Five Things About Money You Need To Learn In Your 20s For A Happier Life In Your 30s

Mastering money isn't easy.

Either you learn how to handle it from someone else, or you learn the hard way.

That would have served most people quite well if they learned it from their parents or teachers. But it never seems to pan out that way because we're all taught within a system designed to lead us through higher education and into a job: The teachers, the parents alike.

And that is fine.

The problem is then that learning tends to stop there.

Under the guise of a job or career, we learn the skills that generate money for us. Not the ability to use it, though. Using money is a skill. A skill on par with learning to play the guitar or ride a bicycle.

In my 20s, I started learning and practicing money lessons that have helped me better prepare for a more affluent 30s. What follows is an accounting of that process, which I publish in hope it will prove helpful to others.

1. Adulthood will be tough if you don't learn to save at least SOME money!

I had a part-time job while I was in high school, cleaning college buildings and restaurants.

The good news is, by having to earn money for myself, I learned the value of it. Unfortunately, I was naive in not knowing that preservation was important. I spent everything I made. I continued falling into financial issues along with all its ramifications, including horrible debt and a terrible credit score.

I was never taught money management. not by parents. Not at school. Nobody. I had to learn the hard way, just like most folks do.

Some people never pick up new skills, though. They never figure out how to work with money, so they never move beyond the surviving stage. Their lifestyle deteriorates right along with their financial situation.

Too many people I know live paycheck to paycheck, just barely affording rent. Being an adult shouldn't be this scary. Take ten to twenty percent of the money that you make and put that in a savings account. Do this continually until you've saved three to six months worth, before you gamble all of your hard-earned cash away to your expensive vice.

2. Invest your money early.

One day, a recent graduate came to my school campus and delivered a guest lecture to the students.

He spoke on many subjects, one of which involved financial handling. More specifically, in what ways he invests his money and for what reasons. For the first time in my life, I was exposed to the concept of how normal everyday people can become investors and passively appreciate their money. That interested me.

His quick yet captivating speech left me wanting to know more. I spent hours reading papers and watching films on investing in the stock market after I graduated from school.

I opened a brokerage account and invested the thousand dollars into various stocks I had correctly researched. Those stocks would appreciate to 6,000 dollars over the ensuing years. I had made a return of five hundred percent on my disposable income. It was a nice induction into how wise, thoughtful investments could affect the average man's financial situation, let alone a college graduate with not much to his name.

But I could have so easily gone wrong. There are lots of examples of people making large investments that led to disaster. The advice is popularly given, for instance, not to risk more than you can afford to lose.

If you want to know more, Investopedia is a really good site to explore.

3. Be very careful about lending money.

People are going to take advantage of you. That's just life.

Even if you've known someone for years, they still won't hesitate to steal from you, deceive you, or neglect to pay back the money you owe them.

I've been its victim as well as watched others go through it, from a close mate I went to school with to the same barber I've been coming to since I was twelve. Betrayal by someone you respect is the quickest technique to lose someone's trust. Much later, I didn't know how dishonest humans can be.

Unless you can read minds, unless you're some type of mind reader, you need limitations, guardrails, to be financially responsible because not everybody's out to get you.

Actually, the people that you know who care about you, and will support you in return, give them money.

Anyone that doesn't fall into that category, disregard.

4. Stop spending money trying to appease people whose opinions mean absolutely nothing to you.

Social media makes everybody wanna flex their multi-six-figure salary.

In reality, most people are poor. 28% of people in the US save less than $1,000.

A few people actually have it. The rest made their money with Dubai porta potty parties, Only Fans, or fraud.

The far less extreme will put a high six-figure loan on a high-end German car that outpaces their salary.

All the comfort and richness come at the cost of pursuing the things that are most necessary and help you achieve in life, namely:

• building up an emergency fund.
• starting a company or making an investment in assets.
• buying real estate.

Being financially secure is the most important priority concerning money.

In 10 years, no one is going to care if you took an Instagram photo in Monaco in front of a Ferrari you don't own. But being able to drive that car will.

5. Ignore people who try to depress you or say stupid things about money.

I recall having a conversation with a colleague when I first started investing. I proudly boasted to him that I was saving 20% of my monthly paycheck. To which he replied, "You might as well enjoy life and spend it all because you could die tomorrow."

People that couldn't care less about investing and saving shouldn't be listened to because they may not be there tomorrow. They may be broke and yet survive.