Hey,
I know talking about money is taboo in many communities. It is something that is easy to see when someone does or does not have money, but the causes of the finances of someone, not so much. In this guide, I am going to walk you through how I was able to save $10,000 by the age of 18.
1. Income
An income is the most important step. If you do not have an income, you will have no money to save or invest making it near impossible to meet your financial goals. Here's a list of ways you can make money as a teenager:
Selling things you do not use - try trader or Facebook marketplace
Making things to sell for a profit (think baking, crafts)
Providing a service to people who need it (think doing errands for the elderly, gardening for busy mums, babysitting for single parents, things like this)
Part-Time job - my first real job was at a restaurant washing dishes... you have to start somewhere.
Mini jobs - try advertising in your neighbourhood for something you are good at. This could be making Facebook accounts for old people, cleaning.
Buying snacks and selling them when you are at school
Doing surveys on the internet
2. Living way below your means
The next most important step is to live way below your means. What this means is only spending a small proportion of the income you make. This will enable you to save a large chunk. When I first started working, I had a rule of always saving 10% in to an emergency fund. This later grew to 50% as I learnt more about my money habits and intentional spending.
3. Savings
I would always recommend for young people to put their savings in a high yield savings account. Shop around and find the highest % interest account. Some banks even have incentives like earn an extra 1% for not making a withdrawal each month.
4. Kiwi Saver
One of the best ways to get in to investing as a young person is to start using Kiwi Saver. Kiwi Saver is essentially a managed fund for the purpose of purchasing your first home, or retiring. You can only withdraw money for these 2 purposes. There are many perks of using Kiwi Saver:
Once you turn 18 the government puts 50 cents in for every dollar you put in
If you contribute at least 3% of your wages for at least 3 years, the government will give you $3,000 - $5,000 for your first home if it is already built, and between $6,000-$10,000 if you plan on building your own property.
Your employer is required to contribute 3% of your income to your Kiwi Saver if you are atlas 18 years old, and are making employee contributions - free money!
5. Education
I once heard that the best investment is in yourself. This is so true. Investing in your own education will reap far higher rewards than any other investment. The reason for this is because the knowledge you will gain by gaining an education will help you to accomplish many goals in the future.
This is the last step to my guide. I would always recommend to earn, save, and learn. These 3 keys will enable you to meet any financial goals that you have. Investing in an education will allow you to learn how to make your money work for you which will sky rocket your net worth.
