5 Financial Mistakes I did not make in my 20s

In the information age, free advice is abundantly available, be it social media, nosy neighbors, well-meaning friends, or overly concerned relatives. Everyone is trying to tell you what you should do. I won’t make that mistake. Instead, I’ll tell you my story.

1. I did not take advice from people who have built no assets.

   When I started earning, I got advice left, right and center. Don’t start saving money right away, travel the world, buy gifts for your relatives, do not invest as the market is volatile, do not buy real estate and whatnot. Maybe some of this advice was well-intentioned, but it hardly seemed to be aligned with my life goals and long-term plans. So I chose not to pay heed to it. I was especially careful not to take any advice from people who were themselves in chronic debt and clueless about their own finances. I won’t take names, but they know who they are.

2. I didn’t fall into get-rich-quick schemes.

   I had witnessed my dad carefully teach himself to invest in the stock market and other assets, and he had explained to me multiple times that wealth takes time to build, so I was in no particular hurry. I spent my time studying and building my career gradually, which allowed me to make enough to be able to meet my expenses and save+invest a little every month.

3. Assessed the information according to my circumstances:

   Social media is filled with conflicting opinions; Real estate is a boon, Real estate is a curse. FDs are safe, FDs are evil, Mutual Funds are safe, and Mutual Funds are risky/too safe. None of this is wrong, but it differs from situation to situation, timeline to timeline, and the risk-taking capability of the individual.

4. Took Responsibility:

   I have seen many women depend on their father, brother and later, their husband to choose their investment instruments and file their taxes. However, in case of a conflict, that puts them in a dangerous position. Thankfully, my dad had encouraged me early on to be responsible for my own finances. I went through about 4-5 youtube videos to learn how to file my taxes the first time, and though the complexity increases slightly each year, it’s nothing that a quick google search can’t help with. In the long run, though, I would take help from a CA/ Financial planner as needed.

5. Read and read and read some more:

   Like always, I turned to books. They do not have an ulterior motive. They cost a fraction of the value that they add to your life, and they allow you to access the greatest minds on the planet at your leisure. So I read almost all the good books that I could find on personal finance and gradually defined my personal finance strategy.

   What did it allow me to achieve?

   1. Buy my first home at 23.

   2. Build a safety net.

   3. The ability to outsource tasks that do not add sufficient value in exchange for my time.

   4. Peace of mind

   What do I aspire for now?

   1. F.I.R.E though I do not particularly care to retire early, I’d love to have the freedom to choose.

   2. Build a healthcare and retirement fund for both sets of parents (For contingencies)

   3. Build a fund to give back to society

      (This will take some work to be able to identify which causes we can support. This year we contributed towards saving a premature baby from a less privileged household)