Unsteady first working yea🐓rs, higher than average student loan ba꧑lances, and the disappearance of defined benefit plans (or pensions) mean many millennials have been fighting an uphill battle most of their working lives.

Still, many financial advisors are impressed with this generation and how they have prioritized their finances, and for good reason. This digitally native generation is also tech-savvy in figuring out the best ways to savꦛe for their futures.

But e꧃ven the most dedicated saver can use expert advice on juggling competing fi♑nancial priorities. We asked top financial advisors for insight for millennials who want to get the most out of their money.

First: What Millennials Are Getting Right

According to financial advisors like 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Douglas Boneparth, president of Bone Fide Wealth, millennials are using the past to fuel their financial futures. Boneparth “thinks the trauma of the Great Recession has made millennials very aware of savings and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:emergency funds,” which creates a stronger founda🦩tion that allows them to be in the accumulation phase during their higher earning years.

, certified financial planner (CFP) and certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA), agrees. She says, “🅘Millennials are responsible for their money and making great choices.” Joy is particularly encouraged by how comfortably they navigate retirement through company programs.

Joy also finds in her prac🤪tice that once mi♋llennials feel they have a handle on balancing their debt, earnings, and current savings, they seek information about the next steps.

Even fo🧜r millennials with no prior savings or plans for the future, all is not lost. Joy says, “If you feel like you are behind, now is such a good time to get to investing. Now, you are entering your high-earning years. There is no better time than the present to use your human capital to improve your picture.”

Emergency Savings Are Very Important

All the financial advisors interviewed in this article agreed that having emergency savings is the foundation of a sound financial plan. Life happens, and Joy emphasizes that the security of an emergency savings a🎀ccount can help you stick to your goals.

Sure, you could skip the emergency fund and instead invest that money. However, the average credit card interest rate for users with a balance is 22.80% (the latest available data, November 2024). Even the best investment will have a hard time outpacing 22.80% interes🍸𒁏t.

Boneparth sums up the importance of emergency savings by saying, “Give yourself the opportunity to feel safe and secure before you even start investing. Starting early is important, but what good is compounding if you can’t stay invested? This way, you can navigate the ups and downs of life without having to worry. The ability to navi♌gate that and stay on your path separates good and bad investors.”

Set Clear Priorities

Those who are most successful in 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:planning their financial futures have clear priorities, say financial advisors.

“You cannot have everything you want, so what is the most important thing to you? You need to list it ou❀t and really prioritize it,” says , co-founder and financial planner at AllStreet ඣWealth. “Also, do the opposite. Make a list of things that you can cut.”

Many people think 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果൩体彩网:investing and planning for🍒 the future is just about dollars and cents, but financial advisors know that many money moves are psychological. By clearly establishing priorities and knoℱwing “what it is that you are truly after,” Boneparth says, your goals will motivate you to keep going.

If you’re struggling to figure out what is most important, it’s best to talk to a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:financial advisor about prioritizing your goals.

Give Every Dollar a Job

With that in mind, , C🅠FP, a𒆙ccredited wealth management advisor (AWMA), and founder and lead advisor at Hoskin Capital, recommends “giving every dollar a job.” The best way to do that is to create a realistic budget.

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Budgeting is a critical part of a financial plan, and while there are as many different ways to budget as there are stars in the sky, the most important part of budgeting is 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:seeing where your money is going. Financial advisors know this is an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:uncomfortable truth for many people and that the further we get away from tangible money, the easier it is to ignore. In fact, 65% of people do not know how much money they spent last month.

Boneparth echoes that he has seen this in his practic𒊎e and encouraܫges people to be honest about their budgets by budgeting “not based on what you think you are spending but what you know you are spending.”

To face budgeting woes head-on, some financial advisors, like Hoskin, recommend looking at spending🍸 for three months before they lay out a budget for future expenditures. Hoskin recommends smartphone apps as a quick way to see income vs. expenses for the three prior months without having to backtrack every expense wit﷽h pencil and paper.

