After 205 articles and 1.5 years at my first job, this is what I’ve learnt about spending money!
It’s been nearly 18 months since I joined Gridle right after my MBA. I’m a 23 years old, just in the beginning years of my career. I constantly read articles on how to make most of my life and how to increase my productivity. One of my interest areas, like most of us, is, how to maximize my wealth. And I want to be one of those early starters. But before doing that, one of the fundamentals of maximizing wealth is to manage your spending & investing well. So, I started reading articles & quora-answers to increase my knowledge on, how to spend your hard earned money & after some research this is how divide my spending.
Living (30%):
Now this may differ, as per your lifestyle. But to cut to the chase, it should not be more than 30%. To begin with, what most of us earn in our 20s is less but when you cut down your expenses, you earn big in long run. It’s easy & can be done by managing throughout your month and planning in advance. Here is a blog I read of a student who paid off her $113000 at such an early age by managing her expenses. Do give it a read.
Adding knowledge in yourself(20%):
Self-improvement and education is the key to success, I believe. Buy books in the genera you like, explore different genera and make sure to read them. Also, opt for online courses. Most of online courses are self-paced, gives you time to manage your other tasks too. Keep educating yourself and adding value. Learning anything does not take more than 20 hours & you might end up finding your passion. Also, It sure adds up to your CV. Here is a ted talk I found on how to be a millionaire, It brings our great insights and gives 3 tips to follow to be successful.
Networking (5%):
This does not necessary mean you pay for every event but attending events once in a while is awesome for you career. Networking events are a great way to build relationships & get business. No matter if you are in sales or not, networking helps you grow as a person as you meet new people doing great work in their respective fields. Make sure you get in touch with people who you can learn from, make them your mentors & take advice. Here is an article I read on benefits of networking.
Investing (20%):
Ideally, you invest to secure your future, but investments also help in making big decisions in life, like starting your business, buying a dream house or a world tour. Now, investment has become must, It is said in finance, your investment should be as much as you spend on your living and even more. This helps you, giving the security for future. Here I’ve included the term saving in investing as what you save these days also fetches you returns in terms of interest. Choose wisely, the plan and proportion that suits you. Take advice from the experts as there are lots of options like, investing in reality, gold, stocks, bonds having different risk attached with the returns. Also, saving with options like FD, recurring or savings.
Travelling (5%):
Travelling helps exploring new culture, people and places. This rejuvenates the energy in you, gives you new perspective to the life.
Charity (5%):
Doing a good deed is directly proportional to feeling good. This reminds me of a scene from TV sitcom “friends” when Joey gives phoebe a reality check, saying, “There is no selfless good deed”. When you think about it, it’s true. Yes, you do well for society, but it is one of those feelings for which you do it. That’s just my perspective ;)
At last, there are people like me who have loans, I cut down my spending on travelling, networking and charity to compensate it.
Am I missing anything? Please let me know.
Hope you find this helpful! If you liked what I’ve written then don’t forget to click on that heart at the bottom :)
