Do I Have to Save Money in My 20s?

June 30, 2011

I personally love to go out and have fun. I also enjoy saving money. This might sound like a difficult balancing act. In reality it’s totally possible. The idea of saving money is often time associated with no fun. I don’t know why this is the case. As a result of this, many 20-somethings will think that the only way to have fun is by spending lots of money.

Do you have to save money in your 20s? My answer is YES. You don’t have to spend every dollar you earn.

Why should I save money in my 20s? Why do 20-somethings need to save money?

Build for the future.

What are you going to do when you turn 30? Will your 30-year old self regret that you didn’t plan ahead? I see saving money as a way to plan and build for your future. If you don’t even start saving a little bit of money right now, then what will you do in a few years from now when you want to buy a home or make some major moves in life?

Save up for a rainy day.

We all know about the idea of the emergency fund. For all of the unexpected curve balls that life likes to throw us, it helps to have some money saved. I often praised the whole emergency fund trend in the personal finance world. I didn’t realize how important this money was until I had some car problems a few months ago. I was able to bail myself out with going into any debt or being flat broke. If you don’t even save a little bit of money for a rainy day you’ll panic and screw your finances when shit happens.

Save up for major expenses.

Will you ever want to buy a new car or a home? If you plan on making any of these major purchases in life, how will you pay for them? As mentioned above you need to plan for your future. This doesn’t mean that you can’t let loose. I’m a huge supporter of letting loose and having a good time. It just makes sense to slowly start planning for major expenses that will creep up as you get older. Do you want to be broke when your best friend’s wedding rolls around? Do you want to miss the boat on a dream home that goes up for sale?

Get into the habit of saving money.

If you wait until you have to save money out of necessity you won’t be as prepared as those that started much earlier. Do you want to wait until you’re forced to save money or do you want to start much earlier? You don’t have to save every penny. You can start off by saving $20 a week.

I think that saving money and having fun can be a pretty cool balancing act. The goal should be to strike the perfect balance between the two. If you manage to do this I think that you’ll be proud of yourself in the future. You don’t want to miss out on all of the exciting stuff that you can do in your 20s. You also don’t want to be flat broke at 30.

Do you think that 20-somethings need to save money?

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