10 Reasons Why Every Millennial Can and Should Be Financially Independent

Don't go all green-eyed over your friends who are trudging down the blue lagoons in Iceland and dancing among sakura flowers in Japan. You can do it too even at the age of 17, 18 if you plan ahead. Not everyone relies on Parents Foundation for their travels. They work for it straight after graduating from secondary school, scrimping and saving from their holiday jobs and of course, not spending too much on frivolous expenditures. The usual jobs you should be expecting for a secondary school graduate are restaurant/cafe service staff, surveyors, and temporary event helpers. These jobs pay pretty well but they can be very tiring. If your mantra is 'what does not kill you makes you stronger', kudos to you. You can find part time jobs for students online, through your friends' referrals, through the Linkedin portal, or through the newspapers.

Being stuck in the Singapore educatoin system, it's a fact that you have a limited number of holidays and you can only do so much each time. So start accumulating your cash early by getting part-time jobs in Singapore during your June/ December holidays and make full use of post-Secondary school/ post-JC/ post-poly time to secure a 3-month or 6-month part time job. That way, you actually can realize your dream of backpacking across a few countries before you hit 20, or investments that require capital. You'd never know when the opportunity comes knocking so it's always good to keep a reasonable amount of money. Cash is the most versatile resource that you can ever use to solve problems - you'll never have too much of it.

I got my first smartphone, laptop and camera with the money I earned from my part-time jobs before university, and it really feels good to own something that I can call my own. You can choose the model, brand and accessories to go with it without having anyone's opinion on it.

If you ever wanted to just go for a spa, attend yoga classes, sign up for a gym membership, learn K-pop dances or a haircut... you no longer have to feel guilty or restricted for doing so because you're spending what you've worked for. These are not considered necessities, so if you have always felt uneasy asking for pocket money from your parents for extra expenditures like these, you can be free from these worries once you start earning your own keep.

Being in control of your expenditures would mean that you are in control of many aspects of your life... especially how you spend in your leisure time. This will improve your quality of life greatly because you've opened up a lot more opportunities that you can get involved in. You will be less tied down by the price tags on the things you love and being able to own them.

They've always said that once you start working, you'll understand how tough it is to keep a family going. We live in an era when everything costs money. The water you drink, the electricity you use, the homecooked meal you eat at home, the wifi broadband connection, the rent on the house... they don't come for free. Even though it's cheaper to stay at home, these things still cost money. When I started working and earning my own pocket money, I began to understand how much work and money goes into supporting myself, much less multiple dependents.

Simply put as a summary to this article - being financially independent is the first step to everything else! If you want to be taken seriously as an adult, you have to be responsible for your own spending and expenditure. You can move on to greater things once you've got a stable savings account, including going for social events, traveling, and buying a car/ apartment in the future. You will not regret starting early and there is plenty to learn, experience and people to meet along the way.