5 Money Basics My Gen Z Daughter Should've Known ( before she moved out)

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]credit scores, paychecks, rent, debt, saving. No one tells us about this stuff, but we're still just expected to understand it all, right? So, in today's video, I'm going to be sharing five things about money that I wished I would have told my daughter before she moved out. Cuz, you know, we think they're going to be little forever, but then bam, they're out there graduating, getting an apartment, and having a partner, driving them streets. It just happens. so fast. So, yeah, five things today. The kinds of things that just make your life so much easier when you're in your 20s and you're just starting out. And everyone's son and daughter should hear them at least once before they are labeled an adult. And I'm just going to start with the biggest one because so many people do this. You check your app, you see you got 1,200 bucks sitting there and you think to yourself, "Oh yeah, I got money." But you don't. Not that much. Anyway, number one, just because your bank account says you have money, that doesn't really mean that you have that money. People tend to forget that probably some, if not most of that money is already spent. Your phone bill is due next week. You've got gas, food, subscriptions, online purchases, buy now pay laterers. It's all coming out at some point. usually automatically. The biggest thing to remember is when you have things on autopay, you have to know what dates they are coming out so you don't spend that money. I actually have a lot of mine in my calendar in my phone, like a car payment, right? If it's due on the 20th, just put that in and set it to monthly and then scroll down a little further and have it alert you say 1 week before the 20th so that you can make sure that the money is in there and you don't overspend right before it's due.

[00:02:06]And look, I know that no one wants to do any of this because it takes a lot of time and a lot of your effort, but I feel like no one ever thinks about this part. What is your most important task every single day?

[00:02:21]>> Is that a trick question?

[00:02:22]>> It's to get to work, right?

[00:02:24]>> Oh, yeah. Right.

[00:02:26]>> Go to your job, the place that pays you so that you have somewhere to live and a car to drive and food to eat. That comes before everything else because money, right? So, why are we so dismissive of the money? Once we actually have it, we get it. We see that it's been direct deposited and we're just like, "Okay."

[00:02:50]And that's where we end it. We work 40, 50, maybe even 60 or more hours a week to get that money, but we won't sit down for 30 minutes and decide where it's going to go. So, what I did is I started calling this part working for myself because thinking of it in that way made me actually want to do it. And you guys, this is going to be your highest hourly rate happening for you right here when you start tracking your money. Believe me. Number two, just because a bank, a credit card, or a dealership approves you for a certain amount of money, that does not mean that you should actually borrow that full amount of money. In fact, please don't. People finance a car, they get approved for a credit card, they qualify for an apartment that is going to stretch their budget way too thin. And it feels exciting, right? You think to yourself like, "Wow, they approved me for that much." But approval does not mean affordable. These companies are looking at what they can lend you, not what's going to actually leave you comfortable every month. They are not going to call you after a few months and make sure that you're still affording food after you've made the payment to them. One of the best things you can do is leave yourself some breathing room. Just because you can spend that maximum amount, it does not mean that you should. Number three, do not sign any financial paperwork on an iPad. And I don't care how big the screen is. A lot of places today love to make financing feel super casual and super fast. They'll flip the screen towards you, scroll really quickly, and point to where to sign, and then you've just agreed to interest rates, warranties, payment terms, and fees that you didn't even know about. And when you're young and you're new at this, it can feel awkward to slow things down or ask any questions because you just don't want to seem difficult. But this is your money and your future. Never feel embarrassed to ask for a printed out copy of what you are signing. Take your time. Look at every number. You could even leave, take that printed out copy, look it over, and come back later. A fiveinut decision can turn into five years of payments, big ones. So, slow down before you sign anything. Have them print it out. And if they say, "Oh, you have to sign it on the iPad. These are tactics." Believe me, I would ask them.

[00:05:42]So, you're willing to lose a sale because I'm asking to see what I'm signing. That's interesting. Number four, know what a syncing fund is and go ahead and start trying them out. A syncing fund is where you are saving up for something little by little and it's usually a larger expense. It could be something like Christmas. It could be car repairs. It could even be like some future road trip that you want to take with your friends. It's basically just any kind of expense that you know is coming. you're just going to start saving up for it little by little every paycheck so that when it does happen, you will be ready. So, yeah, I would start with a really small one and see how you do and work yourself up to those bigger amounts. Let's use maybe a pair of shoes that you want, right? Let's say they're $200. You could set aside $40 a week for the next five weeks. You're basically being your own credit card with 0% interest. And number five, please don't sabotage yourself by doing what I call death by a thousand cuts, right? Because most money problems don't come from one big purchase or one large bill that we have. It's just all of these little decisions over time that are what is causing our problems. The random drive-thru stop, the Amazon purchases, the buy now pay laterers.

[00:07:08]They feel so harmless because they're so small, but when you pile them all together, they can really make a mess.

[00:07:16]And that's why it's so important for you to give all of your money a place to go before that happens. Go ahead and look at your bills and pay off some of your debt, put some into savings, and then whatever you have left, that's how much money you can spend on all of those little things. In my opinion, overall, the best thing that you can do is just slow down. Don't be so quick to hand over your money because believe me, there is always going to be someone that will happily take it from you. It is your job to protect it. So, take your time and really think about every credit card swipe, any buy now click, any signature on a dotted line. That is my best advice. Slow down. Slow all of it down. It's instant and automated and paperless for a reason. And the reason is not to help you. This ain't show friends. This is show business. They already know that. So now you know it, too. If you have any debt, whether it's $100 or $100,000, check out this video next where I tell you how you can really start to pay it down. Like for real stuff that people don't usually tell you, I do. So go ahead and check that out and I will see you next