Do you remember listening to the sound of nickels dropping into your piggy bank as a kid? How about being a teenager, feeling rich after opening a birthday card to a nice, crisp bill? It was a good day whenever you had enough extra dough to pick up some fast food or grab a coffee after school.
Can you believe that used to be enough to keep you afloat?
Now that you’ve reached the age of majority, nickels and birthday cash won’t cut it. Why does the world expect young adults to wake up on their eighteenth birthday with magical money-management wisdom, apropos of nothing?
At King Cash, we know a thing or two about making the money you have work for you. We’ve created this guide to help you find your footing in the world of budgets, bills, and bonkers emergency expenses.
Our top six tips for dealing with money are below. Read on to figure out how to stretch your cash and thrive, even if you’re new to all this personal finance stuff.
1. Budget Your Fun
Recently liberated young people often fall into the same trap. They go away to university, find themselves without their parents for the first time, and immediately lose their minds. Suddenly, they’re ordering takeout every night, visiting local attractions, attending parties, and shopping impulsively.
Then, they have the nerve to act shocked when they end up with a negative balance in their bank account.
Don’t be that guy. Instead, try 50/30/20 budgeting. First, make a list, dividing all your expenses into two categories: essentials and wants.
50% of your income will go to essentials, and 30% toward wants. Consider the 30% your “fun fund.” This will ensure you have enough cash for adventures, coffee runs, takeout, or a new outfit for the party.
The final 20% will be your savings. We’ll get to that below
2. Start Building Credit
You can barely keep track of your cash—will applying for a credit card really help?
If you use it responsibly, it will, and your future self will thank you. Apply for a credit card (preferably from your bank, not a random shop in the mall), and use it to pay a few monthly expenses. Make sure to pay off your bill immediately.
Why? You’ll begin building good credit, which is basically your grade in “financial responsibility.” The better your score, the more likely you’ll be to get a loan in the future — say, when you want to buy a car or house.
3. Actually Open Your Banking App
We know it’s scary. We know you don’t want to look. Unfortunately, if you want to take control of your finances and budget responsibly, you have to open your banking app and get realistic about your balance.
We bet your app even has a few built-in tools to offer stats about your spending. You need this information to make a realistic budget, so don’t ignore it out of a sense of idealism.
If you haven’t downloaded your bank’s app, this is your sign to get with the program and use the free tools in your pocket. Do it now. We’ll wait.
4. Start an Emergency Fund
Okay, remember that 20% you saved during tip #1? It might come in handy here.
Ideally, your savings will build up over time, so you’ll have some money to use if you need it. Retirement plans and downpayments will be important sooner than you think, so be kind to your future self.
Sometimes, however, you need cash in a pinch, and you must put your current self ahead of your future self. In the case of an emergency, you’ll be grateful for this extra cash.
It’s okay to earn interest on your savings in the meantime, but be sure it’s in an account that allows you to access your money quickly. You don’t want to jump through additional hoops during an already stressful situation.
If you’re facing an emergency now and don’t have savings to fall back on, a cash loan from King Cash is a good solution. Look into a quick, no credit check loan.
5. Consider a Side Hustle
This may be obvious, but the more income you make, the larger the 30% of your budget geared toward fun will be. We regret to inform you that you’ll never be this young or energetic again. If you have the time, consider picking up a side hustle to increase your take-home income before you’re old and decrepit.
Luckily for you, you’re looking into side hustles at the height of the gig economy! There have never been so many flexible ways to make some extra dough.
If you love listening to music and vibing in your car, look into ride-sharing or food delivery gigs. If you have more brains than brawn, you might enjoy tutoring or blogging. If you’re a people person, look into babysitting or respite care gigs.
6. Take Advantage of Tech
Is all this talk of percentages making you feel a bit queasy? If math isn’t your strong suit, budgeting might seem like a punishment. Believe it or not, your calculator app isn’t the only tool that can give you a hand when it’s time to allocate your dough for the month.
The odds are good you’re reading this on your phone. Open the app store, type in “budget,” and see which helpful tool catches your eye. We live in a beautiful age of technological innovation—take advantage!
Try a King Cash Loan on for Size
Sometimes, all the helpful, cash-saving tips in the world aren’t going to make a dent. If you need cash quickly, stop buying scratch tickets and consider no credit check loans from kingcash.ca. Kingcash is the top source for fast loans in Canada, putting real money in your hands when you most need it.
You’ll be able to apply for king cash loans between $500 and $750, and you’ll have a generous 120 days to pay it back. It’s a surefire way to ensure you can afford your books, groceries, or bills this month. Apply for a cash loan in just five minutes, and you’ll have the money you need in your hands in no time.
