I struggled a lot financially when I was younger, I struggled to hold down a job and hovered around having a little money to having no money until only about 5 years ago, and even only until about 2 years ago I went from having a little money to a little more money, but in these last couple of years, my finances have taken off so I want to impart to you all some financial lessons that it took me a decade to learn the hard way.

1: sacrifices. We’ve all heard “we all gotta make sacrifices” but what does this mean? It means cutting back on things that sound great in the moment but will seriously drain your bank account. A big one are nightclubs and bars. You guys are gonna reach drinking age (or depending on where you live, you already are of drinking age) and these places rely on you being too drunk to care that you just blew through half of your savings in one night. If you want to drink with your friends, do it at home, where it’s not only safer but the drinks are undoubtedly far cheaper. Keep your old computer desk for a few more years, that old couch still has a few good years in it, you don’t need ANY brand name clothing when the same thing is available fir 1/5th the price at another store just without the logo, do you REALLY need the next Fifa game? (No)

2: try to live healthy: don’t smoke, not only is it EXTREMELY unhealthy, but the price for those things adds up and uts only getting more and more expensive. Regular exercise and a good diet can keep you out of spending money at the hospital and veggies and fruit are far cheaper than meat. Find the veggies you like and have yourself a feast. Personally I’m 30 and I can’t stand peas, green beans or cauliflower, but I LOVE pumpkin, carrots, sweet potato and corn. My meals are usually 3 parts veggies to 1 part meat and the cost is quite low.

3: skilled jobs pay more: guys, go to trade school if you’re not going to college, and if you are going to college, put it off and go to trade school first, use the skills and qualifications you gain to pay off your student loans till you land a good job in your chosen field. Too many people with bachelors degrees flipping burgers out there. Be someone with a bachelors degree who makes extra bank fixing pipes, wiring, roofs and doing landscaping.

Pay is determined by the value of your labour, the value of your labour is determined by the availability of those with your skill set, it’s the classic rule of supply and demand. Low demand with high supply means lower value (eg: fast food wirkers), higher demand but lower availability means you’re the one making bank. Learn to be a plumber or an electrician or a line worker, usually the more unpleasant and skill-demanding the job, the higher paying. The reason that McDonald’s pays next to dirt is because the skills needed to work there are so abundant that the value of it is low. HOWEVER, sewerage plant workers and those with the skills and willingness to climb into and fix septic tanks are jobs that require skill, require knowledge and require the will to do it. Very few people have all three and that’s why they’re so damn expensive. Because they can name their own price and like it or not, the customer has to pay it or their sewer system will remain all jacked up, and most people will sell their organs rather than let that problem sit and fester.

Also night shift, very few people are willing to work night shift, this makes night shift work pay CONSIDERABLY higher than regular day shift jobs.

The downsides to these jobs are those “sacrifices” I mentioned earlier as well.

4: manage your money: get a banking app. If your bank doesn’t have an app, find a new bank. Of course just saying “manage it” isn’t helpful so, for an example, let me tell you how I manage my money.

I have 3 bank accounts, one is my “rainy day account” one is my “savings” and one is my “spending” all of my pay goes straight into my savings, all my bills and rent are paid via this account too by direct debit.

My “rainy day” account receives an automatic $50 transfer to I from my savings every fortnight. This account goes untouched unless needed and receives extra input from my savings when I feel there’s some extra in my savings I can put away.

The spending account is only to have money that is directly transfered from the savings account via the app. That way I can control how much money I can spend at any given time, and how much is left in my savings after each transfer so I can keep track of my spending and endure that I am almost always operating at a net gain.

3 years ago, I was delivering pizzas and had about 3K to my name. Today, with the tips I’ve told you about here and working as a night patrol security guard, i have 15K in my savings, 17K in my rainy day and $70 in my spending account.

Just as costs for things can pile up, if you stop and think about how much you’re spending and budget accordingly, so can your savings.

Good luck you kids, some lessons you’ll learn the hard way but i hope one day you think back on what you’ve read here and it helps you even in a small way.