Did you just get paid your first salary? Congratulations! You are now a full-fledged working adult and slowly becoming independent.
While spending your first salary immediately on luxury items or vacations can be exciting, you should pause and think about where you will spend all that money to make it count.
Here are 5 things you should redirect your focus to when you get your first paycheck:
Sort Out Your Budget
When you get your first salary, the first thing you need to do first is by sorting out your budget. You should list down what spending should be prioritised and how much you should put into savings. Doing this allows you to allocate your salary better while still having extra for savings and investment.
Clear Off Any Debt Or Due
Got any debts or bills that need to be paid? Being free from financial obligations is a goal to reach, apart from having enough money saved in the bank. If you have a loan, make sure to start paying it once you get your first salary to reduce possible penalties and extra charges; the same goes for credit card statements. For other bills, make sure to take note of their due dates so you don’t miss them and get charged for late payments.
Create An Emergency Fund
You can never tell when emergencies can happen, so you should have an emergency fund just in case to cover your expenses until the crisis comes to pass. Some emergencies include job loss, natural disasters and medical emergencies.
To get started on an emergency fund, make sure that it is at least 3 to 5% of your salary until you pay off your immediate expenses for six months.
Invest
If you want to make the most out of your money in the long run, you need to start investing early. This is because of compound interest, which allows investors to earn interest from their initial investment and the succeeding years of their investment.
Investing early can also help you learn the best way to invest without losing money on risky assets. It is recommended to be diverse when it comes to investing so you can reduce the losses if ever one of your assets loses its value immensely. Best to seek a professional to provide you with advice on proceeding with care.
Get An Insurance
It would be best if you made it a point to get started with an insurance plan that will help you during medical emergencies and natural disasters, affecting your capability to work continuously. You need to make sure that you pick the right insurance for your needs and come with all the coverages you need, such as life insurance, disability income coverage and critical illness coverage.
Conclusion
It is an exciting time when you get your first salary since it marks the start of your career and your adult life. However, it would help if you planned out how you will spend your salary because you don’t want to spend it on things that could wait and have nothing to spare in case of emergencies.
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