The Only Happy Twentysomethings Are The Debt-Free Ones
The Only Happy Twentysomethings Are The Debt-Free Ones. Of all the epochs in your life, none is more exciting, thrilling, and hair-raising than your late teens and early twenties. It’s like you suddenly have total access to all that stuff your parents tried so hard to hide you from and that makes the transition from dependent to independent a rollercoaster ride that even Six Flags can’t replicate.
The problem is, that independence also covers financial independence, which is the ultimate downer on all the exciting bits of life you want to get your teeth stuck into.
Nonetheless, learning how to pay rent, cover bills, buy groceries and stay out of debt is a shock more worrying than an electric fence, which is why America’s debt problem is still so-so rife.
As such, we have been on a mission to find out how you can live a debt-and-stress-free life during the most incredible time of your life. Spoiler alert: these tips are as simple as they are no-nonsense. Good luck out there.
- No Credit Cards Ever
It doesn’t matter what sort of excuse you might like to choose, from needing one for emergencies or to accumulate a good history, credit cards are almost never used for these purposes. The reality is, you will fail to resist temptation, and that will lead to a life of bleeding money. It’s what credit card companies are so good at doing.
- Spend Less Than You Make
You might think this sounds idiotically obvious, but you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to underestimate your spending and overestimate your income. Don’t do this. Do the opposite in fact. Yes, a good place to start is with a budget, but even that won’t factor in fluctuations like being ill one month will mean less pay while the winter months will mean higher utility bills. Keep that in mind.
- Know How To Escape Debt
This article is all about keeping you away from debt, but it’s only inevitable that some of you will ignore our advice and that is when you’ll need to know how to escape its dripping jaws. So, first things first, read this article on https://debtconsolidation.loans/credit-card-consolidation/ about why people get into credit card debt; it should help you steer clear. After that, learn how to pay off more than your monthly minimum, learn about the avalanche method, understand why spending fast will be important, and look at the different creative options available.
4. Out Of The Blue Expenses
In life, things go wrong. In fact, according to Murphy’s Law, anything that can happen will happen, so plan for that by having an emergency fund you can rely on should your washing machine break, your car blows up, your dog gets sick or your laptop dies. As a general rule of thumb, know how to save money and set aside 15% of your income into an emergency fund. Trust us.
- You Can’t Have Luxuries
In today’s Insta-obsessed world where everyone loves flashing new things, nice holidays, and sparkling whatnots, it can be so easy to fall into the trap of wanting to buy every luxury you can. But you can’t, so don’t bother trying. Not yet. When you’re a bit older, made a few bucks, climbed the ladder, and have managed to stay out of debt – that’s when you can buy luxuries, but not when you are young, dumb, and broke.