Why you need to start now
The days of getting a job for life with a secure pension are long gone. Nowadays, you’ll have to rely much more on your own initiative to create pension arrangements, especially if you’re planning on early retirement.
When you’re young, it can be difficult to appreciate the importance of planning now, but the earlier you start, the better your standard of living when you do eventually retire. Anytime you get a financial windfall, you need to make the most of it—see what financial experts would do with extra cash.
James Barnash (SGL Financial), former president and chairman for the Financial Planning Association, feels millennials are in a very strong position to cope with the uncertainties around financial planning.
“Millennials look at the world and life differently,” he says. “They don’t have great dependence on what the government will provide down the road, so they know they’re going to need to fend for themselves. And they’ll be very creative.”
His advice for people starting their careers is the same as it would be for older generations, but the advantage with them starting now is that they have plenty of time to benefit from their early efforts. Here are ten things millennials should start doing now:
Pay down your debt
“This is a group that’s going to have a lot of student loan debt,” says Barnash. “And so paying down that debt is important.”
Paying off other debts, such as credit cards and consumer loans, is also a critical first step, otherwise you’ll be paying unnecessary interest that could otherwise be put towards your savings.
