Here is another finance tip: make sure that you set money aside every single month for your future. Here is what I have learned over the years: building wealth takes time. You need time to build credit so that you can buy your first house. You need time in that house to build equity. You need time in your job to build up your salary.
Something that I like to do is think 10 years out. Where do I want to be at 20, 30 , 40, 50....90, 100? Take a piece of paper and write down what you want your life to look like in 10 years. Do you have a house? Do you have kids? Are you retired? Are you traveling the world? Don't hold back, just write it all down and "dream big". From there, you can devise a plan on how to get there. For example, say you are 20 years old and your goal is to buy your first investment property by the time you are 30. You will need to save up for a down payment and you calculate that $50,000.00 is what you will need to make this happen. If you put away just over $400/month, at the end of 10 years, you will have your $50,000.00. However, if you just hope that you will be there, I guarantee that you won't wake up to a $50,000 balance in your bank account on your 30th birthday;)
I have also learned that you have to plan for the future, even if you think you have "lot's of time". We started putting money aside every month for our kid's education since our girls were born. When Sienna was a baby, I could not picture her as a toddler, let alone a full grown adult going off to college. But, in a blink of an eye, here we are and she is already looking at moving away to finish high school at a dance school. It happened so fast! I have never seen the money that we put away for them, so I never miss it. The same goes for our retirement and investment savings. We pay into that every month, so we don't ever see that cash. The point is that you have to plan and work towards your goals every single day. It can get depressing on those months/years where you are really cash poor, but always have your end goal in sight and live your best life within (or just a little below) your means. Your future self will thank you😀