forget about this money. Hide it in a savings account or under your pillow. This is your money to save. The rest of the money earned goes towards living expenses and entertainment.
- Watch your spending on useless crap. I’ll never tell you to stop going out or doing the things that you enjoy. I do suggest that you become conscious of how much money you blow on the less important stuff. I’ve been really working on watching my spending on food. As much as I love to eat, I know that I can do it for cheaper.
- Increase your income. The fun begins! This is where you make more money and use your skills to increase how much moolah you have coming in.
Every personal finance blog on the Internet has covered these core tenets in some shape or form. This isn’t an Earth-shattering article. This is a wake up call. A reality check. This is my three-step formula to saving up for cool purchases in your 20s while you try to survive life.
How can you get started with financial dominance while you’re young?
The tools you need to save insane amounts of money have been mentioned here before. I’m still shocked by how many young people put up with crappy customer service, pointless monthly fees, and outdated banking accounts. I also can’t understand why we don’t look into these tools.
There’s also my guide to saving $25k by 25 that you can check out. I’ve tried everything under the sun to save money and get ahead financially (from pre-drinking a ton of booze to save money all to way to investing in random courses). If I can do it, so can you. Nobody is more immature than me.
What about YOLO baby?
Yes, you only live once. With that enlightenment out-of-the-way, let’s get real. Only living once shouldn’t be an excuse for screwing up every aspect of your life. It’s a fun way to shrug off getting too drunk or occasionally treating ourselves to a fine meal. It’s not an excuse to blow every single penny and get into credit card debt.
And since you only live once, do you really want to work until you’re 70 in that one lifetime? I doubt it! I know that you want more out of life and you can easily have it. Don’t forget to bookmark this page of course!
Are you going to give our super secret strategy a try? You pay yourself first, become a bit more conscious of your spending, and expand your creativity while you look for new ways to make money (legally).
What if you believe in reincarnation? lol I think YOLO gets blamed for all sorts of rediculous actions. Sure, have some fun in your life, but I disagree with those that would say that the purpose of life is to have fun.
That’s a good question Edward! I have no idea how to answer that one lol. I do know that it’s fun once in a while to brush off doing something stupid by saying YOLO because it beats dwelling on a foolish mistake. I do believe that there’s a problem if your mantra to life becomes YOLO.
Personally, I don’t need to fall back to YOLO when I make a mistake. I know I’m not a perfect person and try to use it as a learning experience, like last summer when I learned that I simply cannot hold whiskey!
Uhoh Edward! What happened? Were feelings hurts?
I love this! I read a lot of PF sites, and the reigning attitude of “if you do anything but save money and pay down debt you’re an irredeemable idiot who deserves nothing good, ever” is highly aggravating. By my stars and garters, there’s got to be a middle ground. I actually think that’s where YOLO really comes in – (unless it stands for You Obviously Like Owls…) you only live once – so you should find a way to do the things you want to do AND the things you have to do.
I just found your site today – and am glad I did! Cheers.
Thanks for joining the community Megan… There definitely is a middle ground. I believe that you should be able to buy what you want if you have a plan for it.
And who doesn’t like owls?