Adam Kuettel, the Managing Partner of Kuettel Capital, describes what financial advice you need to follow in your 20s.

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FollowinYour20s
Adam Kuettel

2. Navigating the waters of personal finance can be
a confusing and disappointing journey if you
don’t know what direction to move in. No matter
what your goals are, getting on top of your
financial situation will make life easier for you.
Here’s a short guide for how to regain control of
your finances and live your ideal life.

3. Create another income stream as soon as
possible.
Reaching financial security is a difficult journey for anyone who wasn’t born into a supremely fortunate
financial situation. In order to get ahead fastest, you should be budgeting, but it’s not the most important
step you can take toward financial freedom. You should focus on creating more income.
No matter how much your take-home pay is, you can likely benefit from earning more. There’s a reason
that starting a “side hustle” has sprung up in popularity over the last few years: It helps tremendously.
What skills do you have? You can turn almost anything into a small business: Do walking, doing hair and
makeup, crafting handmade home decor, freelance writing, and graphic design are five examples of side
hustle opportunities. Start your own side project now and see if you can cultivate it into a successful,
revenue-generating business by this time next year.

4. Factor debt repayment into your budget and
pay it off as soon as possible.
Rework your budget to include payments toward your debt. Getting out of debt will allow you so much more
financial flexibility. The quicker you pay off your debt, the less interest you’ll end up paying. Also, once you’re
debt-free, you can use that part of your budget to invest or to feed back into your own business.

5. Once you have an emergency fund, start
investing
You’ve likely heard personal finance guru’s Dave Ramsey’s advice to save up an emergency fund of three to
six months expenses. This is practical, actionable advice that should serve as your first financial goal after
paying off your debt. Having a hefty emergency fund available as a safety net will probably come in handy
more than once and save you from accruing further debt. Most Americans don’t have this kind of savings in
their bank, so getting to this point is a financial feat worth celebrating.
When you’ve deposited your emergency fund, start investing. The money in your savings account will grow
too slow to match inflation and you’ll be losing out on substantial interest by keeping all of your money in a
bank. If you’ve never invested before, try starting out with bonds or index funds. These investments are less
risky than buying specific stocks outright because you’re buying into a large group of companies instead of
relying on just one stock.