7 Money Skills It’s Never Too Late To Learn

7 Money Skills It’s Never Too Late To Learn

Heather Taylor   Wed, April 13, 2022,

No matter what age you are, there are basic money skills that will always be beneficial in your life. From spending less than what you make to determining the best way to pay off your debt, these skills can increase your overall financial literacy and create a healthy relationship with money.

Budgeting

Budgeting is often considered the cornerstone of personal finance advice. Amy Maliga, financial educator at Take Charge America, said it's never too late to get in the habit of planning and following a budget.

Creating a budget allows you to figure out how much money you have coming in every month and the source of this income. Once you know how much money is coming in, you can start tracking and figuring out your expenses. Keep an eye out for fixed expenses (expenses that stay the same every month like rent or a mortgage), variable expenses (expenses that change each month such as groceries or utilities) and periodic expenses (expenses that happen once a year like back-to-school shopping).

Tracking expenses through a budget allows you to see the areas where you may be spending too much money and where there may be opportunities for saving or investing your money. You may also strategize how you can live within your means and plan for the future with the help of a budget. Maliga said that understanding exactly how much money you have coming in, going out and where it's going is the cornerstone of effective money management.

Wise Spending Habits

It's never too late to learn about spending. From reducing everyday expenditures to embracing a passive saving mindset, wise spending habits are a key component of financial literacy.

Britt Williams Baker, co-founder of Dow Janes, said a money skill many underestimate is the importance of learning to spend less than what you make.

"Whether you're 25 or 55, if you still spend more than you make each month, you'll never be able to save. And until you start to save, you can't do anything else -- like invest, buy a house, or build wealth," Williams Baker said.

The best way to learn how to spend less than what you make is by tracking expenses. (This shares similarities with creating and keeping a budget.) Williams Baker recommends paying attention to every dollar that comes in and out of your life. Write down your paycheck and every expense. Then, tally it up at the end of the month. Was it negative or positive?

"If you're going into debt every month, you have to find a way to eliminate your expenses or increase your income. That's the first step to being able to save and that's a lesson that you need to learn at any age," Williams Baker said.

Strategic Credit Card Usage

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