IT’S back-to-school season and your wallet is looking a little empty. What do you do?
While you’re rockin’ new kicks, got a fresh haircut, and picked out a fly outfit for the first day of school, at some point during the school year, you realize that you may not have enough money to your name to “spot” with friends, pay for prom, or any type of social life.
You could play the “I’m-a-child-and-obviously-can’t-work-and-make-my-own-money” card, but maybe the Bank of D-A-D-D-Y and the Mommy Dearest Trust isn’t buying it.
So…what do you do?
Luckily for you, in the modern age, even babies are making money, and they can’t even talk yet.
Now is the time to really tap into your skills. What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? And how can you make a profit out of it?
In the Commonwealth, you’re bound to come across a number of young entrepreneurs who, after watching a YouTube DIY video, learned how to make a bunch of cool crafts, like crocheted bucket hats or handmade spondylus jewelry.
You also have a bunch of teenagers who love to fish or farm, and they’re incredibly good at it.
Sure, it’s not something you see yourself doing in the long-term, but when you’re not old enough to make big money, and you have little to no real source of income, you have to get creative.
Once you’ve pinpointed a skill of yours that you’d love to hone and potentially profit from, the real work begins. As the saying goes, “You have to spend money to make money.”
But what do you do when you don’t even have any money to spend to make even more money?
You use what you do have, and you save — and keep saving — until you have enough to invest.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Start your savings and budgeting journey by seeing how much you earn and spend a month. This includes any monetary gifts you receive on your birthday, on holidays, and other occasions.
Find a secure place to keep your money. Once it’s in there, don’t touch it. Leave it and add more to it as you go.
From there, assess how much of what you spend a month is for things you absolutely need, then compare it with what you spent on things you want.
If you can live without it, then it counts as a want. Otherwise, it’s a need, like food, water, and school supplies.
Once you’ve assessed how much you earn, how much you spend, and how much you save in a month, then you can come up with a sustainable budget plan.
Whatever you can live without, it’s best to just refrain from spending more of your money on them.
Follow the 50-30-20 rule: every income you earn is split into three: 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings.
So if you have $10, $5 would be for what you need, $3 for what you want, and $2 to save.
The $2 that you do save, will grow over time, and once you’ve saved enough to start investing in a side hustle, you’ll earn even more money.
As with anything, this won’t happen overnight, so while it sucks to have to wait to reap the profits, it’ll be worth it in the long run. The future you will be living comfortably, and you’d have the present you to thank for that.
All in all, there really is no better time than right now for you to start budgeting and saving. You’re young and don’t have bills. This means that you’ll make money and be able to spend it on things you want, as opposed to having to pay for water, power, and all of that other adult stuff.
