THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN YOU GET YOUR FIRST JOB

First of all, Congrats! On your first job. I know you are really excited for your first pay check, and you should be. Being in your early 20’s and landing on a job is quite commendable. Finally, you are financially independent and you don’t have to seek finance from your parents for your day to day cash spends. Being financially independent also brings in a lot of responsibility on your part to manage it properly so that you don’t dry out your earning by end of the month.

SO, here’s what to do if you want to get financially secure and live life to the fullest

KNOCK! KNOCK! This door to achive Financial Freedom.

1. INVEST, INVEST, INVEST: I want to shout right into your ears INVEST!, INVEST! and INVEST! as it is one of the most important thing to do when you are young. By investing, I don’t mean to invest directly into the stock market or in Real Estate etc, but in other options.

First, Invest in yourself. This is the best form of investment that you can do right now. Since, you are just out of college, and have landed a job that you are not even sure you would keep up till long, investing in different skills, books and courses that you are interested could really ramp up the game. This type of investment can give you unlimited returns.

Second, get into the game of Investing. Investing works great because of compounding. Compounding is often considered to be the 8th wonder of the world . Is it getting technical?

Let me sort it out with a help of an example:

Suppose, you invest ₹2000 pm, in a fund ( Active or Passive) which has an average growth rate of 15% pa. you can easily accumulate a corpus of around ₹14,00,000, in a time horizon of 15 years. See, compounding works wonder.

And the right time to invest is “NOW”

# For, Where to invest as an amateur, follow my next article.

2. Pay yourself first : As soon as you receive your pay check, pay yourself first. Pay a portion of your salary towards your investment. Why am I saying this? Because once, you start spending you can’t get control of your finances. So, it is wise enough to save and invest first and then juggle with your expenses.

As a thumb of rule, it is advised to put atleast 15-20% of your income in your investment vehicle.

Example: Supposing you earn ₹25000 (excluding your HRA component) then ₹3000-5000 pm should be invested in the right fund.

3. Limit/Track your expenses: I know it is really tough to do this but believe me, you will only regret when it’s too late. Get a little frugal about your finances and cut out expenses that doesn’t mean shit to you. Since, you are in the early stages of your career, buying expensive shit like an iPhone, Gucci belt etc, is one of the most dumbest move you will like to avoid. That said, never spend money in the things you don’t need.

4. Pay less rent: Being a fresher, you don’t need to stay in a villa or a private property. It is very much advisable, to share your apartment or living expenses with your friends. Contributing less proportion of your salary for rent can save you big bucks.

5. Figure out your financial goals for the next few years: Right now, your paycheck might cover rent, eating out, but what about five years from now? Ten? You don’t need to exactly know where you will be or what you will be doing, but thinking about some of life’s biggest milestones now gives you time to start turning them into a reality.

Do you want to buy a car? Spend summer in the Bahamas? Get a MBA? Have a wedding? Setting aside some money every month towards those goals for the next few years will make them a lot less intimidating when it comes time to act.

#BONUS TIP: By now, I am very sure you have saved a lot of bucks. So, why are you waiting guys, GO! GO! GO! Grab a vacation ticket to your favourite destination. Travelling is fun when you are young. 😊