Financial Advice for First-time Job Seekers

Financial independence is something everyone wants to achieve, but it’s not something many young adults are familiar with. The fact of the matter is that many adults accumulate monstrous debt and financial problems because they’re not taught how to make good financial decisions early in life. While it might be too late for some, there are still some young adults in the world who are beginning their careers with a fresh slate. To help you keep your slate clean, here are three important financial tips for you to use to stay out of debt and financially free forever.

Save for Retirement

Before you do anything else when you begin your first career, start saving for retirement. More than likely your employer has a retirement option that you can utilize. This means you will see some of your income head straight to your retirement account prior to even receiving your first check. This is good because you don’t miss what you don’t have. Additionally, if your employer offers to match your contributions to a certain percent, you’re earning free money.

Save

The second thing you need to do is set up an emergency account. This is a savings account for, you got it, emergencies. This is not your life savings. This is strictly for emergencies. You should start with $1000. This should help you get on your feet and stay on track when an emergency happens. Think: Your car breaks down and needs expensive repairs or your air conditioner isn’t working properly and you need to have it repaired.

Buy With Cash

It’s tempting to want to furnish your first house with all new furniture from the local furniture store (and why not when all they do is advertise their 0 percent financing and no payments for two whole years!). Don’t fall into the trap. If you can’t pay cash for it, you can’t afford it. Don’t buy anything you can’t afford with cash.

(Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)