21 Ways to Make Money in Your 20s and Be Wealthy
Are you ready to make money in your 20s? Well, you’ve come to the right place!
Before I jump into this topic, I want to say I am not a personal financial advisor. I am an avid learner and love learning about money and wealth, especially how to become rich as a young adult and achieve retirement savings goals. I am not talking about getting rich quick or emergency fund schemes. I am talking about accumulating wealth early so you can achieve your financial goals too!
I have read many books and blog articles and spoken with specialists about my finances to figure out what to do with them in my journey to financial freedom. Today I want to share 21 of my favorite tips I’ve picked up while learning how to become rich in your 20s.
1. Understand What True Wealth Means
Before you can make money in your 20s and be wealthy, it is essential to comprehend the actual definition of wealth and how much money is wealthy. Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, says:
“The definition of wealth is the number of days you can survive without physically working (or anyone in your household physically working) and still maintain your standard of living.“
Do the math to see how little money you spend in a month than how much you have saved in your bank account. Don’t forget to include investing money you may have in stocks or an individual retirement account. If you currently earn any money passively without having to work, add this too! That is how much wealth you have.
2. Make Your Finances a Regular Priority
Once you understand what wealth is, next, you have to make your finances a priority. Make a point to think about your finances daily. Set up a time to evaluate your spending every week, and take time every month to review your budget.
Making your finances a priority means setting time aside to monitor and analyze your spending regularly. As with any goal, making money in your 20s must be on your priority list.
3. Make Sure You Are Saving for the Long-Term
Saving money should be a part of everyone’s financial plan. One should be set up for each of your long-term goals. You should save and invest monthly, not just in one high-yield savings account.
These goals could be buying a house or a future investment. It’s good to save for the more considerable unexpected expenses you plan on having. Or to have money for the future.
Building your wealth for the long term plays a significant role in prosperity and, in my opinion, the best way to become rich. In addition, saving in high-interest-rate accounts allows you to use compound interest over time.
Ellevest: If you are looking for a tool to invest, check out Ellevest. Ellevest is a digital investment advisor whose algorithms factor in gender differences in pay, career breaks, and lifespan.
Another factor that set's them apart is that they are a goal based investing platform. So you set your goals, and the system tells you how much you should invest to meet it on time.
The best part is that they offer a free goal-based investment plan with no obligations to invest with them.
4. Make sure you are saving for the short term
You should also save for more short-term goals and emergencies, including replacing something in your home, buying a car, or making a smaller investment. It is good to save 10-20% of your monthly income.
Trim will help you save money instantly. It will analyze your spending and find ways to save money, and you don’t even have to lift a finger. All you need to do is sign up for a free, safe account.
What would you do with an extra $600 a year? Well, that is the average amount Trim saves their customers per year.
Trim negotiates cable, internet, phone, and medical bills cancel old subscriptions, and more.
I would know because they save me money on my internet bill each and every month! Probably the best piece of all of this is that they only get paid if they save you money! They take a small percentage of whatever they save you.
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5. Spend Your Money on Things You Actually Value
What do you value most when it comes to spending?
Do you enjoy a night out on the town or name-brand food? Want to travel or buy a boat? Do you have the latest gadget, or would you ensure you get your nails and feet done instead?
Ask yourself these things, write them out, and stick to them. If you wish to take a trip to Belize next year, think about how to save more to get there. Buy generic food at the grocery store, skip going out to eat a few times a week, bring your lunch to work, etc. Once you decide on what you value, make a point to cut out the things you do not care for as much.
6. Spend Less Than You Earn
Set your budget so you only spend a portion of what you make. That way, you can save 10-20% of my income. A good thing about doing this is that once you get used to living below your means, when you make more money, like getting a new high-paying job, you can continue the trend of spending below your standards and save more money quickly.
This is probably one of the most important things regarding how to grow your wealth. How much you make does not matter if you live below your means.
