If you’ve just left school or university, and you’re about to embark on your first full time position, congratulations are in order. This is a big time in your life – not just in terms of your career but in terms of your finances too. If you’ve attended college or university already you may have some student debts to pay off in the future, which makes it all the more important to focus on moving ahead with strong financial habits that will support you in the future.
Managing a larger income for the first time
Your first full time job won’t net you a huge income, but it is likely to be a lot more than you have ever received in the past. This opens the door to temptation, and the desire to spend it all as fast as you receive it. Don’t do this if you can help it.
Instead, take the time to sit down and focus on all the plans and goals you have for the future. Even if you have nothing in particular in mind at this stage, it still makes sense to start some good savings habits right from the start.
For example, make sure you figure out your outgoings each month and subtract them from the money you’ll earn. Even if all you do is get the best instant access savings account on the market today and put your money in there, you’ll be allowing it to build up while you decide what else you can do with it.
Is it too early to invest for your retirement?
It’s never too early for that. You don’t have to make it your first priority but it should be near the top of your list of financial things to do. The more you save and the earlier you do it, the more financially sound your retirement will be.
Take your time to make the decisions that will affect your future
You may start finding out more about the stock market and other investment opportunities that will come up. There is no need to focus on getting involved in these to begin with if it doesn’t suit you. Perhaps the most important thing at this stage is to learn more about various investments so you can figure out which ones will suit you best. No two people ever live the exact same lives, so you don’t need to follow the lives lived by others in order to find the results you want.
Whatever your initial monthly earnings are from your full time job, they will seem huge. However you will have deductions from your gross income before you get to see any of it, so you’ll have less to spend and invest anyway. This is one of the reasons why it makes sense to get things right from the very beginning. Learn about investing and saving now and you’ll be glad you took the time to do so. It will repay you long into the future.
