Building first-time financial independence
How do you start becoming financially independent in your twenties?
Do you want to become financially independent? You’re in your twenties, maybe fully getting out into the working world for the first time and making some money for yourself.
But maybe, you are also pretty broke.
Same.
At the same time, everyone’s saying, “Invest in your future. Now’s the time. Do it while you’re young.”
But how do you do that when you don’t have that much money to work with?
Elizabeth Pennington, a certified financial planner from Fearless Finance, who works mainly with younger adults, has some answers.
In this episode, she breaks down what kinds of goals to set, how to get started planning for the future, and why it’s important to start thinking now, but also how to be realistic when it’s not feasible for you to put down huge amounts of cash.
Listen to the entire episode by clicking here.
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Behind the scenes
Elizabeth is one of the first people I interviewed for this podcast who I didn’t know. For the most part, the people you’ll hear from on this podcast in the first few seasons are either my friends or friends of friends. But I found Elizabeth (or rather, she reached out to me) after posting in a Facebook group for podcast guests.
It was honestly a stroke of luck that I got to interview her—a certified financial planner who works with young adults? And she also shares her own journey in her 20s, especially with financial wellness, which I think people may find inspiration from. She was awesome!
It’s interesting trying to establish a vibe during an interview with someone you don’t know. Should you be a bit more formal to not weird them out? Should you be more casual so they feel they can relax? I try to be myself as much as possible, but in fact I am an introvert and so that’s hard when I’m nervous about anything that comes out of my mouth. This is super behind the scenes, but I actually wrote talking points for myself in case I totally froze on what to say besides just the questions during the interview. Luckily Elizabeth has a very open and inviting energy and was pretty much game for all of my “jokes.”
As I interviewed more strangers, I told myself that they’re also just people, just as my friends are. And as I got more comfortable in what I was talking about, it made it easier to build that kind of connection with others within the interview itself. It’s something I’m still learning, but I hope you see that progression as time goes on.
Something interesting that Elizabeth points out during the interview is that your finances are also part of wellness. And her mental health and how she spent money were linked. We are bound to having a relationship with money in this capitalist society, and it can be healthy, or it can turn toxic. It can reveal our values, and also our insecurities. Now can be our time to lay that foundation on how we handle money in the future, as we pay bills, hopefully build savings, and potentially start investing. I hope we can all achieve that kind of financial wellness that Elizabeth outlines in the episode, and make smart money decisions.
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