CW Room

The idea that I will never be able to reach financial stability until my late 20s, if I’m lucky, is a systematic example of how difficult this stage of life can be. Financial literacy, the 50/30/20 rule, EFTs, Student Loans, Taxes, the list goes on and on and as young adults we have to figure it all out on our own.

My experience with handling money is getting thrown head-first into the deep end before learning through trial and error. The time I spent in the learning process is time I could’ve spent saving, investing, using the correct tools or doing a number of things with my money that would have been more profitable for my future than mistakes were.

As soon as I started making money in my professional life, I thought of saving as an abstract concept and money as a resource that I had never had such abundant amounts of before.

It was like shell-shock, and the result was purchasing everything I had ever wanted but couldn’t afford. What I didn’t realize is that even though I could technically afford things, I couldn’t really.

Unfortunately, what we don’t realize until we hit our financially responsible 20s era is that money is a mirage – It may appear, but it’s already gone by the time you get to it. My excitement with finally earning a reasonable amount of money to support myself as an adult had blurred my vision and caused me short-sightedness.

Unfortunately, everything is out to get your money. The government, healthcare, marketers, brands, consumerism, individuals, I could go on, but I think you get it. What you may not fully have come to terms with is that you should be out to keep your money and grow it for as long as possible as well.

Why Start in your 20s?

Have you done the math on when you need to start saving for your retirement? Realistically, if you plan to live a comfortable life in your elderly years, you have to start saving and working your money in your 20s.

This is, of course, in tandem with different spending habits you will need to have in various stages of life. Starting a college fund for your future children, Preparing for expensive children, emergency doctor visits, etc..

Don’t forget, you’re in your 20s era and you want to explore the world, travel, try new experiences, perhaps buy a car or furnish your house. The only way to gather the funds to live it up in your 20s, have children, be a decent parent to them and still have enough money to retire comfortably after you’ve earned it is to start planning as early as possible – Trust me, do the math.

Your 20s era may be reserved for new experiences and self exploration, but don’t lose track of the reason. Your goal as a sensible individual living it up during this time is to learn about yourself, the universe, learn new skills that will benefit your future and avoid discomfort past this era.

Are your 20s The Right Time To Start Learning about Money

Realistically, we should have received financial literacy education during our early school years to teach us about taxing, investment, saving and more. As it was, most of us went to schools that prioritised making profit over teaching children, so here we are.

The best time to learn financial literacy is as soon as possible, which for you is now, in your 20s. Learning financial concepts and the ins and outs of the fiscal world that most of our capitalist countries function around is vital for our survival.

If you decide to wait, you may fall behind on savings and future plans that would have required you to have that extra amount of cash you could have saved in your 20s era.

Where to Learn about Money as an Adult

Luckily, it isn’t too late. In fact, while it could be less fruitful to begin at a later stage in life, starting somewhere is a notable improvement on neglecting to begin at all.

You can begin learning financial literacy and how to treat your money anywhere. You could start with professional courses, many of which are available for adults, or you could ask someone who knows.

A responsible, financially stable adult in your life or their accountant may be well versed in the fiscal realm enough to teach you a few new skills. You could also learn by observing the habits of monetarily successful individuals and taking notes, though you should probably only do that if you’ve got a good base of knowledge already.

If all else fails, you could ask the internet! The world is full of resources for your viewing pleasure. If the system has failed to teach us, then it’s up to us to learn them.

As people who have somehow been given the responsibility of building a future generation, we must be better than the past and allow the future the skills that we weren’t taught. Educate yourself, the resources are out there and it is for your own good as much as it is for theirs.

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed, please do check out more of my In my 20s Era blogs. I also write Book Blogs and fictional Short Stories in various genres that you may enjoy.