Get Your Money Right (Financial Advice for Young People)

It seemed like adults had life completely figured out when you were a kid. They had jobs, they had money, they had stuff, and you were counting down to when you’d be an adult too. Now that you’ve grown, you know that adulthood is a lot to handle.

One of the first things you learn in adulthood is to be responsible for yourself. You need to take care of yourself - physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.

Our conversation today is about how to be responsible for your finances and how to become financially responsible.

Being responsible for your finances isn’t the same as being financially responsible. Being responsible for your finances means that you must make money if you intend to spend it. Your parents, uncles and aunts do not see you as their primary responsibility anymore. Why? You’re a full-grown human. As an adult, you’re the one responsible for making the money you want to spend.

Being financially responsible, on the other hand, is understanding how money works and how you can make yours work for you. It means becoming financially literate and know how to allocate resources for today and future purposes.

You need the two to be able to survive, let alone thrive in today’s world.

You are not too young to make good money. Why? There are 15-year-old millionaires (in dollars) on TikTok. This article wasn’t written to “inspire to perspire you”, we want you to see the truth about today’s world and how money works. You’re not too young to have a savings lifestyle or to have serious investments.

Money isn’t as complicated as many people think. One of the reasons young adults find money difficult to make and manage is because it isn’t taught in school. If we took classes on money and financial management, many people would be doing better with their finances today. But it’s never too late to learn and that’s why in this blog, we are highlighting the most important financial tips and money management tips for young adults.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT GETTING YOUR MONEY RIGHT AS A YOUNG PERSON

In this section, we’ll highlight the most important things you should know about your getting your money right early. If you want to know how to become rich, these are the things you need to know:

1. KNOW THAT WORKING HARD DOESN’T GUARANTEE WEALTH: If hard work equals great wealth, we will have a different breed of billionaires on our hands. Today’s billionaires aren’t the most hardworking or even the smartest; they are just people who recognize opportunities, have enough information to take advantage and make crazy moves. On your journey to prosperity, you need more than hard work.
2. KNOW HOW MONEY WORKS: Like Layi Wasabi said “Info leya fi nfo” which means “We fly on the wings of information”. You can’t get your money right if you don’t understand the fundamentals of finance. You need to have basic knowledge about how money works, how inflation works, how the investment market works, how loans work, and so much more. You need to become financially literate to be able to get your money right. Rich people know how money works. They understand the market. They understand inflation and the importance of compounding. They know how loans and interest work. You can learn all these by reading some classic money books, listening to some podcasts, or watching videos on YouTube. Financial knowledge is now readily available and accessible in different formats. There’s no excuse to be ignorant about money anymore, especially, if you want to build wealth.
3. KNOW WHEN TO MAKE MONEY MOVES: Time is an important factor in getting rich. If you read the biographies of wealthy people, you’ll see a common theme — the time everything changed for them. A decision they made at the right time that set their life’s course on a different path. Right now, in Nigeria, inflation is at an all-time high and the cost of living is excruciatingly frustrating. This is the perfect time to save and invest against the inflation curve so that you’re able to survive the blows of the economy. This is the wrongest time to eat all you’re making. Investing and saving in dollars (with amazing returns) is one of the ways you can absorb the financial shock waves. Knowing when to make the right money moves doesn’t just come naturally. You must know where to put your ears and how to pay attention to what’s happening in the market. As a young person, you shouldn’t be nonchalant to the political, economic, and societal trends. All paint a big picture of what tomorrow is going to look like.
4. KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE: If you want to get your money right early on, you should be friends with people who are already doing that. If you want to stick to going to the gym and hitting your fitness goal, you make friends with people who already live their lifestyle easily. They will inspire you, motivate you and push you to go even on days where you’re exhausted. They would also have the right conversations about wealth and prosperity. You’ll be privy to information that you usually won’t have access to. Relationships are important for growing and preserving wealth.
5. KNOW THAT BUILDING WEALTH IS A JOURNEY: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step” has never been truer than in finance. The billionaires didn’t make their billions in one day or on one investment. They took one step at a time and many other steps and today, they are who they are. If you know that becoming rich is a journey, you won’t be a victim of frauds or scam investments. You’ll know to do your due diligence about every investment opportunity. You’ll also know to forgive yourself for the financial mistakes you’ve made in the past and learn to celebrate your small wins. Building wealth takes time. Investments take time to yield returns. This isn’t the little leagues anymore. This isn’t a buy-one-get-one-free scheme. It’s building for the long haul. Building to last. Don’t expect to start seeing instant rewards on every investment or habit overhaul.

