"Young Citizens start Planning your Finances for a Better Future"

It is an exciting time for young adults. You are off to university, college, or workspace. During this time, you get to make new friends, start work, or live alone. This is the time to start being smart about the decisions you make about your money.

Making these decisions at a young age will train you for your future financial well-being.

First, you need to understand the factors that influence your money-making decisions. Family is the first place to look. If you grew up in a home where your parents were stressed about money, you will eventually see money as a stressor. When you grew up saving your allowance, saving will be second nature to you when you have your own money.

When you go shopping with friends, you might end up buying things you don’t need because your friends are also buying; this is what we call ‘peer pressure’.

When you have identified these factors and many more, you need to get a grip on your finances. The moment you realize you spend more money than you earn, you need to think of starting a budget plan. Now, I know you might think that’s boring, but with budgeting, you can track and control your spending. It will be your secret weapon for achieving your future goals.

Budgeting has four steps: identify your income, list your expenses, track and categorize your expenses, then review your budget and make adjustments. Write everything down to make things easier for you to see and track.

Life is full of unknowns, but having a savings account can always make things better for you during rainy days. You can always consider starting an emergency fund that can cover your living expenses for at least three months. These funds will be your safety net for any unexpected expenses.

Whether you want to save for an event or a goal, a savings plan will be very helpful; it will outline how much you need to save for your event or goal. To make sure you don’t forget to save for the month, you can set up an automatic transfer to your savings account from your current account. Make sure you open an interest-earning bank account. To avoid tax on your savings, a tax-free savings account is the better option.

As soon as you make enough income, you will be tempted to open some store cards, credit cards, payday loans, and home loans; these are all forms of debt. Before you get yourself into financial trouble, ask yourself: Is this a good debt or a bad debt? 

A good debt will help you create wealth and secure your financial future. It's affordable because its interest rates are usually good. Good debts are education loans to improve your skills, mortgage loans to buy your home, or business loans to grow your business.

Bad debt drains your wealth, which will make you poorer. It has high interest rates and hidden charges. Costs like administration fees and balloon payments. Bad debts include bank overdrafts, unaffordable car repayments, and loans at high interest rates from loan sharks.

Saving money is never easy and without question, discipline is of the highest regard.