15 Personal Finance Lessons Everyone Wishes They Learned Earlier

You know how they say, it’s never too late. Well, that’s not entirely true right sometimes, it is too late and you do not want to be that person who has that kind of realization. A survey by bank rate found that 57% of people in the US feel behind on their retirement savings. So, think of this as your financial wakeup call. Today we’re diving into 15 lessons about personal finance that everyone wishes they’d learn sooner because small lessons can lead to a big impact.

This is for you if you’re just starting out or if you’re trying to recover from your mistakes and want to give yourself 15 high fives because you already know all of these lessons. It’s the perfect map to take control of your financial road map.

1. You Pay for Your Freedom Now with Worry Later

Some people believe it’s okay to wait until later in life to start saving for the future, because they’ll have more money then. But no! You won’t. Your lifestyle inflates with your earnings. Let’s just go back to your early years for a moment, you’re in your 20s or 30s and life is good you’re spending on vacations, new clothes and gadgets everything you want because you’re thinking i’ll deal with savings later. But fast forward 10 to 20 years and you’re now staring at your bank account realizing, you’ve got nothing saved for emergencies or retirement.

Now the stress kicks in and look, here’s the deal if you choose to live it up now without thinking about the future. You’re setting yourself up for stress later in life. That Financial Freedom you’re enjoying today it comes at a cost your future peace of mind that’s the price. It’s like Warren Buffett says, don’t save what is left after spending but spend what is left after saving.

2. An Early Foot in The Game Is Better Than Sprinting to Catch Up Later

When you’re younger investing small amounts seems pointless, what difference is it going to make anyway besides it’s easier to tap your card and get what you want than it is to transfer to your investment account. It’s only later though you realize what a big difference that small amount would have made. Firstly, even if it was just $10 a month, you’d have much more Save than if you would put nothing away but more importantly the compound interest bug would have bit.

You would see your money increasing and then increasing again according to that increase not according to your initial investment. Once that compound interest bug bites you. You don’t have to work so hard to make yourself follow the rules anymore because you would enjoy it and it’s only when you start later in life you realize how much fun investing can be that you think why did I not do this sooner and speaking of not doing things sooner.

3.Hopping On the Financial Literacy Train Sooner

Benjamin Franklin said it best, an investment in knowledge pays the best dividends. There are complicated parts to Money Management tax claims, savings and Investments sure and that complexity can make you think that the world of money just doesn’t go with the way your brain works, but later on in life when its crunch time most people find out that it doesn’t have to be that complicated.

There are so many different ways to learn about how to manage your money that you can choose how deep you want to dive down the rabbit hole. You’ll have to experiment at first with finding the right YouTube channel that speaks to you, the right book or author or speaker but once you do all of those puzzle pieces fit into place. Then the finance and investment world gets exciting and it makes you wonder why you thought it wasn’t for you in the first place. The sooner you start learning the sooner you can find a strategy that works for you and a resource that speaks to you.

4. Getting A Credit Card with Rewards You Actually Want

Most people go through a similar arc when it comes to the story of their credit card life. You get your first credit card you know you should be careful or maybe you don’t know but the idea that you can just get whatever you want is so tempting that you go down into that debt hole. Before long your daily expenses and big purchases go on that credit card your lifestyle inflation goes up and then you’re in debt.

For a lot of people when they get that debt paid off they never want to see a credit card ever again it’s like a little devil on your shoulder, but in the next part of your journey you learn that if you can get a credit card with rewards that work for you and you can impose proper limits on those cards well you can reap the benefits. For example, if you travel a lot you can earn points with your credit card, you’ll be getting first class flights Lounge visits and discounted hotel stays in just a few years.

5. Getting A Small Piece of a Big Pie

Now the idea that you need a ton of money to invest is outdated, especially when you’ve got access to fractional Investments. You can buy a slice of Amazon or Google Shares for as little as $10. You can get yourself in the game without waiting for a big windfall. There are apps out there like Robin Hood and M1 finance that you can start your investments with just a dollar and there are tools like Masterworks where you can get fractional shares of artwork from some of the most renowned artists in history.

