In continuing with my sage advice this week, I’d like to discuss a topic important to myself and to my same-age peers. The idea that you are ever “too young” for some things can be the biggest obstacle to life success. Today, you need to make a change in mindset.
Most likely you have heard that “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Boring, right? Well boring and true, as it turns out. You may think that 20, 21, 22, 23 is too young to be worried about retirement accounts, or savings, or property investments, or any of those “adult” issues. You would be wrong. And you better learn that now, while you still have time to fix it!
Being young doesn’t mean that being old won’t happen. And you need to plan accordingly. Start saving YOUR money right now – because otherwise it will never really be YOUR money. It will slip through your fingers one dollar bill at a time, until you have nothing to show for it except a bunch of stuff. And that stuff won’t make you any richer. If you start socking away a portion of every paycheck now, it will be your money for years to come. And it can make money while it’s sitting around. Consider your savings account (you have a savings account, right?). That money sits and earns interest, and more money earns more interest. So don’t be a lamer – put money in a high yield savings account and let it sit around. In ten years, those bits and pieces of your paychecks will still be there – and they will have invited their $$ friends over to hang out.
Go check out T Rowe Price right now and consider opening an account to invest in a mutual fund. Yeah the economy is in the dumps right now, but that’s how good investors work, right? Buy low, sell high. Well right now it’s low – real low. And it will go back up. And when it does, your cheap shares in that mutual fund will be worth the spare change you spent on them. Trust me.
Also, invest in yourself. Do you have an education? Are you getting one? If earning a college degree can make you 20% more per year over a high school diploma, then you should cash in. It’s not just 20% more this year – it’s 20% more for 30 years (or however long you work). That’s a lot of money waiting for you!
Finally, take yourself seriously. Being young doesn’t have to mean being stupid. Spending senselessly and never saving a penny will make you a loser when you finally get old. And that’s never a good thing – you old bum. But don’t take yourself so seriously that you forget to enjoy the ride. Save, invest wisely, and have a good time doing it. A bottle of champagne every once in a while just to celebrate your wise decisions is okay. And I highly recommend it.
Go get em, tiger!
