Early Career: How to spend your spend your first salary on...
So you have been paid your first salary on payslip in what could be your dream job after uni or a gap year of volunteering, with this new world of financial possibilities opened up before you, how to exercise your spending power?
Pay yourself first Whether it is buying yourself something nice for all your hard earned efforts through college, uni or years spent volunteering. Now is the time to treat yourself with whatever it is you would like. After all you have earned it? What is that thing you always wanted as a kid and could not get? Now is the time to get it for yourself, because you can! That outfit you want to splurge on, why not? That night out with your friends where you don't count the cost of a drink, what are you waiting for? The point of paying or treating yourself first is not to be irresponsible but to reward yourself for your hard work and to express your desires as early as possible.
Treat Someone Else One way of feeling good is to treat someone special, this can be your parents, guardians, mentors or friends that have been there for you during your college years and the years of interning or business school that followed. Those that stood by you when times were tough, encouraged you to keep going and stepped up financially or emotionally to see you through those confusing years and the overwhelming path of adulthood. The point of this is to say "Thank You" or "I thought of you first" and will mean alot when sincere and perhaps may not even be expected.
Invest and save
Of all you will have studied at school, this is an opportunity to do what no high school, college or business school will have taught you. Most adults wing it and learn this lesson too late in life after much trial and alot of error.
Meet with a financial planner or advisor
The point of this would be to seek counsel from someone versed in finances, it is often best to meet with someone impartial i.e. who offers a paid service, is not a family member and won't directly benefit from any investments you make. This way the advice is sound. If you can't meet with a financial advisor, seek out someone objective who you respect and ask them for their advice. Remember, advice is yours to decide to take.
Draw up financial goals
Now that you have splurged on your first salary and exercised your new spending power on yourself, you can determine new desires and goals. Do you want to travel more?, do you want to buy a house?, a car?, splurge more on yourself? Whatever the decision, it is yours to make on how you want to spend your current and future income.
Commit to saving something every month
After having found someone you trust to guide you and identified your life and financial goals, now you can decide how you want to invest towards those goals and desires. Monthly, annually, a set amount or a percentage of your commission.