6. You Don’t Need Money Rules, You Need Guards for Those Rules

You get paid your bills come off at different times and by the end of the month you still owe people money but you’ve spent it all so, where did it go. You intended to save or pay your bills first yet somehow you spent it. Your fun spending is mixed up with your obligations and you just go buck wild suddenly you’re using money meant for rent or Groceries on takeout or impulse buys and it’s causing a lot of stress.

So many people have been through this but as once you get older you learn there will be times when you break your own financial rules because you’ve Fallen to Temptation. So, you learn that you don’t just need rules you need some guards around those rules and having separate accounts for your bills and your spending will act as a great guard.

One account is strictly for your non-negotiable expenses rent, utilities, groceries ,Insurance, loan payments, gas money the other is your fun for spending account eating out, entertainment, shopping that kind of thing. After Payday the first thing you do is transfer the exact amount you need for all of your bills and Essentials into your bills and Essentials account, whatever is left over after everything else is taken care of that’s what you can put into your spending account but if you really want to be Keen put it into Investments instead.

7. Your Prime Directive Flowchart – Read It, Understand It and Follow It

There are so many strategies out there you can use to learn how to budget and you’d think that with all the strategies you would find one that works for you the moment you started looking, right? But alas no that is not the case. All of the choices can make our lives harder.

So, we’re going to simplify this for you, based on the feedback from what successful people say they wish they knew sooner your prime directive flowchart. It’s a clear visual Guide to the things that you should prioritize when it comes to money should you pay off debt, save for an emergency or start investing. It can be overwhelming to know where to start first so that prime directive flowchart simplifies it for you. It’s a clear road map that tells you what to do next.

You know a Fidelity study showed that people who have a clear financial plan are twice as likely to feel confident about their finances. You need to start with the simple easy to use tools something that’s not going to scare you away from taking the next step. The easier you make your decision making the less you’re going to rely on Willpower and guesswork. It’ll all be laid out for you all you got to do is follow the plan.

8. Saving For Retirement Earlier

Now you probably guessed this one would be here and if you’re already saving no matter how big or small honestly, well done. You have got to start today. There is a story out there about a 70-year-old woman who packed up her old life and moved to Singapore many years ago to teach English. She was making great money her apartment was subsidized and she was going on multiple holidays a year flying first class and staying in the best hotels. She had gorgeous designer clothes and ate out with her wealthy friends every evening and then she got older.

By the time she was 70 she couldn’t work anymore and she had no money left. She ended up living in shared housing, looking for work and scraping by with whatever money her kids could help her out with.

That’s all you need to know nothing complicated here, don’t be one of those people looking back with regret when you should be enjoying your old age. Don’t blow it all in your Youth and leave nothing for yourself later on.

9. Nobody Really Cares What Car You Drive

You know we live in a delusional World in our own minds where we think people care way more about us than they actually do. If you’ve got a great car someone might have a passing thought about it, maybe you’ll get a high five and then they’ll forget about you entirely. Young people think their car is a direct representation of their success but when you get older you realize how embarrassing that thought is.

People don’t have enough time to care about the materialistic part of you it doesn’t make them love you or like you any more or less. If you’re getting a fancy car for you and you can afford it and you’re like a car collector or whatever, go ahead if it’s your passion. But if you’re doing it to look good for other people um, we’re just going to suggest that you spend the money on some therapy instead to work on your self-esteem. You’ll get a much better Roi on that later in life.

10. Tomorrow’s Big Benefits from Today’s Small Cashback Programs

Imagine you’re at a restaurant and you pay for your meal and the waiter says oh we’ve got a cash back program you spend $50 so, here’s $3 back just sign here and you say nah what’s $3 anyway forget it. You do that four times a month for about 10 years and you’ve just said nah forget it to $1,440. You could have put that money into a compound interest account and then you’d have over $1900.

