Key Steps to Financial Independence

No matter how well prepared you think you are for living an independent adult life, life always a keeps a few surprises tucked up its sleeve. Whether that is unexpected car troubles, health problems, marriage problems, or getting let go at your job.

The truth is, even adults in midlife who have many years of experience under their belt often still have a lot to learn.

Witness these statistics: p80 percent of adults are in debt, between 40 and 60 percent of adults are divorced and 35 percent haven’t been to a dentist in over a year.

If life has thrown you a few curve balls early in your independent years, this is nothing to worry about. You will be able to handle this unexpected events if you plan and prepare.

In this post, you will pick up some new skills to help you take your independence back again.

Make Finance Your Friend

Gaining control over personal finances is one of the top challenges most adults face. Spending is easy and saving is hard. Getting out of debt (and staying out) is even harder. As a young adult new to independent living, you may be carrying student debt, a car note or some other significant source of ongoing debt.

This is okay. You can learn what most adults far older than you still don’t know – how to make your funds work for you and not the other way around.

Here are some tips to point you in the right direction:

– Choose an app to help you budget and save. Apps like Digit and Mint are great tools to help you keep tabs on bills, spending and savings. A quick search in the app store on your mobile phone will provide you with many options to start budgeting and saving.

– Try to follow the 50-30-20 rule. The 50-30-20 rule is a staple for financial experts. 50 percent of your income should go to fixed expenses (rent/mortgage, bills, loan repayment, etc.)

30 percent should go to variable expenses (clothes, concerts, sporting events, movies, etc.) and 20 percent should be saved. If you save 20 percent over time you will build an impressive saving account and will be able to handle any unexpected expenses.

– Check your credit report at least annually. You get a free copy each year under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You should use your free credit report.

Being proactive about your credit will allow you to budget and save more appropriately for your financial goals. Check over your report and clear up discrepancies or disputes.

Being proactive about your credit will allow you to budget and save more appropriately for your financial goals. Check over your report and clear up discrepancies or disputes.

If you need help, a search for the credit repair companies can put you in touch with organizations that will assist you. Creditrepair.com is a reputable company you can try out.

Take Charge of Your Health

There absolutely has been sweeping change in the healthcare industry over the last few years. Whatever your opinion on the matter, Obamacare changed healthcare. Changes to Obamacare are expected to happen under the Trump administration. That being said, if you are feeling confused, overwhelmed or just plain sick of attempting to understand your options for medical and dental care, you are in some very good company.

But ultimately, you are the only one who is in charge of taking care of your health. If you don’t get your checkups at the doctor or dentist, you are likely to spend far more on emergency dentist care or emergency medical care than you would on preventative care. Budget for regular doctor and dentist check-ups. Save for any unexpected emergencies that might happen.

Foster Your Own Self-Confidence

Finally, there is little in life that cannot be made better with a healthy dose of self-confidence. If you believe in yourself, learn from your mistakes, build on your successes and notice your own progress, you will soon begin to understand that the biggest part of life success is simply continuing to try. There will probably be setbacks in your financial future. Take charge today and start budgeting and saving for the future.

You can also foster greater self-confidence by the choices you make each and every day. Inc. highlights these five key methods for boosting self-confidence:

– Pick positive company.

– Silence negative self-talk.

– Adopt confident body language.

– Always keep learning.

– Find ways to motivate yourself daily.

By following these five keys, you can more fully enjoy your successes in life and prepare in advance for those times you need a little extra boost of encouragement.

Learning to be truly independent is not meant to be a fast or easy process. Some people live for decades and never master these basics. By tackling the tough stuff head-on with confidence, courage and authenticity, you set yourself up for more of the same and invite into your life the same type of positive, inspiring, can-do company.