If you’re a younger worker just starting out in your career, you’ve got tremendous personal and professional opportunities ahead of you. But this is also when you will need to make some key decisions — especially about your financial priorities.
When considering your priorities, you may find it helpful to look at these three areas: Paying off debts – If you’re like many young working people, one of your biggest debts may be your student loans — and paying these down is, by necessity, a priority, because falling behind on your student loan payments can lead to late fees and other problems. So, if you haven’t done so already, you may want to enroll in autopay, which will help you stay current on your loan and possibly earn a rate reduction.
Saving for short-term goals – At this stage of your life, you may be thinking about saving for at least one or two significant shortterm goals, such as a wedding or a down payment to a house — or perhaps both. Obviously, your ability to save for these goals will depend on your income, your current cost of living and your debt situation. But if a wedding or a new home is indeed a priority for you, you’ll want to look at what’s possible, in terms of putting money away.
