It is tough to accept the fact that personal finance is not a subject or possesses any importance in the current as well as past educational system. The importance of personal finance is immeasurable, because it is what carves our future. The lessons of tomorrow if taught today can save many from the haphazard of future. Being young is a boon of time only if utilised in a proper manner. However these are mere statements for young people as words such as savings, retirement, future planning etc., might elicit chuckles among them. It is a bit obvious that being young and restless, the personal financial planning might seem overboard, however, a seed is sowed in your young age to be able to harvest the fruits in your old age. So you should begin savings at a young age because of the following reasons:
Being young the time is at your side to try and achieve as much as you can, hence flexibility is at its peak. Therefore, as a youngster you can do part-time, full time, side jobs and all kinds of stuff and that too without being burdened by any big responsibilities of dependents or liabilities of any kind. Moreover, if any habits are to be entered in this phase, there is every chance, it may remain with you possibly till your lifetime. If a habit of savings is installed at this age, it might be pinching in the beginning but as you grow old, it would be reaping rewards.
After all who doesn’t like weekends eh? Imagine if you could live your entire remaining life like its weekend every day – a dream for many could be a reality for you. When you stay invested for a longer period of time, the amount of money saved if eventually bigger. This is because of the concept called compounding, which raises money’s worth more than what actually saved. In simple terms, it is just like snowball concept, which at first looks small and insignificant, however as it starts rolling down the ground it gathers unimaginable size.
Because one teaches you how to save and indirectly the other teaches you how much to spend. When you save first, you end up with an amount which forms your available budget. Now you cannot spend any money which you don’t have, thus indirectly avoiding any overspending. Putting an indirect budget is the optimum way to improve your spending habits and before you know it, becomes an invaluable habit.
Because of little to no liabilities and dependents. As a result of which, youngsters can invest in such instruments which may deem risky for older adults but not so risky for younger ones. The reason is simple, even if any losses occur, youngsters have ample amount of time to recover the same without much stress. The higher the risk the higher the returns. Being young you are presented with an opportunity to earn extra-ordinary returns and prove the time truly utilised.
Since you are young, you learn with your every move, thus making yourself future proof. On the contrary when you are in your late 30s or early 40s your risk-taking capacity is moderate, and on top of that if you are inexperienced in the field of investing, you might end up taking all the wrong decisions and thereby jeopardising your objective. So as a youngster, you have all the time to experiment and learn various strategies, so that when you grow old, you know exactly what you are doing and what you are supposed to do to achieve your dreams.
Also a matter of self-satisfaction and esteem. When you have savings habit from your younger age, you become self-sufficient for catering to most of your needs. When savings are a part of your life, you never run out of money. When the time comes for helping your friends or relatives, you may be the first one to lend the helping hand. What more? India being a country of festivals, occasions such as Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, Bhai Dooj, etc., becomes more special when you have money in your pockets.
The above list is not exhaustive but still is enough to convince any youngster to start their financial planning early.
The old saying goes early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise. Similarly, the earlier you start saving and investing, the easier it becomes to build wealth for tomorrow.
Wealth creation is a long-term task. Hence, the longer you stay invested, the bigger your corpus will be at the end of your professional life.
Download Money9 App for the latest updates on Personal Finance.