When you’re in your 20s, making regrettable financial decisions may be the last thing on your mind.
After all, you’ll never have a better body, higher libido or bigger dreams than in your starry-eyed youth. Yet the personal finance choices you make before you hit 30 can affect you for decades to come.
Taking out as much as you can in student loans is easy. Paying those loans off, not so much. It’s a bad idea to apply for more money than you need so you can buy a car, study on better furniture or live in an off-campus apartment.
If you’re behind on student loan payments or in default, your financial problems will only get worse if you don’t work out an affordable repayment plan.
Making late credit card, student loan, car and other payments more than 90 days late can drop your credit score, the rating creditors review before extending credit. Landlords and employers look at your credit score, too.
Your best friend may be a blast for a night of clubbing, but will she pay rent on time? That guy from school plays a mean game of basketball, but can he hold down a job? Pick a deadbeat roommate and you could pay for it later with your credit score.
When you squirrel away money into an emergency savings account, you’ve got money to cover car repairs, medical bills, veterinary costs, home repairs and other unexpected expenses that you’d otherwise have to charge on credit cards.