It is the easiest thing in the world to dismiss old age when you are still in your 20s. Perhaps you have a student loan to pay off but you are now earning money so you have few obvious financial problems? Would that life was seemingly always that simple. It is extremely dangerous to become complacent because even though the recession has finished there are still many financial pitfalls ahead.
Money management is not taught at school and sometimes people find out about it the hard way. Certainly in the recession there were many casualties who were caught unaware often because of losing their jobs. Some lost their real estate and there were plenty who simply could not pay their bills. The good news is that jobs are being created month on month in the USA providing everyone who wants to work the opportunity of doing so and finally getting their finances once again.
Address Demands
It is important to do so because as life goes by there are differing demands on your money. Before you get to middle age you should certainly have taken positive steps towards providing for your retirement even if a growing family is putting you under a degree of pressure.
Ideally you should aim to have an emergency fund in place and obviously the standard insurance provisions. There are plenty of financial advisers willing to help as well as good online bad credit loan companies whose products can be used positively to organize your finances. Rates remain very competitive and even though the Fed. is likely to raise interest rates in the coming months personal loans, secured or unsecured, are an ideal way to rid yourself of any expensive card balances. The level of domestic credit card debt in the USA remains very disturbing and each of those balances are charged with a high rate of interest at the end of every month.
Positive Personal Loans
Personal loans repaid by monthly instalments, typically over three years, can pay off such balances and allow you to prepare a budget to help you manage your affairs better. A budget has to be part of any overall financial strategy. Real estate is always a good medium to long term investment despite the experience of the recession. While some also look at the markets, equity in real estate can be used in later years to support or fund retirement alongside Social Security and ideally a 401K to which employers will match contributions up to a particular level.
Credit Status
Any financial strategy will involve getting rid of expensive debt. Debt in itself does not have to be bad. Remember the wisdom of buying real estate and in the vast majority of cases that is done on a mortgage; positive debt. Personal loans that are used to repair your finances, and probably your credit score at the same time, are a positive way to do that. While some traditional financial institutions are reluctant to approve loans at the same rate as they did pre-recession, today’s online lenders tend to take a different view. They look at an applicant’s current situation. That means their regular income and bank account details. If an application looks affordable and realistic then lenders are likely to approve an application even if the applicant has a poor credit score. Successful timely repayments each month will gradually result in that credit score rising and everyone should ensure they receive a regular report of their credit score and act if anything in their history looks mistaken.
Obviously as time goes by circumstances can change. The original budget that you had in your 20s will need to be adapted to match those changes. As long as the budget still shows a surplus and it reflects what is happening in real life each month there is no problem. Entries in a credit history remain for seven years. Old problems will disappear and new positive comments will result in a credit score rising, sufficiently even to obtain mortgages from companies that would not have listened years before. It is worth trying to achieve that; some potential employers even look at the credit scores of people they intend to interview as one of the criteria for giving them a job.
Rachel Slifka is a freelance writer and human resources professional. She is passionate about helping fellow millennials find success with their finances and careers. Read more by checking out her website at RachelSlifka.com.
