8 Tips To Avoid Your Adult Problem and Achieve Financial Goals

Introduction

If you're in your 20s or 30s, there's a good chance that your financial life is still in flux.

When trying to decide how much money you should save and what kind of investments might be best, it's important to consider both short-term goals (paying off student loans quickly) as well as long-term ones (building up an emergency fund). Here are eight tips for creating a financial plan that works for both

Establish your emergency fund.

This is a critical step to avoid getting into financial trouble in the first place, or even worse, having to use credit cards to pay for unexpected expenses.

You should consider starting with an initial savings account of at least three months' worth of expenses (or more). This money will be used for any unplanned expenses that come up during those three months. Once this has been established and saved up, don't touch it—it's there to help us when we need it!

Make a list of needs, wants and financial goals.

To help you make a plan and stay on track, here are a few things to consider:

Needs are the things you need in order to survive. These may include food, shelter and clothing among others.

Wants are things that you want but don't necessarily need at this stage of your life. They could be something as simple as "a new pair of shoes" or as expensive as "a house with an ocean view."

Financial goals are what you hope to achieve with your money over time (e.g., saving for retirement).

Create a monthly budget.

Include all your expenses, fixed and variable goals and discretionary spending in one place. This can be as simple as a spreadsheet or more involved like Quicken or Microsoft Money, so long as you have the ability to track each item on its own line (e.g., rent) but lump everything together into one big block of money that's listed across several columns under "Expenses."

Make sure you have savings goals set up for emergencies at least once per quarter—and ideally every month—so that you don't end up in debt because something unexpected happens out of nowhere (like having car repairs).

Maximize your employer's retirement savings plan match.

If you are like most Americans and have a 401(k) or other retirement savings plan, it’s important to know how much money can be saved by maximizing the match. By checking out the following table, you’ll see just how easy it is to boost your savings

How much do I need? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calculates how much each person is allowed to contribute toward their own retirement through an employer-sponsored account such as an individual 401(k). Press Tab to write more...

For example, suppose an employee earns $50,000 annually and decides to have the company match his or her contributions at a rate of 100 percent (this option allows high earners who want higher returns on their investments to receive more money from tax-advantaged accounts). In this case, maximum annual deferrals would be limited to $9300.

If they were self-employed or made more than that amount but didn't have an employer-sponsored plan at work, then those additional funds would go directly into their own individual IRAs instead—which means even more tax benefits!

Pay yourself first.

Paying yourself first means saving a certain percentage of your income every month. Whether it’s 10% or 50%, you need to set money aside before you start spending what’s left over on living expenses.

The key is that you have enough cash on hand so you can pay off all of your debts right away if necessary.

Once you've set up automatic payments for automatic savings, make sure that amount is high enough for what ever goals are in sight (e.g., retirement). Having extra funds available when needed—for example, as a safety net if you lose your job or to cover high-cost emergencies such as medical bills—can be calming and provide peace of mind.

Pay off high-interest debt.

If you have high-interest debt, it's important to prioritize paying down this type of debt before taking on any new accounts. That's because the interest rate on your credit cards and other loans is typically much higher than what you'll pay for other types of purchases.

That said, paying off high-interest loans can be a lot less expensive than paying off low-interest ones because they're generally smaller amounts—so if one isn't available for purchase, try another option instead!

Paying off high-interest debts first also ensures that you aren't adding new transactions onto old ones (which could lead to bigger bills down the road).

For example: if someone owes $1,000 in student loans but has an additional $200 in credit card debt with an APR of 19%, they'd want nothing more than having both debts paid off as soon as possible—that way there wouldn't be any confusion about when exactly each payoff date falls during each month!

Avoid lifestyle inflation or lifestyle creep.

Lifestyle inflation is when you spend more than you earn, and it can happen in any area of your life. For example, if you’re not saving money for retirement, then it’s possible that at some point down the line when retirement becomes an actual reality (or even sooner), all of those years of saving will seem like nothing compared with what they could have been had there been no lifestyle inflation.

Lifestyle creep refers to how much time goes into spending on unnecessary items over time—and though these may seem like small things at first glance (like buying a new pair of shoes every season), over time these small purchases add up into bigger expenses overall.

If we take into account these added costs along with increased taxes due from our increased income levels after entering the workforce full-time for instance… well then… let’s just say this doesn't end well folks!

Set attainable goals and track your progress.

• Set attainable goals.
• Track your progress.
• Don't be discouraged if you don't achieve your goals.
• Don't set too many goals, focus on a few at a time and make sure they're realistic (for example: save $500 per month).

Don't give up!

There are a number of ways you can help yourself achieve your financial goals as an adult.

There are a number of ways you can help yourself achieve your financial goals as an adult. One of the most important things you can do is create a budget and stick with it.In addition to these steps, you should pay off high-interest debt and maximize employer retirement plan matches.

And remember: it’s important not to let lifestyle inflation get ahold of your finances—keep track of your progress every month!

Conclusion

We hope that these tips will help you with your financial goals as an adult. You're going to have a lot of decisions to make, and if you want to ensure that your money is helping you reach your goals instead of holding you back, it's important to think about how each one could affect the other.

It's also important not to get too caught up in perfectionism or perfectionism-related stress -- after all, life is messy and imperfect! So take comfort in knowing that even though we all have our problems sometimes, there are still ways we can make things better.