Hey Pandas, What Is Your Financial Advice? (Closed)

Don't spend more than you earn. Honestly. Also: A penny saved is a penny earned.

If it's not essential write it down and sleep at least one night before buying it.

Before you leave your parents house, before you start your new life, SAVE! SAVE as much money as you can, it will never be enough, but it will save later headaches. Put aside as much money as you possibly can.

Before you make any financial decisions ask yourself HAL
am I
Hungry
Angry or
Lonely

Pay yourself first. Take a % of every paycheck, before you ever build a budget, and save it. Start at 10% and increase it every time you get a pay increase.

credit ratings are a scam to keep you in debt

As a former credit counselor, I can honestly say that you should worry less about your credit rating and more about your debt to income ratio. While having a good credit rating will help you get a better interest rate on car and home loans, you shouldn't buy too much on credit as a lot of companies like to push their interest levels up to near-usury levels. When in doubt, read the paperwork on anything that you're going to pay off over time. Check out the potential interest rates, late fees, and other random charges that can come up without warning.

Also, after you've had a loan/credit card/whatnot for a couple of years and haven't missed a payment, see if you can negotiate a lower interest rate. If not, find a lender that can and get a loan to pay off the higher interest debt so that you save more money in the long run.

And, when in doubt, live within your means. Don't feel the need to buy first generation electronics, new cars, or any kind of vanity items. That's where the creditors get you - and they know it. If you have any other question, just reply below. :)

Any spare change you have save it. Even the low denomination coins. It all counts and the majority of high street banks have coin counting machines so it’s easy to pay into your account.

Can’t afford something? Then don’t buy it. Save up for it.

Clothing and footwear - look after them. Do not replace them if it’s not needed. So what if you’ve had that jumper for ages? There’s no holes in it, it still looks smart so you don’t need a new one. Make do and mend.

Crowdsourcing (go fund me) after an unexpected/expected death is not Life Insurance. It might be a bridge for the short term, but if you are building a family, Life Insurance is important. Don’t scoff. Young families wait too long and then can’t qualify for appropriate term policies. Don’t neglect.

Cook more often and do less food deliveries.

before each month make a list of extra expenses of the month and try to stick to it

Living below one's means and saving regularly is important but then investing your savings is just as crucial to achieve long term financial safety and indepence. Sticking to tried and tested ways are doable for everyone, no need to be the next Warren Buffett

Always pay debt first before saving. I know so many people who are trying to save up when they are still accumulating debt interest. Holding that €100 feels good, but it's fake, pay debts, pay debts!

Strange one, but working in the travel industry because you often get jobs with accommodation included. The saving in rent in your early life is incredible.

Don't buy a car if you can possibly survive without one - absolute money pit.

Work all the overtime while you're young and can bounce back from it. You don't want to have 3 jobs in your 50s so set yourself up well.

Don't smoke!

Don’t do taxes , launder money , sell children , eat IRS agents and buy as much Lego sets as you can (JOKE)

Don’t die – funerals are expensive. But seriously, eat and live healthy. Being sick costs money not only in the US.

Stay out of debt. Once you get into debt, it’s very hard to get out. Pay off your credit cards every month, or don’t use them at all.

Take care of your health. Longer you stay healthy, longer you will be able to earn money. Also you will save on healthcare as it can get expensive in every country.

The below advice are for employed people with a decent salary. If you are poor and have a low salary, you need to first escape poverty. There are two things you need to do to escape poverty. (1) Open yourself to opportunities. Hang out at bars and similar places that are frequented by rich people. Make friends with rich people and meet their friends. (2) Develop some unique marketable skills, like ICT or management science. Casually mention those skills while networking. At some stage, someone will "know a guy" and will offer you a better job. BUT you can't escape poverty without a marketable skill. And yes, networking and socialising is crucial. People give jobs to people they know. Despite job adverts, I've discovered that nepotism really is the best route.

On buying things on debt: You have to ensure that your assets outweigh your liabilities. As long as you "have" something that is appreciating in value, you can sell it at a later date to recover your funds. Obviously, this assumes you can afford to buy anything at all. My suggestion if you are poor is to buy small amounts of shares in companies and leave them for years. It's a relatively sure way to make money. Speaking from experience, and speaking from a position where I started out poor.

A credit score will determine how much debt the bank thinks you can manage. If your credit score is low, you will never be able to buy an asset because you'll never be able to save up for it. Let me give a simple example. When I was about 25, I bought a house (2 bedroom), for amount X. After three years, the housing market had improved so much I sold it for 2X without having done any significant improvements. I would never have been able to afford the amount X without borrowing from the bank. They lent it to me because for five years prior, I had had a credit card and managed it well, so my credit rating was (and still is) outstanding.

Choose your debts wisely; different accounts have different interest rates. A homeloan is generally better than a credit card, and a personal loan better than a credit card. However, a credit card pays good interest on positive balance so it is better than a savings account. At least in my country (SA).

Don't do funerals. The dead person does not care and it makes no difference to them. Just cremate or compost if that option is available and walk away.

Buy gadgets second-hand (laptops, sports watches, cars, cellphones etc.). Cost to repair secondhand is always lower than new cost. Always insure your gadgets particularly cars. Pay insurance before food if you can. Without a car you won't get to work and won't earn money for food.

"Saving" is a myth. All you are doing is putting your spare cash into a low-interest account. Your bank takes that money and invests it in something aggressive and makes a fortune with YOUR money and gives you a tiny profit. Rather buy stocks and shares yourself. You do not have to buy an entire share in a company; some brokers let you buy portions of shares. Or crypto, if you really want a wild ride.

Buy quality shoes and avoid puddles like crazy because one puddle can turn your shoes into a mouldfest.

Assume that your monthly random unexpected costs will be about 20% of your salary and keep it aside if you can, for those emergencies. If the emergencies don't happen, throw it into either stocks or debt servicing.

Without having even read other replies my advice is not to get financial advice from a social media group of people who are in many cases less than 16 years old.

Buy yourself a monthly gift card. If you have trouble over spending your credit immediately.