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Your 20s are a time for figuring things out. For leaving your purse in Charing Cross McDonald's at 3am, forgetting to cancel your card then, when someone buys 10 Big Macs with it, just taking the financial hit because you’re too hungover and ultimately, can’t be bothered calling the police. Just an example off the top of my head.
It’s also a time for making mistakes, and learning from them. So let me speed up that process for you, by sharing the money-based lessons I've learned over the last decade.
I went into my 20s very much checking my bank balance once a year; now, on the eve of my 30th birthday, I have an app on my phone that helps me invest money for my future. I also don’t go to McDonald's at 3am anymore. Part of me is devastated by this (I’m old), and the other part is euphorically smug.
1. You can save. No matter how broke you are.
Even when I was absolutely broke – as in, had to eat rice for six days because I had £12 to last me 'til my crappy job at a rundown theatre paid me – when I saved, it made everything better.
Before you throw rice at me, let me explain. It’s all relative. When I was earning £50 a week, I couldn’t save anything meaningful for the future, sure, but I could (and eventually did) put loose change in a pot under my bed for rogue charges, emergency travel funds or out-of-the-blue water bills. When you get an actual job, if you save 10% of your salary each month, you will be covered when your housemate leaves her radiator on high for six months. You’ll be covered when you’re broke and it’s your mate’s 21st and you absolutely have to go to the £25-a-head meal. I’ve started using Chip, which connects to your bank and, each week, calculates how much you can save without noticing it, before transferring that amount into a separate account. Basically, there are ways.
2. Get better at food shopping.
Oh it’s so boring, but it’s boring because it couldn’t be more true. If you live in a city, then it’s highly likely that the nearest supermarket is a Tesco Extra or a Sainsbury’s Local or a Morrisons Small (I don’t know what the little Morrisons are called. Baby Morrisons?). And they are often up to twice as expensive. I know this because I lived above one and then moved near the only big Sainsbury’s in the whole of London and saved so much money I was retrospectively mortified.
The answer, therefore, is online shopping, and this applies to non-city dwellers too. Stop running into Tesco on your way back from work, or uni, or whatever you're doing, and grabbing only what you need for that night. It’s time for big pots of stew that’ll last you for three days. It’s time for risotto until you’re bored of risotto. Soups you can freeze and go back to again and again. Bags of porridge oats that mean breakfast is sorted until 2020. You know what to do.
3. Go on, look at your bank balance.
It sounds simple, but if it’s so simple, why do I have to whisper “Whatever happens, it’s just money” before I look? But you cannot go through life with your head buried in the sand of having “probably about £1,000”. You don’t have £1,000. You have £100 to last you 'til next payday because of last Friday’s “I’ll go for dinner, drinks and then get into that club with the exorbitant entry fee followed by the world’s longest Uber” debacle. Knowledge is always, always power.
Trust me, that horror you feel just before your bank balance loads on whatever screen you're looking at, and the chill you feel when it’s way less than you’d hoped, is so much better than the horror of having completely run out of money. Everything we do as people should be to mitigate that feeling. I once completely ran out of money and had to walk seven miles home in a snowstorm because I couldn’t afford a bus. Why? I hadn’t looked at my bank balance in a month. Please don’t be me.
4. Do not, I repeat, do NOT get into buying rounds.
My 20s were spent nervously going along with buying rounds, and returning the Jägerbomb favour when the people who had insisted on buying them for me first were lawyers. And I was on £15k, writing articles for a careers website. Buy your own drinks, and if a rich person buys everyone shots, that does not mean you have to do it too.
If it makes you feel better, I found saying “Oh I’m not sure what I’m going to have so do the rounds without me” in a really cheery casual way and then going to the loo helpful. Firstly, nobody can argue with you because you’ve gone to the loo (nothing worse than a “No no, what do you want, come on I’ll get it” to trick you into buying them a Staropramen later) and secondly, you’re safe for the night. Once you’re out of the round system, you’re out for the night. No more awkwardness. That one well-placed toilet trip has earned you a night of cheap beer without worry.
5. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want.
When you’re renting, you’re told who your provider is for water, gas, electricity, TV, etc. and that’s that. Cool. Until you get older and realise there is nothing stopping you changing that provider to get a much cheaper rate. So shop around. There are always cool deals on for new customers too, sort of like banks (maybe switch banks!). As an added bonus, someone once told me that you can haggle with internet and TV companies and I thought they were mad and laughed heartily. Then I read an article where Martin Lewis – that guy who always pops up with money-saving tips – wrote that haggling is effective around 70-80% of the time. So I tried it. The man on the phone said it would be £42 a month for my TV and broadband package and I said, “I got offered £35 a month elsewhere, so I’m not sure…” and he INTERRUPTED ME AND GAVE IT TO ME FOR £35. Capitals for emphasis. Just a little haggling tip for you: Say you’ve been offered something better elsewhere, and watch everyone melt into puddles. This also works with phone tariffs. I threaten to leave every year, and they never hold it against me. If anything, I pay a lot less now. Thanks guys. (No, I can’t name either of the companies I’m talking about because I’m concerned they'll read this and hike the prices back up.)
6. Learn to complain. Complaining is your friend.
This is my favourite one, because it knocks out two things in one go. It makes you feel like a strong, independent woman AND you get free stuff. Start small: When your tea is a bit cold, complain. Get another tea. Some will be reading this thinking “Yes, obviously” but many others will have gone sweaty in their face just thinking about it. YOU CAN DO IT. NOBODY CARES. COMPLAIN.
Then, you can start complaining about more important and significant things, like when you don’t receive your debit card within the 3-5 working days remit. Or if you receive poor customer service. I’m not saying to complain when there’s nothing to complain about, but I am saying, don’t EVER accept poor service. My boyfriend’s catchphrase is “Well that’s not great, could we get some compensation for that?” and it works. My bank once lost my debit card in the post, so I complained and got £40 in cash as an apology. This has happened before, and I’ve just shrugged and gone “Oh well, I guess that’s just life”. If your phone provider adds something to your monthly bill by mistake, call them and get that paid back, even if it’s £1 a year, then ask for compensation. My tariff is currently discounted because they popped on some insurance I hadn’t asked for.
Read more money focused content (minus the boring bits) at On The Money.
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