As a young adult, making my own money for the first time has honestly been one the the most rewarding yet challenging experiences thus far. I say rewarding because your hard work is finally starting to pay off yet challenging because now there is no one controlling what you can spend your money on and the temptations are endless.

Spending money on basically anything because you ‘simply can’, is one of the reasons why I believe most young adults are constantly in debt. Being controlled by social media and trying to stay on trends often leads most of us to living beyond our means.

What Does it Mean to Be Financially Responsible?

As a young woman in the financial industry, looking at the youth, I have realized that it is important to be more mindful when it comes to my spending habits. Many of us know how, but ‘knowing is not doing’.

I believe that as young individuals, we should start investing our time and energy in ways that allow us to gain somewhat control of our finances. This could simply be by being more conscious of our choices.

To start off, being financially conscious is when you plan how you are going to spend your money for the month and actually stick to it. This could be by not automating your savings but by actually planning to do exactly that. This is a major difference because you are now making a conscious decision to save and invest, and it is important that saving is the first thing you do after you receive that pay cheque.

Like Warren Buffet says: “you don’t save what’s left after spending, you spend what’s left after saving.”

We live in a world where we have all the tools and information to live a life towards financial freedom. We just have to take the necessary action to make it possible.

There are 3 simple steps that I came across in Warren Ingram’s book; ‘How to make your first Million’ that I would like to share which I believe is the perfect guideline towards making proper financial decisions:

1. Take control of your debt
2. Build an emergency fund
3. Build a portfolio, this is by investing and saving

By doing this, we put ourselves in a position where we can prevent being ‘wage slaves’ like our parents, living pay cheque to pay cheque with no plan in place for an emergency and simply just working towards retirement.

It is time to sacrifice, life is bigger than the ‘temporary satisfaction trends’ that we are constantly surrounded by. As youngsters entering into adulthood, we need to dream bigger, have less excuses and be disciplined. The path towards financial freedom is now the new trend.

Olemera – Personal Financial Planning and Debt Management

Our financial planners in Johannesburg believe that cultivating a healthy relationship with money from a young age is key to long-term financial stability. We work with people of all ages to define financial goals, manage debt, develop budgets, and help with investment.

Contact us to find out more about our personal financial planning and other financial services.