How to Save Up in Your 20s

I haven’t encountered anyone who does not want to retire early and live comfortably. But the real question here is “how”. Of course, the answer here is to be financially secured. Again, how? Even if you are working your heart out, there is a limit to how much money you can save. Why? Because of bills, expenses, and other major purchases in life.

They say that you should save in your 20s, build in your 30s so that you can enjoy everything by your 40s. But let’s be honest and say that this idea is easier said than done. I have been in my 20s for five years and boy, it’s hard to save up when you don’t even realize where your money is going. I launched a random video chat app and it helped me to save money a lot.

Have you ever experienced receiving your salary, then wondering where it went after three days? That needs to change.

Getting in Your Financials in Good Shape

The internet holds a lot of information, and, of course, they have lots of financial advice that can help you get into a good financial shape. Here are some of my favorite pieces of advice:

1. Know what you want in the future.

Knowing where you want to be in a few years can help you motivate yourself to save more money and making the right financial decisions. Imagine buying your first house or your first car. That oughta get your gears grinding. You can also set up short term goals like getting ready for a holiday trip.

Actually, if you are planning things as big as a house or a car, you may want to consider getting a loan as early as now. This way, you’d have plenty of time working on the repayment— once you have paid off everything you can retire in a comfortable home and go on road trips in your trusty car.

2. Don’t lose sight of the finish line.

It would help if you had both long term goals and short term goals. Only focusing on long term goals can make you feel like you are not getting anywhere. Because you are not getting any rewards for a long time. Rewarding yourself every once in a while can remind you that you are making progress. This can also remind you that you have a finish line you need to get to.

3. Learn how to budget.

This advice is not new, but it is the most effective if you know how to stick to it. I want to be honest and say that I am not very good with budgeting, and I am prone to impulse buying. This is why I added this pretty standard advice to the list. This is a reminder that sometimes the answer is that simple.

Budgeting is pretty simple if you look at it. It would help if you weighed your expenses against your monthly earnings. Then you evaluate which expenses need to go to help you save more.

4. Set aside a specific amount for your savings.

You can do this hand in hand with budgeting. What you need to do is set a specific amount to transfer to your savings account, then live off from the remaining amount. You can make sure that you are saving something every month by setting up a regular transfer out of your account.

5. Emergency funds.

An emergency fund is not the same as your savings. Your savings should be in an account that is not easily accessible to make sure that you don’t spend it on trivial things. While an emergency fund is something that you can easily access during times of great needs. This fund is for covering unexpected expenses like hospital bills or car repairs.

The Bottomline

Financial security is a challenging goal to attain, but it is worth all the effort. You need to be able to set a goal, make a plan AND stick to the plan. Remind yourself that you are doing this so that you can retire in peace and without any worries. Learn how to budget and learn how to follow your budget. It will also help if you know how to track your purchases (by saving your receipt, and other ways). With enough motivation and self-control, you would reach your goal in no time!