Keeping Up With The Bulls

A personal finance blog focused on making more money, saving money and smart spending.

The Roaring 20s are Coming Back – Plan Your Spending Before It Gets Out of Control

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Every day we’re getting more and more good news. Vaccine production is ramping. More shots are getting into arms. We hear that everyone that will want a vaccine in the United States can get it starting May 1st. We’re still a little bit away from that but there is a chance we could actually have a normalish Fourth of July. Summer 2021 could kick off our Roaring 20s.

All of those things you’ve wanted to do the last year – see your family, see your friends, go out to eat, go on trips and more can get pretty expensive pretty quickly. So, how do you celebrate the roaring 20s and plan your spending before it gets out of control? Prioritize what’s most important to you, look for the best deals and make sure you spend within your meals.

Know What Your Means Are

It’s important to live within your means. What your means are may be different than before the pandemic due to job changes or being able to save up extra over the past year. Whatever it may be, know how much money you’ll have available to spend over the next 6 months – 1 year. Then, know how much money you’re willing to spend over that same time period. These two numbers may be different. You may have more money available to spend, but you may want to now have a bigger emergency fund, pay down your student loans or increase your investments. Alternatively, you may have other life changes on the horizon (starting a family, starting a career) and have plans that are now or never opportunities and it’s worth it to save less than usual.

Prioritize What Is Most Important

You’ve given up a lot over the past year. Once things are safe again, where do you start? It’s not just about money, it’s also about how you’ll prioritize your time. Prioritize the most important things to you and then spend money on doing those things first. We’ve also been reminded over the past year that some of the most important things are really free. Being able to hug your parents, or go to a playground without worry for example.

Also consider, what did you used to spend money on that you should continue to not spend money on? For example, perhaps you used to spend a lot of money commuting. Can you go full time remote or hybrid so that you don’t have to spend as much money commuting as you did in 2019? This past year has taught us all how to spend more consciously and how easy it is to save money when we can’t travel, eat out and go to concerts. As life gets back to normal figure out what expenses shouldn’t come back. Similarly, don’t forget to budget new expenses you have that didn’t exist in 2019. About 33% of Americans considered getting pets in 2020 and according to CNBC dog owners spend an average of $1,200 a year on their dog.

Opening up safely may come gradually. That international trip you wanted to go on may have to wait a little longer. For anything that’s your top priority but can’t be done yet set aside some money for that so you don’t find yourself in a situation where you don’t have enough money to do the thing you really want to do.

Restart Your Life How You Want It

The pandemic didn’t just put our spending on hold, it put our lives on hold in other ways. Many parents had to juggle home schooling with working, and some had to put their own career plans on hold to survive the last year. Reassess your own goals, and what it will take to achieve them. These may look wildly different than what they were in 2019 and that’s ok. Where do you want to live? Where do you want to travel? Who is most important to spend time with? What do you want your career to look like? What do you want your usual weeks to look like? This may mean a promotion and more money, this could mean taking a step back and making less money. It’s something you’ll have to weigh as you reassess where your time and financial priorities lie in the post pandemic world.

Don’t Forget About Your Mental Health

The pandemic has been pretty traumatic and has affected everyone differently. In May 2020, the US Census Bureau found that about one-third of clinical anxiety or depression. If you run a marathon, do you immediately continue your pre-marathon training schedule the very next day? No, you take time to assess what you need for your physical recovery and do just that. We need to do the same as we emerge from the pandemic. There are plenty of resources to help with your mental health. Know what is covered under your insurance and make sure you take the time you need to heal your mental wellbeing.

Don’t Forget Sometimes The Most Important Things Are Free

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make up for all of the things we lost over the past year. And while the year has been tough, we did gain a lot like appreciation for the simple things, the ability to slow down for a little, not having to spend a ton of time commuting and more. Hugging your parents or catching up with a friend doesn’t have to come with the expense of a $200 dinner. Remember, people are just happy to be with you in person again.