Focus on Reverse Budgeting

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Budgeting will reveal either a surplus or a deficit. Once you know where your money i꧋s going, “even if [your] money is not spreading as far as [you] want it to,” you can focus on reverse budgeting, says Hoskin. Reverse budgeting means putting money aside for your future self first.

Kopelman agrees wholeheartedly with Hoskin on reverse budgeting. Hoskin further recommends that you take advantage of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:automated investing and savings. He sees automation as tricking your🀅 brain and nervous system into sticking to the strategies. Setting money aside for your futu✨re self first by automatic withdrawals or transfers means you are working toward your goals before any of your income is spent.

Budgeting is not a set-it-and-forget-it endeavor. You should continue to track your budget and adjust goals as your priorities and income𝔍 change. An easy place to continually track your budget is with a calculator.

“The best we can do is our best,” says , CFP, founder of Advize Wealth Management. “We cannot predict the future, so we will putꦍ together a plan, stick to it, and adjust accordingly.”

Be a Goal-Getter With "Free Money"

Another way to slay your financial future is to make sure that you take advantage of all the “free money” offered by yo💃ur employer.

An overwhelming percentage of millennials are participating in employer-sponsored retirement plans and should pat themselves on the back for that. Participating is the first step; taking advantage of employer matching is the next logical step. Hoskin says this should be the watermark for people with few extra means. Leaving 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:matching contributions on the table is like walking away from🎀 ⛎free money.

Create a Financial Plan

Once you’ve established emergency savings and taken advantage of all matching employer contributions, financial advisors recommend working toward tackling those financial⭕ goals and priorities based on y🐷our budget.

There are some universally accepted future-focused budgeting tactics, like the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:50/30/20 budget rule, where 50% of income is spent on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings. While the 50/30/20 rule is simple, financial advisors tend to agree that saving 20% of inc🌌ome is a solid target, but 15% is a great starting point.

Those incapable of saving 20% of their income today should ideally save no less than 10% and incrementally increase it. Joy calls this “matching your lifestyle creep with your savings creep.” Managing the lifestyle creep is where a financial advisor can come in handy as well, because they c🍸an help you continually reassess the percentage of gross income you’re investing.

Financial advisors want their clients to invest based on their priorities, but they also emphasize the importance of Roth individual retirement accounts (Roth IRAs) for those who qualify. Roth IRAs are accounts in which you can invest after-tax dollars. That is beneficial because those who wait to withdraw this money until after they are 59½ years old can withdraw this money and its growth tax-free.

Additional Considerations

The most popular source for financial advice is social media. M🌃any advisors today exist in the social media space and practice radical generosity with their knowledge and expertise.

However, as with anything, only some on the internet are experts. You should approach some fre🐼e financial literacy with the same caution as approaching an unusual, spam-like social media direct message.

If you're investing in company-sponsored plans, you should talk with your plan provider and financial advisor to ensure your money is being invested appropriately for your target retirement date and risk tolerance.

Joy also encourages people with stock options as part of 🌜their overall compensation to talk to an advisor. She has seen ill-prepared people make very reactive decisions regarding their stock options, and says planning can integrate these𓂃 stock options into financial plans.

The Bottom Line

Millennials are DIY-ing their ✱financial future more than any previous generation, but financial advisors agree they’re doing well. Still, those who desirꦓe the best outcomes should prioritize goals and budgeting, take advantage of “free money” from their employer, make a savings plan, and stick to it.

Financial advisor Melissa Joy reminds us that perception is not always reality bec𒉰ause “you always think everyone is doing better than you are, and that is not always the case.” However, millennials worried about how they 𒅌stack up should not quit before they begin. It’s not too late to plan for your financial future.

Douglas Boneparth reiterates, “The first best time is yesterday. ✱The second best time is today.”