YW Blogcast 5 - Stuff you CAN control

Now we get to the good part. Here’s what you can control about your financial success. Believe us, when used correctly, the information here is way stronger than the stuff you can’t control. Here’s a quick rundown.

1. Interest – Surprise! We included this in both sections. While you can’t control the interest rate, you can control whether you pay it or not. You can also take extra care to develop a great credit score from the very beginning so you don’t get stuck paying outrageous rates just to get a real estate loan. In fact, with a good enough credit score, banks will be begging you to borrow from them.

2. Time – We can’t repeat this enough. Start early and invest often. Even if you don’t have the knowledge to implement a sophisticated investment strategy right out of school (chances are you won’t), you will be light years ahead of others who wait until they are 30, 40, or older before getting serious about it. The leverage you gain by an early start could put you well on your way to millionaire status even if nothing extraordinary happens.

3. Education – We all can recite stories of high school or college dropouts who amassed incredible fortunes. Yes, it can happen. Odds are, it won’t. All the studies show that higher education means higher income. If you have completed or are working toward a degree right now, good job! It should pay off big time.

4. Career – Self explanatory. Don’t wait until you’re a senior to start thinking about this. Get busy as a sophomore or junior networking and attending informational interviews. Figure out what you want to do and go get it!

5. Benefits – This can be as important as salary, especially in this day and age of the incredible dwindling benefit package. Things like medical insurance, personal leave, sick leave, vacation leave, marital counseling, legal services. If you don’t have it as a benefit, you’ll be paying it out of your income and your salary will go down accordingly.

All this stuff is under your control. Choose wisely.