Find Deals On Housing

One of your largest, if not largest, expenses is housing. The less you can spend on housing the more money you have to spend on other fun activities or increasing your savings. If you rent, there is an opportunity to find a better deal on housing. Over the past year, what have you learned about where you want to live and what you want in your home? With many people moving back in with parents or leaving the city rents were in free fall in many cities in 2020. While rents have started to rebound there are still plenty of deals on renting in the city in 2021. In Boston, rents are down over 8% and in San Francisco rents are down over 12% for example according to the Home Buying Institute. As interest picks up landlords will have less incentive to offer these deals so signing a lease sooner than later will leave you more likely with a rent reduction or even a couple months of free rent. Waiting until later could cost you hundreds of dollars a month.

See Also: 10 Financial Tips For Living On Your Own

Find Travel Deals

Now that you’ve prioritized what’s most important, how do you still find good deals for vacations, seeing family and more? If you’re prioritizing seeing family or traveling book your travel ASAP. Many of the best deals were already 6 months ago when there was still a lot of uncertainty. Because there is still some uncertainty though your best bet is to start booking refundable flights and lodging now while the hospitality industry is still trying to lure people back. Make sure you know what the policies are to cancel or reschedule in case you do have to push it back.

See Also: 5 Tips To Save Money On Travel

Find Deals for Clothing And Other Physical Goods

Most people that have been able to work from home the past year have spent most of their time in the same loungewear outfits. With most people spending more time at home than usual many have taken the opportunity to organize their closets. They’re donating clothes and also selling them. This has led to a lot of great finds at thrift stores, Poshmark, The RealReal and local consignment stores already. For the best deals, buy secondhand or buy clothes when no one else is buying.

The Roaring 20s are Coming Back – Plan Your Spending Before It Gets Out of Control Summary

It has been a long year and we’re all excited for things to get closer normal. We’re excited to see friends and family, be able to travel again, pick up the hobbies we’ve had to put on hold and more. Before you spend all your money make sure you know what your financial limits are and what is most important to you. Prioritize your money, prioritize your time and remember, don’t feel guilty about spending money. We’ve sacrificed a lot over the past year, enjoy seeing the people you’ve missed, the places you’ve missed and completing your bucket list.

Advice for 2020 Grads From a Millennial That Graduated in 2010

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College graduation has come and gone. The pandemic, unfortunately, has not. It’s a tough job market out there for new grads. Glassdoor Economic Research found that new grad related job openings fell 68% in May from the same time last year. They also found that 7 of the top 10 companies attracting the most new grad applications are tech companies. This is no surprise since tech companies tend to offer high salaries.

It’s not just job postings either, good salaries are tougher to find during recessions as well. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research graduating in a recession leads to large initial earnings losses of about 9% of annual earnings in the initial stage eventually recede but don’t disappear until about ten years after graduation.

Don’t get discouraged by this news. While it’s tough, there are still ways to thrive. I graduated in 2010 and saw a lot of this first hand. We had less paid internship opportunities in college. Entry jobs didn’t begin opening up until much later. We also saw many of our friends who graduate a year or two above us get a job offer and then have it revoked, get laid off after only months of working or struggle to get that first job after graduation. Based on what I saw during the Great Recession and how we all took control of our jobs and our finances in the decade since here is my advice for graduates.

Be Prepared To Share Your Resume and What Jobs You’re Interested In At A Moments Notice

My top career advice for graduates is to always be prepared. Practice your 30 second elevator pitch on your background, what you’re looking for and how you add value. Always have your resume up to date, even if you’re content in your current job.

You know you need to prepare for a job interview, but how prepared are you for a chance encounter? While in person chance encounters are less likely during social distancing, they can still happen through word of mouth. Perhaps one of your parents, a relative, a friend or a neighbor hears of a job and contacts you. Will an opportunity land in your lap? It’s unlikely. But, if you tell people you’re looking for a job and put yourself in situations where you meet new people these types of chance encounters are more likely to happen.

These are the situations you need to be prepared for. If there is an opportunity, they’ll ask for your resume to share. They’ll ask about what types of jobs you’re looking for, so they can think about if they know of any openings.

