Everything you need to know about...

Personal Finance

PRO TIP:

Add financial due dates - like rent and credit card payments, to your calendar so you can see when bills are due

PRO TIP:

Add financial due dates - like rent and credit card payments, to your calendar so you can see when bills are due

Top 10 

Personal Finance

Tips

  1. Put your bills on auto-pay

    Never risk missing a payment and getting late fees.

  2. Start investing, even if it's just a little each month

    Let your money work for you. When I was a senior in college, I started investing in index funds. Those are huge collections of companies combined into one stock. It's a great way to get started because it's low risk because they are such diversified portfolios.

    You want to put your money in many different places (AKA diversifying your portfolio) so something happens to one, you're still protected.

    You don't need to be a finance bro to get started in investing, anyone can do it - and absolutely should do it.

    Nerdwallet has a great article about how to get started.

    [Not sponsored] But I've used Ellevest (which is an investment platform geared towards women and making it really easy to do it), Robinhood, and Fidelity.

  3. Get a credit card, pay it on time, and don't go above 30% usage.

    Credit cards are an important tool to build credit so you have more opportunities later in life. Responsibly using a credit card can help improve your credit score drastically, which will help if you want to buy a house or car, build a business, and get better interest rates and loans.

    Use it exactly like you did with your debit card. Don't buy items, or go to dinner, or do lavish activites if you don't have money in the bank.

    Credit card debt will destroy you. And with late fees and interest, you'll end up owing way more than your actual bill.

    Put your credit card payments on auto so they're never missed.

    And don't spend more than 30% of the allowance. Just because it says $7000 limit, doesn't mean you just get to willy nilly.

    I personally have been using Chase Sapphire for the past 2 ywars and love it. Not sponsored, but if you want to use my referral, you get 60,000 bonus points.

  4. Unsubscribe from marketing emails and newsletters

    You don't need that kind of temptation! Especially if it's brands you really love or you know that you're a sucker for online shopping. OPT OUT! Of email and text promotionals. If you need to buy something, you know it will still be there. You don't need a constant reminder of sales that are basically always happening.

  5. Have at least 6 months worth of emergency savings in a high yield savings account

    Emergency fund means that you have enough money to cover rent, utilites, groceries, student loans, and car payments for at least 6 months if something bad happens and you don't have income.

    It will take time to get that, but prioritize putting extra cash towards that until you're protected.

  6. Know your interest rates

    Figure out which loans and debts have the highest interest rates and pay them first!

    If you have credit card debt, probably aim to take care of that first. Look at student loans, car payments, or mortages.

  7. Track your spending so you have an honest idea of how much you're spending.

    I've used Mint to track spending and create a budget. You can pick different categories to put your expenses in. Alot of the times, we don't really know how much we're spending going out to eat or to bars.

  8. Create a value based budget

    Make sure you're spending, saving, and investing according to your actual values and things that are important to you. When trying to figure out what percentages to be spending, think about your goals.

    If travel is really important, then create a budget that puts extra money away to save for your next big trip.

  9. Think about what's possible - Switch to an abundance mindset instead of scarcity

    Alot of us have been living in fear that we will run out - of money, resources, food, friends? We make alot of decisions around how we live our life from those fears we tell ourselves. That is called having a scarcity mindset. Many people struggled financially growing up, through college, maybe came from an immigrant family or had folks that were constantly penny pinching. That is perfectly normal, but doesn't necessarily mean that how you need to operate now.

    Having financial hardship is very real, and even when we don't physically have a financial sturggle, we make decisions as if we still do have those hardships. First, is just thinking about your relationship to money. Where did you get those beliefs? How did you family treat and talk about money? What does money mean to you?

    Then think about what's possible. Read this article that dives into abundance vs. scarcity mindset for personal finance.

  10. Have conversations with friends about money!

    I've always been a huge advocate of wage and finance transparency because it shows you that thinking and prioritzing your financial health is important.

    Talking about salaries with friends and colleagues has been super helpful to empower each other and make sure you're not getting ripped off. It also makes more difficult conversations about money easier to do because it's more normalized for you, whether that be with a partner or asking for a salary raise.

    • Share those numbers.
    • Talk about your strategies.
    • Ask your friends to hold you accountable.
    • Suggest free activites or cook at home instead of going out to dinner all the time.
    • Tell your friends your goals.
    • Talk about what's stressing you out financially.

Checklist

Be the first to know updates

This isn't even a newsletter! Get notified via email a few times a year when there are new features and events

Sign up for occasional updates