7. Start a Side Hustle
I have talked about the benefits of side hustles before, but I want to say that no one gets rich from just saving. Saving is essential, but you must know how to make enough money, too–a necessary step in building your wealth as a young person. When you start your own business, you can create something and make it bigger or keep it as small as you’d like.
It is even better to turn it into multiple income streams that can automatically make you some money every month without working every time. (Hello, passive income, anyone?) And having a side hustle that brings in money passively for you is a great way to increase your overall earning potential. I have a list of 17 side hustles you could start to replace your full-time income!
8. Pay Your Bills on Time
Paying your bills on time is crucial to keep your credit score in check. So get into the habit of paying your bills on time, avoid the headache of debt collectors, and save tons in late fees. Following this is mandatory, not optional.
9. Invest in Real Estate
Everyone has a way of making income, but real Estate is for everyone. Even Oprah invests in real Estate in her spare time. Real estate investing has many benefits, including the potential for passive income and being able to pay other people to do lots of hard stuff for you.
If you do not know anything about real estate investing, I suggest you read Rich Woman: A Book on Investing for Women, Take Charge Of Your Money, Take Charge Of Your Life by Kim Kiyosaki. She is married to Robert Kiyosaki and speaks from a woman’s perspective on why this is so important, especially for women. This could be one of the best investments to make in your 20s.
Please read about my journey of investing in real Estate for the first time!
10. Start a retirement account
If your job offers a 401k or another retirement account, you should take advantage of it ASAP. If your company matches your investment in a 401k, joining is imperative. It’s free money; why not participate?
You should still research how it works and monitor it once you invest if your company does not offer a Roth IRA account. If neither of these options sounds appealing, it may be worth investing in the stock market using a user-friendly app like Stash. Stash makes it easy to pick, buy and sell.
11. Set a budget
My favorite book on budgeting is The Debt-Free Spending Plan by Joanneh Nagler. She sets up an easy step-by-step process of balancing your budget to get out of debt. But it’s valuable information for even someone with little to no debt.
12. Pay More on Your Debt Than the Minimum
You cannot make money in your 20s if you have a mountain of student debt, credit card debt, or any obligation. If you have debt, pay more than the minimum to get ahead. I currently spend more on my long-term debts, such as my mortgage, personal loans, car payment, credit cards, student loan debt, etc.
By paying one more extra year on my mortgage alone, I am cutting seven years off the time it takes to pay off. Pay more than the minimum, and your debt, like student loans, will shrink quickly.
13. Pay Down Your Credit Card Debt
If you are paying down debts, no matter the amount, even small amounts, the one to pay off first is credit card debt. It costs you a lot in interest fees to have revolving credit card balances, so make a point to pay those first.
Start with the cards with the highest interest rates by paying more than the minimum. Don’t forget to pay the minimum on the others, though! Then, once you pay off the highest interest rate, make your way to the next.
Read about how to avoid credit card debt here!
14. Choose a Career Where You Can Get Rich
There are many career choices, and if you plan on making money in your 20s by working for someone else, it is best to choose wisely. However, there are specific jobs where people can be rich while working for someone else. A few of those include a CEO, Marketing Manager, IT Manager, and Pharmacist, to name a few. Check out this article on careers that can make you wealthy (especially if you are a woman) for the more good idea!
15. Get Insured
If you do not have a life insurance policy, you should get some as of yesterday. The benefits of getting health insurance while you are young and healthy are that premiums are relatively small.
You could get disability insurance and insurance if you were to pass. Make sure to get enough to cover your funeral costs and pay off your debts in this case. Some insurance policies work like money market accounts; you also take money out of them if needed.
16. Track Your Spending
Joannaeh Nagler loves writing about “your little magic notebook” in The Debt-Free Spending Plan, and she talks about how you should document every single purchase you make in your notebook. Not only is meticulously tracking your spending vital because you can see where your money is going, but it also makes you think before purchasing because you must take your notebook out. You shouldn’t buy it if you find it too frivolous to record.
