Youth Incorporated Magazine

Teenagers have their planet-sized dreams and desires, small pocket money holders and XL-sized pressures to do big. If you’re one of those, learning to make your way through the heavily demanding world, here’s how you can, plan a budget, start saving young and efficiently. Remember, a little goes a long way.

Monthly Budget:

Create a monthly budget for yourself. Make sure it is practical and pay attention to detail. Enlist the things that are compulsorily needed and those you desire strongest. These should be of priority in your budget. Eliminate other things that are not of importance and would be a waste. In this way, you can monitor your expense and still be able to spend on things you like. At the end of the month, compare your expenditure with your initial plan. This will help you realise what are your mistakes and where you can align them right.

Internships:

 If your curriculum leaves you with some spare time, invest that time in doing part-time internships/jobs. If travelling is an issue, you can also do work from home/virtual Internships. Even if you are a fresher, you can begin by doing unpaid internships in your field of interest or as per availability of the same.  Internshala, Frapp, Indeed, Glassdoor are popular sites to look for these. 

Smart spending:

 Is there a dress that you NEED to have? Or your favourite game is finally in stock? It is okay to give in sometimes, but be smart about it. Wait for the Black Friday sales or month-end discounts. With a little patience, you might get your item of choice at a better deal. Even a 10% discount makes a difference in the long run. 

Start a savings account:

This is something that should be done with Parental advice and permit. You can learn about the basics from various sources but bank officials are the safest and best at this job. It is alright to start with small amounts like 1000 or 2000 Rs but make sure you are putting at least some amount of money every following month.

Pro tip: Always deposit 1/3^rd of your income into your account no matter what the moment you receive your salary.  You can do this at home with your piggy banks too.

Stock Market:

 If you want to learn about investment and stocks, start with the basics from YouTube and other free sources. There are many of them available on the internet. You can start investing in stocks with even 500 rs. Once you start learning more about it, you can gradually increase your investment numbers.

Finally, making sensible and reasonable purchases weighs above all. It is okay to do things that make you happy but also remember your step backs from irrelevant things today are investments for tomorrow.