Do you often wonder what could have been if you had more financial advice available to you when you were younger? We’ve put together the following personal finance tips millennials should follow so that you can share this information with the ones that you know.
When you were younger the thought of budgeting and saving may have been boring. The thought of spending money on a night out with friends, the latest fashion accessory or the latest album release was much more exciting! It is becoming more obvious that millennials are money savvy and realise the need to monitor their finances in order to thrive in a world of competition and uncertainty.
So here are our personal finance tips millennials should follow:
Budget
The simple task of sitting down and creating a budget can’t be overstated. Look at how much money you have coming in and therefore how much you can afford to spend on different areas of your life. You can always adopt a 50/30/20 approach – 50% for essentials like rent, bills and groceries, 30% lifestyle spending like clothes, meals out and 20% into your savings.
Set up an emergency fund
This should ideally be two months’ pay check so that if anything sudden and unexpected happened, you have the money to cover it. We always advise to save money in a separate account so you don’t accidentally use your emergency fund for a holiday.
Track your spending
Keep a track on what you are spending your money on. Monzo is a popular choice – this is a bank with an app that sorts your spending into categories so you can easily see what you’ve spent your money on. There are lots of other apps that could help. You can always take cash out at the beginning of the week and spend this rather than using your card. You know exactly what you have left then.
Plan your meals
By doing this simple task, it can really impact your finances. Planning your meals in advance means that you will only buy what you need when you shop, reducing waste and cutting down on unnecessary costs. Also avoid the more expensive local convenience shop during the week, you can easily spend more money by visiting these types of shops on a regular basis.
Pay off high-interest debt first
Lots of young adults find they have debt for various reasons. This could be a student overdraft or payday loans. It is really important to pay off high interest loans first. Student loans are paid off according to how much you earn and you currently don’t start paying it until you’re earning at least £25,000 a year.
Cancel subscriptions
Whether this is a gym membership or Amazon Prime, if you barely use it then cancel the subscription and save money. You can then put that money into your savings.
Plan for the future
Your emergency fund is part of this planning but so are retirement savings or opening long term ISAs that will mature a long way down the line.
“The vast majority of young adults only consider short term savings and don’t plan ahead more than 12 months.”
Money Advice Service
Maybe try to assign your savings to short term savings such as a holiday at the end of the year and long-term savings like an ISA.
We understand that as a young adult, it can be hard to manage your money but hopefully these personal finance tips for millennials should follow will help you become more confident about budgeting and thinking about your financial future.
*Investments carry risk. The value of your investment (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested.