'I've helped women save tens of thousands. Here are 4 money tips you need to know.'

She was sobbing uncontrollably on the phone to me.

I was in my early 20s, a rosy-eyed university student who thought that finance was something “grown-ups” had all figured out. I was so wrong. 

I was talking to a woman in her 40s, on the verge of a financial breakdown. 

And she wasn’t alone. It was only Monday. I still had a whole week of more calls like this one. I was working at the Cancer Council, and every day, I was on the phone supporting Australians experiencing financial hardship due to cancer. 

I faced a sobering reality: most people have no idea what they’re doing with their money. 

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Back then, I had no idea that I would end up starting a financial education platform to fix this problem. 

Today, hundreds of people have transformed their financial lives through our Mastering Money program, and the majority (over 65 per cent) of them are women. Collectively, we’ve helped our students create over $1 million dollars in personal wealth. So, we don’t just “teach”... we give our students the tools and confidence to get real results themselves. And you can do it too. 

I’ve seen hundreds of women turn their financial life around in a few short months. And yes, having more money is great... but what is truly life-changing is the confidence, freedom from stress, and independence that comes when you take control of your finances.

While it’s never too late to turn your financial life around... the younger you start, the better. Getting a few things right in your 20s, can set you up for massive financial success later on.

So, what can you do to achieve that? 

Here are some things to master before you hit 30. These tips have been game-changing for our students and can be for you too.  

1. Clear out your emotional "money baggage”.  

If you hate maths, here’s some good news! Being good with money is more about emotions and psychology, than numbers.

We are all carrying a lifetime of “money baggage” around with us: thoughts, feelings, experiences about money that are getting in the way of financial success. 

Maybe your parents were risk-averse, so now you’re scared of investing (or it’s not even remotely on your radar). Maybe your family thought credit card debt was okay so... you do too.

You won’t truly change your financial choices until you understand why you’re making them. Once you let go of your old ‘money baggage’, you’re free to learn healthier financial choices. 

So, do a brain dump of all the ‘money lessons’ you learned from family and friends growing up. Then ask yourself: are these ‘lessons’ really true? Are they serving me? 

2. Get really excited about your future. 

It’s not about your budget. There, I said it. Come at me with your pitchforks, ya’ll. 

A budget is just a tool. It’s like... a treadmill. Want to get fit? Sure, a treadmill can help. But you know what’s more powerful than a treadmill? Having a strong reason to get fit. Getting married? Want to be healthy for your kids? Damn, now we’re talking. You can buy 10 treadmills but if you don’t have a reason to work out every day, the treadmill will gather dust. 

And that’s exactly why most ‘budgets’ don’t work. Having a perfectly colour-coded spreadsheet is useless if you don’t have a compelling reason to save money. 

So, write down 3-5 goals that feel exciting. When your future goals are more exciting than what you currently spend money on, you will automatically start changing your spending. 

3. Don’t rush to buy a house.

I know there’s a lot of pressure to buy property in your 20s but... here’s an unpopular opinion: You CAN go wrong with real estate. 

Not ALL properties are a good investment. And real estate is a massive investment. So, if you DO go wrong, you’re out by hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

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That ‘mistake’ can cost more than money. The pressure of a mortgage can ‘cramp’ other life choices. You may feel unable to take ‘risks’ like starting a business or changing your career. 

Remember: only invest in things you understand. If you don’t understand it yet, keep learning until you do. So instead of committing to buying a property, what if you spent a few months learning about real estate first? 

You might push your timeline out a bit, but you’re also probably going to save yourself a tonne of money by making better-informed decisions. 

And that leads me to the number one tip...

4. Learn like your life depends on it… because it kind of does.

A while back, I got to interview personal finance guru, Robert Kiyosaki, himself. He is a multi-millionaire and his book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, is an international best-seller.

You know what surprised me? He talked about how much time he continues to spend investing in his financial education. He suggested that most people are not willing to put in the time. 

I guess I thought when you get to a certain point, you can hit “cruise control”. It was a humbling reminder that: successful people never stop learning. 

The fastest way to change your life is to invest in your own learning. Don’t believe me? Test it out. Spend the next 3 months investing in your financial education. I bet you won’t regret it.

Paridhi Jain is the founder of SkilledSmart, an independent financial education platform helping adults learn to save and invest their money. For more money tips, you can grab a free e-book on “5 Money Mistakes Costing You Thousands” via their  website, and follow them on Instagram.

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