Early career years

Financial planning for every stage of your life 

This is the life stage where you start your career and look to implement the financial skills you have acquired and use these to help you as you start working. Primarily, this is where you should be considering your financial plan as you begin to earn a form of income. Budgeting is a critical financial skill that will benefit you at this life stage and help you to plan for the future ahead. 

It is time to consider and develop a suitable budget and build the discipline to live within your income so that you do not fall into a debt trap. Once you learn to contain your expenses such as transport, food and essential expenditure to your available income, you can start building savings into your budget. Your goal should include starting to build an emergency fund which will help you during any unexpected events. 

During this life stage you may change jobs to enhance your career, decide on other ways to earn an income such as becoming your own boss or decide to continue to further education. You will start to learn about digital ways of managing your finances through online banking and tools available to support you.

Your income could increase or decrease, so it is good to understand your own financial situation and decide on some key goals. This way, your money will start to work for you, consider your savings vs your goals and you may also start to look at some of those bigger life purchases such as your first home, car, alongside the insurances required to keep you and your purchases fully protected.