AbbieCurls

Puff check ☺️

Day 13/32: Don’t just save, actually LEARN about money!

One thing I got right in my early 20s was saving. I was always putting money away at the end of the month. I would always put in overtime shifts and allocate that extra money to something I wanted to buy or do in the future. And I thoroughly enjoyed that process and watching the numbers grow 😅

But that’s kinda where my financial knowledge at the time stopped. I thought being “good with money” simply meant putting money into a savings account.

It wasn’t until my late 20s that I realised that there is so much more to money management than savings.

Investing, compound growth, ISAs, pensions, budgeting with intention instead of just saving whatever was left etc...

And the more I learned, the more I thought imagineee if I was learning and actioning all of this when I was 22 years old. I would be retired and living on an island by now 😂 Okay maybe not... But I do wonder what my finances would look like today if I’d started building my financial knowledge a little earlier.

One thing I know now is that financial literacy isn’t just for people who earn loads of money. It’s arguably more important when you don’t. Because the habits and mindset you build in your 20s matter far more than waiting until you think you’re earning “enough.” Like, you don’t want to suddenly come in to a lot of money and not know what to do with it.

So, to my younger self: keep saving! You’re already good at that. But don’t stop there. Learn about money too. Read the books, listen to the podcasts, ask questions, understand your options. The more you understand money, the more freedom you have to make decisions that future you will be grateful for. You don’t have to be making millions to have financial freedom! The financial knowledge will also get you there.

What’s one thing you wish someone had taught you about money in your early 20s? 👇

Day 10/22: Something I’ve only started doing this year, and I genuinely wish I’d done sooner, is ditching the generic “I’m good, you?” when someone asks me how I am.

Now, instead of giving the default answer, I’ve started telling people the truth.

Not my entire life story and not an emotional unloading session in the middle of Sainsbury’s. 😂 Just the truth.

If I’m having a great week I’ll say “I’m actually really excited because I’ve got this trip coming up.”

If I’m not doing too well, I’ll say “It’s been a stressful week, but I’m getting there.”

It means I’m having deeper conversations instead of just surface-level ones. And because people know what’s actually going on in my life, they check in on the exciting things I was looking forward to or ask whether I’m feeling better after a rough week.

It’s such a small change but the effect has been huge! I now feel so much more fulfilled and secure in my relationships.

Turns out, if you actually tell people what’s going on in your life... they have the opportunity to show up for you. Who would’ve thought? 😅

I think for so much of my 20s I expected people to somehow know what I needed while I was telling everyone I was “fine”. I wasn’t trying to be secretive. I just didn’t realise how much I was keeping to myself.

So, to my younger self: be honest about what you’re feeling and what you’re going through, whether it’s good or bad. Don’t hide your real experiences behind “I’m good” and then wonder why people don’t understand what you need.

Let people know you.

You might be surprised by how many people want to show up for you when you give them the chance.

🩷

My 3 goals of the week:

✨ Reduce the amount of matchas I have in a day 😂 (I currently have around 4🫣)
✨ Strict sleep routine! Bed by 10pm and 6am alarm every day
✨ 8k steps per day

What about you?