A Young Adult’s Relationship with Money

As you get older and wiser, responsibility will become a big factor in your life.

Responsibility can come in all forms, like being responsible for younger siblings, pets, your extended family and friends and yes, even money!

Family and friends may give you money as a gift. You may earn money from doing odd jobs and chores. You may use all this money to save for a brighter future.

Here at CFS, we shall teach you how to earn, spend and save responsibly and help you become smarter than most adults in their 30s or 40s!

Earning – My Relationship with Money

Earning is the big one! To earn, you need a job. This can be a kind offer you can make for someone or even a part-time job you have applied for online.

Big or small, all these jobs receive money at the end of them. This form of earning can bring you big rewards. It feels good, and you profit from it without losing any money in the process. Result!

However, it can also be very daunting. It can often be embarrassing for a young adult at 12 or 13 to ask for a job. We get it. You’ve never done it before.

What if they say no?

If they say no, they lose out on a hard worker, someone willing to graft for their money. This is admirable and shows strength and determination. Unlike the person you have just asked, you are a true leader of your dreams and aspirations. It is only their loss.

What if they laugh at me?

If they laugh at you, it’s only because they never dared to do the same thing at your age. People often laugh at those to make themselves feel better. The only way you can prove them wrong is by showing them up. Earn more and save more. Do more with your money!

Talking about these worries with a parent, teacher, or guardian is important. They also had to get their first job once and understand what you are going through.

Our point is that there is nothing to be afraid of. Everyone has to do it at some point. You will become richer quicker by getting in there earlier than your peers!

[Remember Safety First – Make sure your parents or guardians know where you are going and who you are going to be with. Always carry a phone to contact them and make sure they know of them before beginning work. People you know and trust can be important and even better your relationships when earning money.]

Earnings can pile up month by month. It is precedent that you know what to do with this money after you receive it.

https://youtu.be/MEOHu_eKXow

Spending – My Relationship with Money

Here comes the fun part! Spending is fun and exciting. With money, you can have whatever you want.

Spending but also quick and too easy. Often with spending, you can feel good when doing it, but awful about it later. We need a happy medium to spend before it goes out of control! You could become a shopaholic.

‘But it’s so pretty.’

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Clowns can be pretty under the right circumstances. A new bag may be pretty, but what are you gaining from it? Is it for your future career? Is it going to help you in any way? Is it practical? Does it serve its purpose?

‘If I buy this, my friends will like me.’

Friends will come and go. You want to keep the friends who care about you, not for the things you buy but for who you are. Which is a mega saving legend, by the way!

Ask yourself why you need an item and how you are going to use it. If you put spending into retrospect, you’ll become better at prioritising items you really love and need. Like a big pink Cadillac for when your 21!

Saving – Your Relationship with Money

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Saving is boring! It’s long and doesn’t feel good at all. However, the fun comes later. It is so important to your life that you save. Keeping money will always allow you to be wealthy. It will also allow you to have the upper hand over others.

Saving can save you and your family! It’s like the responsible superhero in all of us. It can pay for surgeries, treatments, emergencies, and a roof over your head. You need to be able to look after yourself when you get older. You also might want to look after others. This makes you a better, more important human being. Super saving Steve to the rescue!

Now, saving doesn’t always have to literally save you or others. It can be for fun too. Just like spending instantly, you could spend in the future. But this time, your pocket has just got a whole lot bigger! Starting your own football club or jet-setting across the world. At 18, there is a lot to see and do. You could do it all with the snap of your fingers and a tap of your bank card just by saving for a few years. If those years of saving span decades, you could do things others in their 30s are still dreaming about today.

What have I learnt from my relationship with Money?

These three factors are so important in improving your relationship with money. Feelings and emotions control every human on the planet earn. Be smarter than just your average primate. Be bigger, bolder and smarter by earning, spending and saving. Become the youngest teenager to travel across South East Asia. Start your first business at 18. Invent time travel. The world is your oyster if you choose money over moments of madness.

ACTIVITY

You receive £100 for your birthday. How are you going to use it?

Write down how much you would Spend and Save and how much you would put towards your career to gain profit from. You could turn this money into a business by teaching people soccer lessons or baking cakes to sell. How would you do this?