Do have your resume always up to date. Do be clear with what you’re looking for. Don’t say you’re open to anything. By keeping it too vague it’s hard for someone to help you. That doesn’t mean you need to know exactly what you want. Here are a few ways you can answer it:

  1. Talk about your background – what did you major in? What were you most excited about in your internships and classes?
  2. Location – are you looking for a job locally or are you open to moving for a role? Do you have a preference?
  3. Are you looking for a full time or part time role? Are you open to a role that starts as part time but could lead to something full time?
  4. Speak to your skill set – what areas are you strong in?

See Also: How to Ask for a Job Referral

You May Not Land Your Dream Job… and That’s OK

Millions of Americans are unemployed or furloughed. Competition for jobs right now is tough. So, chances that you’ll land your dream job are slimmer. But, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing! Think back to when you were applying to college. Did you end up at your dream school? Did it all work out in the end?

To put things in perspective, you’re also in your early 20s. Most people do not know exactly what they want to do with their lives at this age. It’s a myth that everyone knows exactly what they want to do when they graduate college. It’s important to be flexible. Take a job and figure out what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy about that job. Then, continue looking for ways to enjoy that job more, or look for another job you’ll enjoy more.

The job opportunities available now may be wildly different than your major. Your opportunities may even be going back to where you worked part time in high school. That’s ok. No company is going to frown upon the interim job you took during a pandemic.

See Also: Career Advice for Young Professionals

Know What Seems Like Settling May Be The Best Thing That Happens To You

I stumbled into the tech industry at the recommendation of my career center at college. I had no idea what my dream job would be then. We were in middle of the recession so I got an offer and accepted. Turns out it was the best thing that could have happened. The tech industry is an amazing industry to work in. I met countless mentors and sponsors that helped torpedo my career. Now, everyone wants to work in tech! But back then, almost no one I went to school was trying to get a job in tech.

Some of my friends in tech sales that graduated around the same time have shared they joined a tech inside sales program because those were the jobs that were available. Sales reps at several high tech companies say they earn an average of over $142,000 a year. Here they were in the middle of the Great Recession and they ended up getting their foot in the door to one of the best paying jobs that doesn’t require an advanced degree.

Use Your College Career Center To Identify Open Positions and Helpful Contacts

Career Services on campus is a great resource for current students and recent alumni. They have access to tools that can help you identify what careers to pursue. Often, they’ve helped alumni get their jobs and have maintain those relationships. When you’re trying to get an in at a company they may know of an alumni to reach out to. They also have relationships with companies that hire entry level positions. Career Services may even be the most important office on campus according to an opinion piece on Forbes.

Network With Alumni

If you’re looking at jobs at a company my advice for graduates is network with current alumni at the company. That way, you have a connection that you can reach out to for a referral if a job does open up. Don’t expect alumni to reach out to you with any opportunity they hear. It’s likely they are busy. Instead, monitor the open jobs at that company and reach out again when you see one you’re interested in.

First, reach out to alumni you have relationships with asking if they know of opportunities. Remember to be as specific as you can with what you are looking for. Join LinkedIn Alumni groups for your college and also look to join ones on Facebook. Sometimes there are even subgroups for a certain location. Post in these groups and share your story. Many people are happy to help, and may help offer advice even if they don’t know of any job opportunities currently available.

Consider a Paid or Unpaid Internship In The Short Term Instead of a Full Time Job

While you’re looking for a full time role, one path to potentially get a full time offer is to accept an internship. An internship is helpful if you don’t have much experience on your resume and you need a little more experience to start landing interviews. Internships are also helpful if the company isn’t hiring full time right now but may be hiring for full time positions in a couple months.

Add To Your Experience Through Volunteering

Not all experience is from internships and part time jobs. You can also show your experience through your volunteer experience. Use this experience to show how you’ve built leadership experience, reliability and additional skills that are relevant to the jobs you are applying to. Not all volunteering has to be in person or even at a non-profit.

