We’ve all made financial mistakes in our lives. Yours might be really small, or it might be huge and have changed your life. Thinking of myself now I’d say I’m good with money and how to manage it. But I wasn’t always like that. Your finances are really important but for a long time I didn’t think too much about them. I wouldn’t say my financial education was particularly great. School didn’t prepare us for the real world, and honestly I didn’t really have a financial role model at home.

Here are some mistakes not to make with your finances

Protect your finances by not spending everything you earn

I lived at home right through to when I finished university so my expenses were super minimal. But I worked part-time during sixth form and full time during university, but I have nothing to show for it. I would spend everything I earned and pretty much life month-to-month. Like most people my age I loved having a disposable income and I didn’t think about the future.

I wish someone had said ‘think about your finances’ and pushed me to save as I’d probably have been able to put away quite a bit without sacrificing too much. This is a bad habit a lot of us get into with our first jobs. The fun and excitement of getting regular money when you don’t have many outgoings can be disastrous.

Know what your credit score is

A lot of your finances are controlled by your credit score. But until my mid twenties I had no idea what mine was. Even when I applied for my first mortgage I had no clue. Work out what your credit score is early and see what you can do to increase and improve it. Since I started checking mine I remember to check financial connections and shut down old accounts etc.

Your credit score can dictate whether you’re accepted for future credit, or the rate you get for your mortgage. So it’s really important to know what it is so it doesn’t bite you in the ass in the future. On my other blog I did a whole post on increasing your credit score which you can read here.

Protect your finances by not ignoring your pension

When you’re younger or not earning as much you don’t want to think about your pension. When I was younger no one taught me about how much I’d need to retire, state pensions or compound interest. And during my first jobs it wasn’t compulsory for workplaces to have auto enrolment pensions. So for the most part I saved nothing, or very little. When you think about your finances don’t just think about the here-and-now, think about future you. Future you who will be retired and no longer earning. Future you who won’t survive on state pension.

I’ve started upping my pension contributions, and I still know it’s not enough, but it’s a start.