LEARNING how to manage your money is one of life’s most important skills – and to be honest, it’s something we could have done with learning about in school rather than being endlessly quizzed on algebra.
So it’s hardly surprising that most women money-saving expert Paridhi Jain encounters have no idea how to deal with their finances.
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Writing for Mammia Mia, the founder of financial education platform SkilledSmart shared the three most common traps she sees women in their twenties falling into – and how to avoid them.
Stop waiting for your ‘real job’ to start saving
As long as you’re in a job, the expert says you should be putting some money away each month – even if it’s not a role you see yourself in for a long time.
She explained: “Your job as a cleaner or dog-walker or babysitter is just as valid as whatever career you’re working towards in the future.
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“You think ‘it’s fine’ to spend the money now because you’ll ‘make it back when I get my real job.’ You’ll “get serious” later, when you’re earning ‘real money’.”
As such, the expert says you have to shake yourself out of this mindset and argues that saving could help you achieve that “real job” you’re striving for down the line.
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Referencing one client she helped, Paridhi says a 20-year-old called Henry came to her for advice when he was working in McDonald’s.
“He didn’t know anything about finance and wanted to learn how to manage his money properly,” she said. “He implemented what he learned and within 15 months he’d saved $34k [£18k] and bought himself his first car.”
Don’t pay attention to your friend’s finances
How many times have your friends complained that they’re broke or maxed out their credit cards? Probably too many times to count.
So naturally, you might think it’s normal to spend all your money on travelling, shopping and going out like your peers.
But if you want to get serious about saving, the expert says you HAVE to stop using your friends as a benchmark.
Paridhi added: “If you want different financial results to what your friends and family have, if they’re not working towards the same financial goals as you… you might need to look outside your immediate circle for financial guidance.”
Think of saving as a long-term game
According to Paridhi, most women in their twenties either see it as their time to focus on fun and freedom – while others are concentrating on having their life path sorted by the time they hit 30.
And by saving earlier and getting into a good routine, you’re setting yourself up in the best way possible for your next decade.
“Both life and wealth are long-term games,” she added. “If you focus on growing as a person, developing new skills, challenging your view of the world, trying new things, not being scared of making mistakes and taking risks… you’re bound to reach 30 with a much wealthier experience of life.”
For more saving stories, this mum-of-five who saved £1.5k by doing ‘no-spend’ January shares her top tips for sorting out your money.
And this woman’s amazingly easy hack saves more than £5k a year – and all you need is 100 envelopes.
Plus this woman showed how to save £166 with zero effort thanks to Smarties tube hack.
