When you are young it may seem as if financial worries are the least of concerns. Perhaps you are worried most about making a name for yourself in a good job, finding a spouse, or having a great looking car. But it is when you are young that the start of your financial future really begins to take shape. Essentially, the younger you are when you start saving, the more time you have to save more money.

Ideally, when you are young your financial priorities should involve two specific goals: savings and preventing debt.

Savings
Young people today face a much tougher job market than those of years past. They will need to learn how to make and manage their money from the start. They also need to learn the importance of benefits from a job, including health insurance and a retirement plan. Too often the young will be quick to jump into a seemingly great job without a concern for such benefits. If you are not contributing to a retirement fund from the start, you are losing an opportunity to sock away more cash for a longer period of time. Also, it is important the young learn the importance of paying themselves first. For each paycheck earned, a percentage should be immediately put into savings and left untouched. As years pass and savings accrues, there will be more opportunities in the future and less financial stressors.

Debt
Ideally, it is best for a young person to learn early how important it is to spend less than you earn. Getting buried under debt at a young age sets you up for a struggle for years to come. If you are still young and single, it is important to focus on paying off debts fully as fast as possible. Student loans and credit card debt can plague a young person for many years to come and if you start off on the right financial foot, you can work for many years to save your money instead of working solely to pay off bills. Having a healthy savings account allows for more opportunities in the job market. You can be more picky about what positions you take instead of being forced to work at any job just to make an income.

While the economy has thrown many generations for a loop, it is important for the young and single individuals to prioritize their finances while still young to prevent  financial struggle in the future.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

• How to Maintain Optimism in Tough Economic Times Yesterday Mr. ToughMoneyLove suggested that ordinary Americans protest the credit and market meltdowns by burning their credit cards.  Expressing your anger is helpful when channeled in a symbolic way.  But do not let your anger morph into feelings of hopelessness,...
• 20 FREE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PUT MONEY IN YOUR POCKET Although these tips are written for business owners, many of these tips can be used for everyday people as well to save and make money. They can be done immediately, and over the course of a month or a year,...
• Running Out of Time? How to Catch Up Financially Before it is Too Late Whether you are pushing thirty and trying to get your first home or your retirement is staring you in the face, there are times when you may feel as though you’ve run out of time financially. We don’t always make...
• Wedding Ring Debt The following guest post is from Neal Frankle of Wealth Pilgrim. Wealth Pilgrim is on my short list of daily reads. After reading the post, head over to Neal’s site and sign up to receive his posts. How would you...
• Goals Are the Gateway to Financial Success This is the second of a thirteen-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. Yesterday I completed my first marathon. It didn’t happen exactly as I’d planned, but it happened. Instead of running 26.2 miles, I walked...