When you’re saying no to cashback programs, you’re not walking away from the amount on the table right now, you’re walking away from everything you could have made in the future too. You can play the long game without actively participating in every decision it’s going to happen with or without you so you might as well get all of the benefits.

11. Not Understanding High Yield Savings Accounts Versus Checking Accounts

So many times, people have told us I used to hear about high yield savings accounts but I thought they were just savings accounts. Read this carefully, in the US only 22% of Americans are earning an annual percentage yield of 4% or more, the other 80% lower or nothing at all. Typically speaking when you’re paid, you’re paid into your checking account that’s basically like a parking lot for your money. Nobody’s looking after it, it rusts, molds, rain gets in and it just sits there doing nothing.

But a high yield savings account is like a nice garage for your money. It’s a little more protected and someone comes and gives it a clean every once in a while. So, you’re not constantly losing value. Take your money out of your checking account and put it into a high yield savings account even if you earn 4% interest. It is something, it’s not a fortune but it will add up over the years. That’s money that could have been working for you without any extra effort the switch is simple but the impact is very real.

12. Most High-Level Career People Aren’t Geniuses – They Had Laser Focus

It’s a wild moment when you look around and realize that your bosses who have more money and a better title than you are most definitely not smarter than you. That person with multiple real estate Investments the one who talks about mutual and dividend funds they’re not Geniuses they just had laser focus.

Business man Arnold H Glasgow’s description is slightly more Vivid. Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion you must set yourself on fire. Those people well they set themselves on fire metaphorically speaking of course they put in the work stayed consistent and didn’t get distracted. Success at the top levels isn’t reserved for the smartest, it’s for those who can focus.

Stay the course and avoid distractions. If you can focus on one area and really Master it that’s often far more valuable than trying to be a jack of all trades.

13. Desiring Money Isn’t Being Greedy, It’s Wanting Opportunities and Security

It’s a shame that we criticize the pursuit of wealth so heavily. A lot of media and probably even your friends and family might make snarky comments about how obsessed you seem with making more money. Yet if you asked them that’s the one thing they would change in their life, they’d say a million dollars, right. Maturing is realizing you don’t have to be ashamed of wanting more money and wanting to be successful.

All you actually want are more opportunities and better Safety and Security for you and your family. As long as you do it fairly you should be proud of those goals. It’s not the money itself that you’re after it’s what that money provides Security Options and the ability to live life on your terms.

14. Making More Money Is Better and Easier Than Cutting Costs

Because let’s be honest okay cutting costs can be suffocating it literally sucks the joy out of life. Some people can do it and live frugally and love it and good for them but it is hard and all you keep hearing about is how you need to cut down costs.

As you get older and gain more experience you realize there are times when being militant about money is good and then there are times when it can affect your mental health. You start to see that it’s just better to focus on making more money and keeping your lifestyle where it is now, instead of inflating it as soon as your income inflates. It’s easier to make more money than it is to cut down costs.

Especially when you’ve already cut as much as you can you can, only cut so much. If you’re always focused on pinching every penny you miss opportunities to earn dollars. So, find ways to increase your income, side hustles, salary negotiations, business ventures because making more money will get you further than constantly trimming your budget. You have to think bigger.

15. Only Lend Money to People You’re Okay with If They Never Pay You Back

Let me tell you, many a relationship has been lost in the land of unpaid loans, as you get older, you’ll learn that even your closest family members and bestest friends will ask you for a loan promise to pay you back and never do it. No matter how many times you tell them you need that money back that your rent is due and it’s affecting your financial situation, they won’t seem to understand or care.

You just you don’t know how much people will change when money and Desperation join the chat. So, learn this one now only give them money when you know you’ll be fine if you never see it again. If they pay it back great, if not well you knew the risk going in. This way no hard feelings and no financial strain.