You are never too young to start your financial plan

Meet my youngest. She’s the one on the right. She is beautiful, charming, temperamental, and prone to having her heart broken. She works in fast food, and is looking at higher learning next year. She has a lead foot in the car, and is ALWAYS out of the house socialising. Her bedroom is a mess. She is funny, articulate and kind. She has a very short fuse, and will argue about everything.

She can be the most wonderful person in the world one minute, and the hardest person to get along with the next minute. She's hard not to like. Oh, and she finds it hard to save. Now what 18-year-old is good with money, I hear you ask? Well, chances are that the habits we learn in our early years will follow us throughout our lives.

If young people have an early financial plan, and a knowledge of how money works, life will get a lot easier. Here are a few rules for this young girl:

1. Have a budget.
2. Have adequate insurance cover.
3. Save one-tenth of all you earn.
4. Make a Will and an Enduring Power of Attorney.
5. Own a home.
6. Invest for your retirement.
7. Get an education.
8. Be careful in life’s decisions and make wise choices.

Let’s hope this young lady follows these simple rules and has a happy life.