This is one of the most valuable tips to make money in your 20s. There are some great apps out there that do this for your automatically, like Mint. Check them out! Track your spending; hopefully, it will open your eyes and change bad habits.
17. Find Ways to Cut your Costs at Home
I love cutting costs at home. I find myself unplugging unused appliances from walls, taking shorter showers, and using less electricity during the day. Buy generic groceries, switch to off-brand cleaning products, and even start making your chicken stock at home.
You can do so many things at home that can save you money that I will not delve even into further. So stay mindful of this one. Think: How can I save more money at home? We have a great article here on 20 ways to cut home expenses you should read.
18. Learn to Haggle
I suck at negotiating, despite all the books I’ve read about it. But I learned one haggling tidbit from The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me for Women. The author talks about knowing the magic question, “Is that the best you can do?” when someone gives you a final price for something. I tried this out when I ordered a rental car and was amazed it worked.
The guy I spoke with gave me a price and told me about all the discounts he made on the rental for me. After his explanation, I politely asked, “Is that the best price you can do?” He told me to hold and came back five minutes later to say he cut an additional $60 off my bill, and the price he gave me was now the best he could do. Those words were magic, and I highly encourage everyone to use them!
19. Ask for Decreases on Your Bills Regularly
This is a trick that my husband loves that I do every few months or so. I have been doing this for years and have had much success. I called one of our bill providers, such as our internet provider, and asked if there were ways to lower my bill.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so make a point call and directly ask for decreases on your bills. The worst they can do is say no. If this sounds like a big hassle, contact Trim to help you.
Trim will track your monthly expenses and find ways to save money on your bills. And you don’t have to make one phone call!
Trim will only charge you a percentage of what they can return for you. This is because they work hard at what they do, and your wallet will see the benefit. You can learn more about Trim here!
What would you do with an extra $600 a year? Well, that is the average amount Trim saves their customers per year.
Trim negotiates cable, internet, phone, and medical bills cancel old subscriptions, and more.
I would know because they save me money on my internet bill each and every month! Probably the best piece of all of this is that they only get paid if they save you money! They take a small percentage of whatever they save you.
What are you waiting for? Sign up below!
20. Cut Out the Unnecessary Expenses
If you are still buying expensive coffee a few times a week, eating out for lunch with your buddies every day, or impulse shopping, stop what you are doing now and put that extra cash in your savings. Otherwise, you’ll probably never make money in your 20s.
Successful people spend money on things they like. And you can too! Refer to lesson number five if you need more guidance on this one.
Want more tips on expenses to cut? Check out our article on cutting back on costs here
21. Learn More About Ways to Save and Earn
Last but certainly not least, if you want to have a lot of money, use these tips to start building wealth in your 20s. There are even upwards of 100 ways to become a millionaire! But it would be best to stay open to learning more about your finances. There is so much information that we have no excuse to be irresponsible with our finances.
The good news is that now is a great time to plan for your future. The more you learn, the more you can increase your net worth! So keep learning, stay nimble, and make money in your 20s (and if you figure out how to become a millionaire by 25, let me know!) Good luck!
Resources
Books You Need to Buy
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad
- Rich Woman: A Book on Investing for Women, Take Charge Of Your Money, Take Charge Of Your Life
- The Debt-Free Spending Plan
- The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me for Women
- The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy
Financial Resources
Articles to Read
- 17 Side Hustles That Could Potentially Replace Your Job (And How to Get Started)
- 6 Simple Ways to Avoid Credit Card Debt
- Careers That Can Make You Rich (Especially If You Are a Woman)
- 20 Easy Ways to Cut Down Monthly Expenses
- The Highest-Paying Jobs (That Will Make You Rich Like the Kardashian Family)
- 13 smart money moves to make in your 20s
- The Definition of Wealth
