You only live once, that was a popular saying a couple of years back. But instead of interpreting that as spend everything since you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, let’s repurpose it to mean you only live once, so take care of your future self.
You live and you learn. Hindsight really is 20/20.
Just because you can afford a more expensive place, doesn’t mean you have to stay in a more expensive place. Living expenses should be kept to a minimum. It is for this reason alone that I do not talk about or judge the wave of young adults still rooming with mom and dad. Times have changed and times can be challenging financially. I remember being so focused on getting a higher paying job. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there are things I could’ve done with the resources I had that would have put me in a much better financial situation now. If I was twenty-two all over again, here’s what I would do.
- Stay in my one-bedroom apartment for as long as I could. I moved out after my lease was up and upgraded to a nicer apartment, but I liked my first apartment and the rent was only $569. I only made $22,000 a year but could afford my rent. I was influenced by my then-boyfriend, but I should’ve stayed in that apartment.
- If living with a significant other, make sure you can afford the rent all by yourself. Another mistake I made. This probably should be the rule if living with roommates as well. If the crap hits the fan on top of nursing emotional wounds you are left with handling a mess financially. I’m not judging, shack away. Just make sure you can afford the bill all by yourself. Not a bad idea in a marriage either, but there are other resolutions available to spouses.
- I am undecided about whether or not I would get my Master’s Degree. I have a Master’s of Public Health which gives me a different perspective during this COVID-19 pandemic, but I don’t know. Really, the majority of my student loan debt comes from that program and honestly, I have yet to see the return. I’m still young in my career, so the verdict is still out. However, I definitely caution against just going to school for school’s sake. Notice I do not have the same apprehension about my law degree. I definitely feel law school was worth it. My law school education wasn’t super expensive and I received a couple of big scholarships. Not only that, but a little over two years into the practice of law and I’ve already seen a $10,000 increase in pay. I’m confident that will increase and I really appreciate the skill set I learned in law school.
- If I did get my Master’s and had the same situation with no scholarship or funding, I would use my school refund to buy real estate and invest in the stock market; at least make that money work for me. Not that I recommend pursuing a Master’s degree without funding. But I could’ve purchased a duplex, house hacked and eliminated my housing expense.
- I would have spent time developing my side hustle. I’m what some may call a kitchen beautician. I flirted with the idea of going to cosmetology school numerous times but never did. I always said I should’ve went to cosmetology school before I went to law school so I would’ve had more flexibility with my schedule and an ability to earn cash all the time.
- Instead of waiting to make more money, I would have had a financial plan based on what I had at the time. Maybe I would’ve gotten a second job. But instead of waiting to make more money to start planning financially, I should have started with what I had.
I know some of the points may seem redundant, but I think that’s really the takeaway. Start where you are. Don’t get discouraged. See what you can do with what you have.
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Previously Published on medium
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