Whether you’re a newlywed, leaving the nest of your parents, or just looking for a fresh start, you’re probably wondering where to begin and how to start your new life.
While there are so many roads for you to take, the options can feel exciting and overwhelming. It’s important to consider the kind of life you want to live when taking your first steps, so you set yourself up for success instead of failure. Of the options in front of you, the investments you make in your future can be the most rewarding and fulfilling steps to establishing your new life.
Financial Saving and Investing
It might be helpful to think of yourself as a company. You are your own manager and employee. You need to make smart decisions and carry them out, all by yourself. This includes how to save and spend your money so you get the most value for your dollar. It is important to maintain a savings account, if even only for emergency purposes. From surprise medical conditions to car repairs, you never know where you’ll need to end up spending money you weren’t planning to spend.
An emergency savings account can accumulate interest over time, and it will be there for you if things get messy. As long as you are honest about putting your dollars into your savings, a little can go a long way. Even just five dollars a week can add up over an extended amount of time to be exactly what you need in a pinch.
A way to spend and reap rewards is by making investments. Studies show that investing is more prevalent among today’s young people, who seem to balance work with a financially responsible lifestyle. This might stem from the increasing number of investing apps for your smartphone, like Stash and Acorns, which make investing easy and fun to do.
No matter the method, investing requires you to do your research and play the long game. That means you should not expect incredible returns after one month.
After a year or so, you may see the fruits of your patience beginning to grow. Since this is such a long-term process, it’s important that you think about how you want to store your money for so many years.
What kinds of businesses do you want to promote and assist with your hard-earned cash? To use your funds for good, you could look up research for socially responsible investing and learn more about the companies that will use your money to create a positive impact on society. Investing in a socially conscious way will help you feel good about the money you’re storing away for the future.
Home Investment
Home ownership can be a great investment when you’re beginning anew. While you might be low on funds and considering rental as your best option out of the gate, it might surprise you to know that, in the long-term, renting can cost you more than buying when it comes to your living space.
You can start by figuring out where you would like to live–do your research on neighborhoods in cities that make you feel like you can thrive. Once you know the where you can begin to look into houses that are for sale. Or, even better, you can design your own home from scratch with a local company like this one in Troy, MI.
By working with designers and builders, you can create the home for where your heart is. Becoming a homeowner is a big responsibility, but with the right research and the right crew, you can have a place worth your investment. And since there is no limit to what you can do in this new life of yours, why not create a place to live that is entirely new and entirely you?
While investing for the long term can sound scary at first, it is a useful and unique position to be in if you can afford it. Little by little, you can begin to piece together the life you want, even if it is five dollars at a time.
