Financial Mistake In My Early 20s

Why I end up broke in my late twenties is all because of me. I can’t blame nobody, nobody but me. I was financially illiterate and I had a different definition of success.  Right now, I'm trying to redo those mistakes and trying to win the game of being financially free. Here are some of my financial mistakes in my early twenties.

1. Excessive Blowouts and Gift-giving

I used to fantasize the word ‘busy’ too much that I overlook time to DIY gifts to make it more memorable. I was always on a haste that every time I am invited to attend a wedding or christening, I tend to buy without checking the tags.

TGIFs, Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon dates with friends are always the best. I used to love treating friends over din dins, coffee or boost and getting sober every time I was off work. Being generous is good but too much generosity is bad for your wallet.

As I grow older, I realized, a single cup of cheap coffee can do the same trick. A simple cooked meal will give you the same valuable chat with a dear friend. The ambiance, the place, the luxury, warmth and soothing music can be DIYed at home.

2. Excessive Traveling

Being young, hungry for adventure, impulsive and too much social media pressure convinces you that the new normal being like them even if you can’t afford to. Rich friends traveling here and there, make you want to jump to the next cheapest flight you can grab. Unbudgeted travel, same as impulse buys online or at the malls is very bad to your wallet.

From 2015 to 2019, I’ve been traveling here and abroad and had spent countless days and nights on campsites, beach tents, cheap and affordable hotels, slept in buses and be on the go. I thought I live the typical ‘yolo’ until bills came filing right at my doorstep. I had loans after loans and when I tried facing them, I realize, it all because of my unbudgeted travels.

Travel fuels the soul, teach you lessons of a lifetime and even takes your breath away. But remember, to plan and have sufficient money to fund your travels to make it a lasting memory not a bad one.

3. Had the Know-Hows but too Lazy to Apply

Financial literacy and its application are the key to financial freedom. Similar to when we are trying to lose weight, many of us know the right formula, diet and exercise. But the real question is, ‘do you have what it takes to succeed?’ In wealth building and any endeavour, many of us know the formula to wealth but not much of us is willing to take the path to success.

At a very young age, since I grow from poverty, I had the slightest idea how important is having saving. I had wild dreams of amounting having my own business and amassing wealth. I been reading books by famous authors Robert Kiyosaki, Napeleon Hill and listening to David Ramsey, Chinkee Tan and the likes but I just shove all those learning unto the back of my brain. Not until, I was 28. It was as if, I was struck by a lightning bolt and realize, I had it all along. I was just ignoring my bad habits and not applying all the teachings from all these mentors all over the world. I had free access to technology and various reference books and videos when it comes to financial literacy but I was wasting it all away but not putting it to good use. Hence, I decided to take action one by one. I started budgeting, monitoring bills and paying on time, keeping track of my expenses and contributing to small investment as a start. I might be late by some years from my other colleague, but it is important to know, comparison will do you no good. Be a better version of yourself every day and success will follow. There is no greater enemy or competition than your lazy, procrastinating and hard-headed self.

4. Delinquent Bills

Didn’t paying dues on time cost me a lot more than help me augment my other debt. But how did I not manage to do this? You ask me how? It’s because of my sense of irresponsibility. I tend to forget bills and just spend more time with work, chatting with friends or partying instead of spending even 30 minutes or an hour to do budget and tracking expenses and updating my bills. By doing so, I paid penalties more than my interest rates and I totally regret it.

As I grow older, I learn to value things that give me value. When I was younger, I used to buy I only wanted and don’t need at all; now I wanted to throw them all.