Yesterday, writer @DamnJazAgain asked 27+ year-old Twitter to "give young twitter a constructive piece of financial advice that helped you over the years," and the answers were amazing.
27+ Twitter, give young twitter a constructive piece of financial advice that helped you over the years. Financial literacy and representation matters.
Here were some of the best ones (also, take notes!):
1. Practice saving...even a little.
Practice saving on a daily basis, even if it’s just $5 dollars. It doesn’t matter if you put it in a shoebox, or a cookie jar, but small amounts daily have a way of adding up. Practice will condition you for larger savings contributions in the future with your income increases
2. Live with your parents.
@DamnJazAgain 1) Try and live off of 30% of your net income 2) If you have a good situation, live with your parent(s) as long as you can in order to SAVE MONEY. Anybody telling you its childish, may live on their own, but likely has nothing but a hard time to their name...
3. Stay away from certain places (yep, they were talking to me).
Stay yo ass out the mall. I promise your financial state will improve.
4. Save the difference from rent.
@DamnJazAgain Save. At. Home. Seriously. If you are lucky enough to have parents who let you live at home for free/reduced rent, calculate what you would be paying as a standard rent rate in your area and put the difference away every month.
5. Put those college refund checks to good use.
@DamnJazAgain Take those refund checks you get in college and use them to pay down your loans right away. It could cut how much you owe after school down by a 1/3 or 50%.
6. Create a budget sheet.
@DamnJazAgain Learn what a budget sheet is this is basics Rent Energy bills Food Travel or car expenses Cloathes&cosmetics Emergency fund Holiday savings Savings Pension
7. Figure out what financial battles are worth it.
@DamnJazAgain cut out bad spending habits. yeah, you maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa have just got paid, but you don't NEED to order food from the carryout. $20 can feed you for at least 3 days, compared to one.
8. Plan for emergencies.
@DamnJazAgain Your car will break down - plan for it! And you know the date of your insurance renewal a year in advance - save for it.
9. Ask yourself the hard questions before purchasing something.
@schatzipage @DamnJazAgain @DeeRene_ Or ask...is the monetary equivalent of the item worth x amount of hours per work needed to get that amount aka is the $100 pair of shoes worth 4 hours of my working time.
10. Find cost-effective alternatives for everything.
@DamnJazAgain Stop paying for cable. I stream Hulu and Netflix for less than $20 a month, you can do the math.
11. Get a lowered interest rate (and learn different ways to help your credit score).
@DamnJazAgain I’m 26 but don’t be afraid to contact your credit card company and request a lower interest rate. They won’t tell you that you can do this but you can
12. Make payments. Always.
@DamnJazAgain If you have items that are on a payment plan, paying even $1 can stop it from going to collections. It shows as slow playing. Life has hiccups.
13. Lastly, know and understand the holy (money) trinity:
@DamnJazAgain • Invest your money (apps: acorns, robinhood, stash) • Have 3 passive streams of income • have at least 3 months worth of expenses (bills, groceries, the necessities) in a savings account for emergencies
Y'all feeling rich yet?
