Dear 20-somethings: Save early and often, and have fun
Posted
Feb 20 2008, 08:24 PM
by
Karen Datko
Shana at Smart Easy Money knows it can be tiresome -- even patronizing -- to say something like "If I knew at your age what I know now." But Shana, at the ripe old age of 37, manages to explain 10 financial lessons she wishes she'd known in her 20s with humor and good grace.
Lesson One: "Save early and often." Shana regrets that she didn't contribute to a 401(k) until she was 29, and then put in only 4%. She adds: "Well, I did have a 401(k) for about 15 minutes when I was 23, but I'd only contributed about $20. By the time I paid the fees for cashing it out (when I left the job), it was only about $3."
Lesson Four is that it's OK in special situations to spend beyond your means. Buying clothes for your first job is one of those rare occasions. "And yes, the clothing is an investment," she writes, "because it's doubtful an insurance company is pleased if their new recruit shows up in worn jeans and a T-shirt from Sammy Hagar's bar in Cabo."
Other lessons deal with issues like budgeting, investing, networking, and setting financial goals. Lesson 10 is "have fun." "Just don't have too much fun," Shana writes, "or you'll be paying for it far longer than you imagine."