If you see a local business struggling and they don’t have a social media presence offer to help them set it up for free and add that experience to your resume. This also opens up opportunities for future paid work. They may recommend you to their network and you can begin charging for your time.

Be Frugal For The Next Few Years

My top financial advice for graduates is to be frugal for the next few years. It’s not the best economy right now and we don’t know how long it’ll take to recover. So, once you get a job keep conserving as much cash as possible. It’s not like there is a lot to do now anyways with businesses closed and limited travel options available. Plus, if you have a remote job you don’t have to buy more than a few shirts for Zoom calls.

Ways to keep living like a college student include cheap housing and cheap food. Keep living at home or move in with roommates into a starter apartment. If you’re moving out, try to negotiate rent. Vacancies are up right now so you’re more likely to have success negotiating things like a free month of rent. The next biggest expense is transportation. Hold off on buying a car especially if you don’t know where you’ll end up living. Use your current car as long as you can. If you don’t have a car, buy a used car and shop around for deals.

Hang out with friends outside instead of going to a restaurant. Go on a walk, or bring food for a picnic. Drinks and food at restaurants are expensive and with many bars closed there are less cheap drink specials to be found. Eat at home. When you buy groceries, look for coupons and deals. There are also ways to spend less on food by buying cheaper options. For example, buy oats and make oatmeal instead of single serve yogurts. You can find dinner recipes and meal planning tips to save money.

Is frugal living not for you? This doesn’t have to be a permanent lifestyle, but the longer you’re able to live frugally like you lived in college the easier your finances will be. You don’t have to cut back in all areas either, the single most important expense is housing.

See Also: How to Save Money in Your 20s

Start An Emergency Fund Once You Land A Job

Once you land a job, whether it be part time or full time, start an emergency fund. An emergency fund is an amount of money set aside to cover emergencies if they arise. The money should be easily accessible and liquid (such as money held in a checking account or savings account) that you have for when things go wrong. This includes an unexpected health bill, unexpected car repair, if you lose your job and so forth.

At this point, don’t worry about how much money you should have in an emergency fund. Your focus once landing a job is to start an emergency fund, even if it’s only contributing $5-10 a paycheck. If your family gave you some money for graduation put some of that cash in your emergency fund. Get in the habit of consistently contributing a little money with every single paycheck, and automate the savings so you don’t even have to think about it. Once you are more settled, you can start building your emergency fund.

How to Save Money in Your 20s

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Saving money in your 20s will help you achieve financial stability. A lot of people in their 20s are dealing with student loan debt and aspiration for days of having a strong financial cushion and achieving their dream lifestyle. While it’s easy to think that financial planning may be pointless at this stage, the baby steps taken now will create a financial foundation. Increasing your income is most important, but spending less than you make is a close second. Increase your income, be smart with your spending, save money and invest are the recipe for success. Here are tips on how to save money in your 20s to set the stage for a strong financial future.

Increase Your Income

It’s not about what you make, it’s about what you spend is true. However, it’s a lot easier to save money when you make more money. Your lifetime earnings are decided in the first decade of your career. As a result, increasing your income in your 20s is especially important.

There are several ways to increase your income. First, hustle at your job and create a plan to double or triple your salary. This plan may include strategic networking to get promoted or switch industries, identifying what you need to do advance your career, get another degree and / or expand your skill set. Second, build additional streams of income. In order to begin generating passive income, you need to have money first. To build wealth quicker, start a side hustle in addition to your day job. As your income increases, keep your spending flat. This will allow you to save even more money in your 20s.

See Also: 10 Pieces of Career Advice for Young Professionals

Save Money In Your 20s by Being Frugal

Now that you’ve focused on making more money, how do you avoid spending your entire paycheck? Control your expenses. Do you make more money than your friends? Doesn’t matter, spend as if you make less. Consistent saving and investing, especially in your 20s, can be an effective way to accumulate wealth. The more you save in your 20s, the less you have to save later in life due to compounding. See how even small savings amounts can add up over time with this compounding interest calculator.

