What comes to your mind when you hear the word Millennials? Young striving individuals between the ages of 18 and 32, who the media loves to paint as “fast paced”, “tech-driven”, “adventurous”, “risk takers,” and “thrill seekers.” They are also the ones who make up the greater percentage of the current economic workforce, but when it comes to financial literacy, Millennials may need to learn a thing or two.
Millennials are notorious for brief attention spans, impulsive spends and mostly do not think long-term about their financial future. In fact, there is evidence that emotions and biases play a large part in Millennials’ financial decisions.
In Nigeria, we Millennials grew up as witnesses to one of the most turbulent financial uncertainties in our country’s history. With the financial crisis since the 2000’s leading to a recession, many of us have watched our parents struggle with financial insecurity and worry about whether they’ll ever be able to retire. Many recent graduates have experienced unemployment as a result of the crisis, and many are burdened with significant debts, trying to get by; surely these are not good times.
These experiences during the impressionable years have led many Millennials to take an emotionally driven approach and adopt unsavoury money habits that deter financial success. This makes it more imperative for us to explore avenues to manage our finances and ensure we can have enough for now and for the future.
So, how can you as a Millennial, prone to a bleak financial future, ensure a turnaround into the prospects of present and future financial success? A few ideas for you;
- 1. Learn Financial Management
As a Millennial, you’re a part of the largest percentage of the workforce, and as such, earn from your labour which keeps you afloat financially. With that in mind, it’s important to zero in on the value of acquiring practical financial management skills and overall financial literacy to help manage the funds you amass.
Of course, all of this may prove overwhelming — which is pretty likely except you have a Ph.D. in Economics and you’ve got the space of time to devote to manage your expenditure — but financial advisors are more than happy to guide you through the choices, for a fee or better still, there’s an app for that.
- 2. Start Saving and Investing
This isn’t rocket science, It’s really simple; if you want to be successful, you do not have to only save for the rainy day, but also be prepared to make valid and trusted investments. Saving early and often is the key to long-term financial security. There might be heartache in the day-to-day, but in the long run, you’ll be glad you stuck it out.
To most Millennials, retirement planning might sound like an oxymoron, especially since more attention is spent on “the now” rather than “the future”. If you’re a Millennial, having a retirement savings or pensions plan can be particularly good for you.
With a paying job now, you as well as your employer are compelled by law in Nigeria to contribute a token sum off your salary and throughout your career. Starting early enables you amass a sizeable fund before the decades when you do need the money; saving for the future has become easy.
- 4. There’s An APP For That
Millennials are all, or almost all, “digital natives”, meaning that they have been raised in homes that had computers, the internet, and cell phones. To a very high degree, this upbringing has probably influenced how you prefer to make decisions, receive information, and interact with people.
So it is no surprise that with technology at your fingertips through your smartphone, there are options and services available for financial planning in the form of Mobile Apps. Some of which are popular with fellow millennials, just ask around or check your app store.
- 5. Don’t Forget Insurance
While this is not the most popular or widely understood economic tool, insurance can be the foundation of a solid financial plan. Insurance is typically the last thing most Millennials focus on.
As one, you’re probably more concerned with budgeting and paying off debts, but if you have people dependent on your income or have property of value, know that not having insurance can derail everything.
It’s the safety net that should come first, not last, and the good news is, buying insurance has never been this easy. You can buy virtually any kind of insurance today from Life, Health, Car, House, e.t.c online.
In the end, achieving financial success comes down to getting a few important things right: saving and investing on a regular basis, getting better literacy to managing your funds, resisting the temptation to make exuberant expenditures that you cannot outrightly afford and being careful about whom you entrust your money with.
Truth is, there are no guarantees in the financial world, but if you get the basics right, you would do just fine.
This article is provided by compareinsurance.com.ng, the online insurance portal for buying insurance from Nigeria’s most serious insurers in 3 simple steps…
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