Managing your money

Your essential financial challenge is using the money that’s coming in to pay for what you need and what you want. It sounds basic, but your whole financial life hinges on the way you handle it.

Part of the challenge is understanding the difference between needing and wanting. Sometimes the things you want may seem so tempting that you’ll start to think of them as more important than the things you need — for example, postponing paying the rent so you can buy that new mountain bike you’ve had your eye on.

It may also be a struggle to get used to living on the money you have. You may be comfortable with your parents’ lifestyle, for example, so you may have to adjust your expectations to match your own new reality.

Your biggest responsibility is learning how to save and invest for the things you need and want down the road. In this respect, you’ll find that time really is money, because if you give your money time to work by putting it away into savings or investments for a few years, you can do much more with it than if you spend it now.