Earlier this year we started posting fun money tips and quotes on our Instagram feed.  Check it out: https://www.instagram.com/moneysavvygeneration/

A recent #moneysavvysays quote reminds us that in order to live it up later, we can’t always live it up now.

What’s the deal? Budgeting your spending and saving money where you can (like with at home ☕️ versus Starbucks) allows you to save your 💰 for bigger and more important things.

Building an emergency fund makes sure you’re protected in case of something serious.

Saving for a vacation allows you to save for a goal that results in celebration.

This delayed gratification is like a muscle you exercise to stay healthy and strong with your money habits.

In his recent his column for Marketwatch, Mark Hulbert suggests that no amount of financial education will ever keep people from doing the wrong thing when it comes to their money choices:

“In my experience, the biggest obstacle investors face is not cognitive but behavioral. Even when they have sufficient knowledge, they still do the wrong thing. No amount of education will overcome that.”

Well that’s depressing. And wrong. Financial literacy basics learned and mastered early on can help overcome behavioral missteps later in life.

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At The WSJ “The Future Of Everything” conference this week in NYC, Ted Benna, the man who invented the 401(k), points to his invention as the savings vehicle that can turn even a modest salary into a sizable retirement portfolio.

How? As soon as you get the opportunity to fund a 401(k) or 403(b) – do so. Process the paperwork ASAP so the first paychecks you get are the paychecks you will learn to live on. In other words, you won’t miss the money being swept into your future investment.

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Sunday’s WSJ article ‘Playing Catch-Up in the Game of Life.’ Millennials Approach Middle Age in Crisis makes the case – once again – for EARLY financial education. It highlights how essential this education is to laying a foundation for later-in-life financial decisions:

“If I can’t afford a home, I definitely can’t afford kids,” said Joy Brown, 32 years old. She is a renter who is single and earns $75,000 a year. She also owes $102,000 in student loans and $10,000 in credit card debt. “Myself and a lot of my peers still feel like we’re playing catch-up in the game of life,” said Ms. Brown, a compliance officer for the city of Chicago.

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