The questions we must then ask you are:

Do you know that working hard doesn’t guarantee wealth?

Do you know how money works?

Do you know when to make money moves?

Do you know the right people?

Do you know that building wealth is a journey?

THINGS TO BE TO GET YOUR MONEY RIGHT AS A YOUNG PERSON

Now that you know the right things, it’s time to be the right things.

We’ve asked a few wealthy people for wealth building tips and the common theme is that you must cultivate some habits and some qualities to be able to manage your portfolio effectively till you hit your goal.

If you want to achieve your financial goals early in life, these are the things you should be:

1. BE A DREAMER AND A PLANNER: Dream big if you want to be rich. Remove the limits off your mind and unleash the power of your imagination when thinking about your rich life. Now, don’t stop at dreaming. Come off the clouds and put pen to paper. Count the cost of what this rich life is going to cost you. Sit down to plan your short-term, mid-term and long-term financial goals. Plan how you’ll hit all these goals. Plan how much you should invest and save in each quarter and in each year. Plan your passive income flow. Plan your expenses in a budget. Plan for emergency with an emergency fund.
2. BE HIGHLY SKILLED: Money is the legal tender of value exchange. If you want to make so much money early, you must join the top percentile of people who are truly great at what they do. Wealthy people became wealthy by being the best at what they do and most times, they love what they do. They attain expert level on a job they care about, and they give it their all. Remember the popular fable about the interaction between an Engineer and a factory owner. One of the machines in the factory suddenly stopped working and, in a bid to find a solution, the factory owner found this engineer. The engineer examined the machine almost very casually, hit one thing on the machine, and it started to work again. The factory owner was so happy and excited. In excitement, he asked how much his bill was to which the Engineer responded “$1000”. The factory owner was shocked at the bill because all he did was touch something for a minute. He queried his bill and said “How can you charge that much when all you did was touch and hit something for less than a minute?” and the Engineer replied “$1 is for hitting and touching just that thing, the remaining $999 is for knowing where to hit”. I’m not saying you should become an Engineer or a tech bro. I’m saying whatever you’re doing for work or whatever field you decide to build a career in, make it your life’s mission to be at the top in that field. Top talents are usually sort after and their demands are usually met. People recognize that no one can do what they do how they do and achieve similar results.
3. BE HEALTHY: In my personal research about rich people, I’ve discovered that they practice “prevention is better than cure” concerning their body and health. Rich people live a healthy lifestyle. They take their diet and exercise seriously. Studies have shown that poor people consume more junks than rich people. Rich people treat their body like a temple, so it’ll treat them well especially as they grow old and into retirement. Another rich people trait is exercise. If you follow Tony Elumelu, you’ll see that he works out and even does Yoga. If you want to follow in the footsteps of the rich, get healthy too. Eat right and move your body. If you do these, you won’t have to spend money on treating some illnesses that could have been avoided.
4. BE OPEN: Rich people are open to new experiences, new information, and new people. You too should be. They are open to learning and trying new things. Their minds are open to get new information, form new partnerships and try their hands on new things even if they end up failing. Learning is a big deal to rich people, and you should be that open if you want to be rich.

THINGS TO AVOID

This is the last part on the journey of becoming rich early. There are a few things you should run away from like a plague if you want to get your money right and get rich as a young person:

1. AVOID RECKLESS SPENDING: If you’ve been doing it before, you need to stop right now. Avoid the urge to spend money on the whims of “if I perish, I perish”. You shouldn’t have to empty your account to enjoy life.
2. AVOID INCONSISTENCY WITH YOUR SAVINGS & INVESTMENTS: Savings and investments are your top two ways out of poverty. If you truly want to be rich and not appear rich, you will be consistent with your savings and investments. With an app like Moni, you can automate your savings and investments. Set a time, date and amount. The app does the rest of the work.
3. AVOID BORROWING TO SPEND: There’s nothing wrong with debts and loans but if you’re acquiring debt to keep up with the Joneses, you will be in for much more trouble. Loans aren’t for spending. They are to be used to make an important purchase, investment in business, career or academic needs and so much more. If you’re borrowing money to eat, go shopping and be at every major event; you should stop right away.
4. AVOID GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES: They never end well. Most people end up losing their hard-earned money in get rich quick schemes. No one will double your money for you in 24 hours. If you understood how money works, you’d know that it’s a lie. Don’t fall for the heavy and sexy marketing out there. Money takes time to grow, and wealth building is a gradual process. Don’t be in a haste to get wealthy.

We hope that you found these tips useful on your journey to building wealth as young person. Remember to leave a comment, share your feedback, share with friends and post on your social media.