Financial Savvy Young Professionals

You worked hard to begin your professional career. While higher education prepared you for this path, you may struggle managing a significant income for the first time. Managing your money consciously can help you avoid costly mistakes as you begin building a financially secure future. Consider the following to help you manage your money:

Avoid Lifestyle Creep

If buying an expensive new vehicle is your first impulse, fight it. Even an impressive salary is finite, and your take-home pay will be less than your gross income. Live within your means to avoid lifestyle creep – that’s when the more you earn, the more you spend – and you’ll build a secure future that may include future lifestyle purchases like this.

Resist Instant Gratification

Credit is among the most important areas to manage if you are to avoid lifestyle creep. Credit enables impulse buying of “wants” instead of “needs”. The problem is that high interest rates and making minimum payments can have you paying multiples of your purchase price over time. The solution? Don’t charge more than you can pay in full each month.

Compare Financial Alternatives

Paying off your credit card balance each month doesn’t mean you have to live a credit-free life. If you have student or car loans that are near a 0% interest rate, consider putting extra money in a company retirement plan instead of paying the loans in full.

Know Your Benefits

Employee benefits like a company 401(k) plan, health insurance and other group insurance benefits may cost less in your workplace than out of it. Learn about your benefits and take advantage of them.

Work with Professionals

You worked hard to learn your craft, so, it makes sense to team up with financial and tax professionals who worked long and hard to learn theirs. Trusted professionals can work with you to create a financial plan that addresses all your personal and business financial needs, based on your current situation and goals. Side benefits are you’ll free up some of your time while sidestepping lifestyle creep and building a more secure financial future as your income and assets potentially increase over time.