We cannot discern a person’s financial health based on their age or physical trappings. Nor does a high income ensure financial security. Many people figure this out with experience; some never do.
As with our physical health, it is the avoidance of accidents, along with constructive personal discipline, that plays the largest role in defining our financial health over time. This is why it is critical to live below our means–spend less than we make, avoid debt, save, and not lose principal once we have it. Not losing principal requires minimal exposure to gambling bets and asset bubbles because, eventually, they all implode capital.
A recent financial survey found that, on average, people come to some awakening about the significance of money management in their early 30s. See How old are you financially?:
A recent OnePoll survey, commissioned by BKO Financial, found the average “financial awakening” moment tends to be experienced at age 33. However, that is the average and you might not be average.
Here are a few tips to ensure you don’t fall into the “average trap.”
- Live below your means
- Establish an emergency fund
- Pay yourself first
Three simple little steps in your financial life equal a big step toward financial maturity and will help you get through a financial awakening moment regardless of your age.
It’s never too late to adopt constructive habits, but the earlier the better. Financial mistakes are harder and harder to recover from the older we become.
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