In your 20s, this means being frugal for a few years. You don’t have to be frugal forever. The longer you’re able to live frugally like you lived in college the easier your finances will be. Being frugal also doesn’t mean never having fun. You don’t have to cut back in all areas either, the single most important expense is housing.

Save Money On Housing And Live with Roommates

Some of the best ways to save money in your 20s include being smart with housing. Housing is likely the largest expense in your 20s. Once you sign a lease, you’re stuck with that expense until your lease ends. Don’t become “house poor.” Experts say housing should be no more than 30% of your gross income and that includes all housing expenses. However, this doesn’t mean you should spend 30% of your gross income. The less you spend on housing the more money you’ll have available to save, pay down debt and spend on other things you enjoy. Want to live in a certain location? You may have to settle on the amenities and living with roommates.

The most sure way to save money on housing is to live with roommates. Not only are you able to spend less per month on rent, you’re also able to split utility bills, and split buying the furniture. It’s expensive to furnish your first place. Splitting these costs will save you a ton of money the first few years and enable you to start building a savings cushion. Bringing your own lunch can save $7 / day or $140 / month. Being smart with your housing can save you hundreds a month and thousands a year.

Buy A Used Car or Skip The Car Altogether

The next biggest cost you’ll likely have is transportation. Sometimes, a car is unavoidable. You need it to get to your job and back. But, with remote working increasing, public transportation and rideshares becoming more available can you skip the car for a year or two for a little inconvenience?

Before you buy a car, do the math. Can you use public transportation, bikes and ride shares? How much will this cost you per month? Then, compare this to how much it’ll cost you to own a car. Don’t forget, the money you spend on a car could have been invested and earning you more money or paying down debt. Car expenses also include maintenance, gas, parking, insurance and depreciation. If you can, skip the car. If not, spend as little as you can on a car in your 20s. You can always get a nicer car when you have more money.

Save Money on Food and Drinks

There are ways save money on food and drink and still have fun. You can still go to restaurants and bars and save money in your 20s. Take advantage of happy hour specials. Go over a friends house and have a drink before heading to the bar. When you get to the bar, limit yourself to one drink. Invite people over to watch sports instead of going to a bar. Take advantage when there is free food at events. Bring your lunch. Set a monthly budget for eating out and going to bars. There are plenty of ways to continue to enjoy eating out and also save money.

Eat at home for all other meals and bring your lunch. Planning your meals and using coupons on groceries will save money. Don’t order takeout and instead save your eating out money for when you go out with friends.

Limiting spending on food and drinks is a great money move in your 20s because it starts developing discipline around spending money. It’s hard to say no to always going out with friends and spending money on food and drink but it adds up. But, this is small amounts of money compared to later on. If you can’t say no to going out to save money, how are you going to do when you’re invited on $1,000+ vacations? Practice saving money here and the discipline will spill over to other areas.

Be Frugal With Your Vacation Spending

The best time to travel is in your 20s when you have less responsibilities and more time. This is also when you have the least amount of money so how do you best balance this? Save money in your 20s by taking road trips. Rent a house with friends to reduce spending on lodging. Split a hotel room with 3 other friends to reduce costs even more. There are also plenty of ways to save money on travel, you don’t have to give up travel entirely.

Another option? Work for a global company and take advantage of traveling for your job. It’s much cheaper to spend 2 extra nights in Europe when you’re flying there for work than paying for an entire Europe trip. At minimum, sign up for every single travel loyalty program. This way, you can accumulate points to use for free nights, free airfare and free car rental days. You can also get a good rewards credit card and redeem for free travel.

Limit Spending on Clothing

When you first graduate college you will need to spend some money on clothing. Your college wardrobe won’t suffice for a professional wardrobe, attending weddings, etc. Spending money on clothes in unavoidable. You can continue wearing free t-shirts for a while at home, at the gym and on weekends but at some point you will want to upgrade there too. When you do spend money on clothing, take advantage of sales. Also take advantage of shopping second hand like on Poshmark and even sharing clothes with your roommates if you can. To start to build a wardrobe, buy 1-2 nice things a year like a good pair of black heels and a nice leather black tote.

