You have finally entered the working world, you start looking at your savings and you are wondering if you’re ready for the big hurdles in life like marriage, buying a house or if you’re even capable to pay off your student loans but how do you know if you are on the right track?
This checklist helps you gauge your financial stability or help you get started on being financially stable.
1. Financial Independence- Stop Depending On Your Parents
The first thing to check if you’re financially sound is to be financially independent, being in your mid-20s, you do not want to be depending on your parents’ paycheck or still waiting for an allowance from them. Being able to depend on yourself is a great way to see if you’re heading in the right direction!
2. Save Money – Allocating Your Monthly Salary
Not sure what to do with your first pay check? Consider setting aside 20% of you total salary for savings, 50% for your expenses and 30% for your savings plan. At the end of 2 years, you would be able to save a minimum of $25,000 with $15,000 belonging to your savings account and $9,000 belonging to your savings plan.
Six months is the ideal amount you should have in a savings account (not including your CPF), the reason for this is to ensure that you have enough money to fall back on just in case you happen to hit a rough patch or are looking further improve your skills.
Check out our article on “How To Allocate Your Monthly Salary” for more information on your salary breakdown!
3. Think Long Term- Buying Insurance/Investing
Insurance
At this age, it is also the best time to start thinking about the type of insurance you will want because you won’t be needing the money to pay off hospital bills just yet! This amount of money will benefit you in the future when you get older which could help you pay off your hospital bills and reduce the worry of a financial burden.
Investing
Think long term! Start investing your money, the earlier you start the better. You get to learn more along the way and not have to worry about going into financial debt or having a financial burden as compared to if you start investing at the age of 40 when you already have a family. There are so many types of investments ranging from savings to cryptocurrencies all you have to remember is the basic principle of high risk = high returns.
4. Clear Your Debts- Pay Off Student/Credit Card Loans
Being in your mid-20s it is best not to have any financial debt because you do not want to worsen your credit score. With a good credit score, you will be able to obtain loans and sometimes lower interests which will help you when paying for a house or even a car in the future.
Having a good credit score might mean you get to obtain loans with lower interest rates (paying off your student loans will help you with your credit history)!
Managed to tick everything off that list? Great job! For those of you who have not managed to, fret not, you still have time to start saving 🙂 Also, check out our other checklist to find out more about what you may or may not be doing financially.
Start slowly and plan your finance around how much you can save. Expand your financial knowledge or learn money saving tips with a community of like-minded individuals. Last but not least, use a financial tracker to keep an eye on your expenses!
