4 Financial Experts Reveal How They Spent Their First Big Paycheck

4 Financial Experts Reveal How They Spent Their First Big Paycheck

Bob Haegele   Mon, June 27, 2022

When you think about financial experts, you might imagine someone who is extremely savvy with their money, meticulously planning and optimizing their every penny for maximum wealth generation.  While that can be true in some cases, it’s not as though there is some law or wealth accumulation creed to which every financial expert is beholden.

Sometimes, financial experts spend their money in ways that may seem consistent with how most people spend money. In other words, they spend money on things they want, or even on surprises for their loved ones. Sometimes, they spend their money on nothing more than paying down debt and shoring up their savings accounts.

I interviewed a few successful financial experts and, indeed, they spent their first big paychecks on things indicative of someone who is far from rich. Nevertheless, it’s clear they had a few more dollars in the bank than they had in the past.

Debt Repayment

According to the New York Fed, total household debt in the first quarter of 2022 was $15.84 trillion. With such a staggering number, it would serve most of us well to pay down those debts before spending on most other things. So, it’s no surprise that (at least) one expert focused on debt repayment with his first big paycheck.

“This is going to sound boring, but I simply paid down some debts and banked it, enjoying the feeling of not having to live paycheck-to-paycheck for the first time,” said Chris Motola, financial analyst at MerchantMaverick.com. It can be tough to make those debt repayments when you don’t have much. But when you start to earn a real paycheck, it makes sense to start repaying your debt.

Student Loans

Student loans are another form of debt, but they are worth mentioning separately because of how large the national student loan debt burden has become. According to Experian, student loans are now the second-largest type of debt, with only mortgages having a larger collective balance. Many jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree, but the cost of tuition at many schools has risen rapidly. This highlights the need to pay student loans down to avoid falling too far behind.

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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-financial-experts-reveal-spent-120007383.html