Take Advantage of Company Benefits

Salary is important, but don’t forget about job benefits. Job benefits include vacation time, health insurance and 401(k) match benefits but did you know there may be more benefits to help you save money? In college you were able to get discounts with your college ID. Post college, look for ways to use your company ID to save money. Some health insurance plans offer money towards a gym membership every year. Depending on the industry and area, companies may offer free or discounted food, free gyms on-site, discounts on auto insurance, discounts on personal travel and more. Look at your internal company site to learn more about perks offered by your company.

Track, Manage and Reduce Your Spending

Now that you have those saving money tips, know how you are spending your money today. Can you use any of the tips above to save money? You must spend less than you make in order to save money in your 20s. To do this, you need to understand where you’re spending your money. When you just graduate, you’re adding a lot of new expenses. For the first few months, track every expense and see where you’re spending your money. Don’t change any behaviors, only add tracking what you spend and follow how you normally spend your money. At the end of the month look back at what you spent your money on. Do the same for the following month. Are you spending more or less money than you are making? Were all those purchases necessary? How did your spending change month to month?

Create a Budget

Saving money in your 20s starts with having a budget. Create a budget that works for you and isn’t too restrictive, otherwise you’re less likely to follow it. There are plenty of apps like Mint which make this process much easier. First, input your regular bills like rent, electricity, internet, etc. These are all of the bills you must pay. There may be ways to decrease these bills later, but for now put what you pay today. Set aside money for the things that bring you happiness and finally add in everything else. Be realistic too – you’ll need clothes and you’ll be invited to a lot of weddings in your 20s.

It’s ok if your budget is imbalanced when you first add everything together. Budgets take multiple iterations to get right. Keep shifting around numbers until you’re able to balance your budget. If you find that no matter how much shifting you can’t find ways to save money with your current income though then you need to start looking at ways to make more money.

Set a Savings Goal and a Retirement Savings Goal

You want to save money in your 20s, but how much? Give yourself a goal for how much you money you want to save per month. It doesn’t have to be a high number – you can start with even $5 a paycheck and increase it. Use this money to start building your emergency fund, so if any emergencies arise you have cash to cover it. You can find a calculator here to help identify how big your emergency fund should be. And, don’t forget to save enough money for retirement to get your employer match if they offer it at minimum. This graph from Business Insider shows the difference of saving $100 / month for retirement starting at 25 verse 35. The person who started at 25 ends up saving $73,000 more by age 65 solely by starting 10 years earlier. Only $12,000 of that difference is additional contributions, $61,000 is from compounding interest.

One trick to avoid cutting spending is to move more of your saving towards your 401(k) contributions. 401(k) contributions are pre-tax, so you’ll reduce the amount of taxes you owe in your budget. Once you’ve identified how much money you want to save, or can save, automate it! One of my favorite money saving hacks is to automate your savings. Take these steps to automate your savings and watch your savings grow.

Where Do You Put the Money You’ve Saved?

Where should you put the money you’ve saved? Money saved in your 20s should first be held in a high yield savings account as part of an emergency fund. Unfortunately, there have been interest rate cuts across the board including high yield savings accounts, so you won’t make much money here. But, it is better than nothing. Nerd Wallet shares here the top 10 best high yield savings accounts. You can also look for banks offering sign up bonuses.

See Also: How To Invest Money In Your 20s

How to Save Money in Your 20s Summary

How to save money in your 20s can be summed up in a few simple steps. Increase your income and keep your spending flat, saving the difference. Be frugal for a few years. This includes living with roommates and spending as little as possible on transportation. For all other expenses prioritize what brings you happiness and cut back spending in other areas. Set a savings goal and stick to it. Yes, saving money in your 20s is harder than saving money in your 30s. Your salary is lower and you don’t own much yet, increasing your initial expenses. But, your lifestyle expectations are also the lowest. The more you can save when you’re young the easier it is as that savings will continue to generate passive income for you. Set yourself up for success by saving money in your 20s.

Here are more smart money moves to make in your 20s.