Millennials may still feel quite young (despite those pesky grey hairs and less-than-fine lines), but in so many ways, we have "adulted". So it’s time for our money management to grow up a bit, too.
Your financial to-do list is small but mighty in your twenties. Setting up automatic transfers to a high-yield savings account, creating an emergency fund and paying down high-interest debt can take you quite far.
Now, you can do more to propel yourself to financial success in your forties and beyond.
Make use of a higher credit score
You don’t have to treat a high credit score like a precious work of art. Good credit can qualify you for better borrowing terms, so put that to work.
Try to cut back on the cost of borrowing.
“In terms of bang for your buck, refinancing is an important thing you should be doing,” says Priya Malani, founder and chief executive of Stash Wealth, a financial advisory in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“If you can move even a quarter of a per cent on a really large mortgage, that’s going to save you tens of thousands of dollars.”
Get a better deal on high-interest credit card debt. If your financial situation has improved, you may qualify for a balance transfer credit card offering a year or more at zero per cent interest.
If you don’t have credit card debt, but you’re still using that bare-bones card you got at 21, switch to a card that earns cash back or travel rewards.
In terms of bang for your buck, refinancing is an important thing you should be doing
Priya Malani,
founder and chief executive of Stash Wealth
However, leave that old credit card open and use it once in a while to keep it active. (The average age of your accounts is a factor in your credit score, and the older, the better.)
Match investments to a variety of goals
Here are two ways you can up the ante on your investing. First, if your employer offers a retirement plan with a match and you’ve been contributing just enough to get that match, consider contributing more.
A rule of thumb is to save 10 per cent to 15 per cent of your income towards retirement.
Next, plot out your intermediate-term goals for the next five to 15 years. You can invest for these goals using other kinds of accounts to help fund early retirement, save for your child’s education or plan for another large expense.
Money for short-term goals (within five years or less) shouldn’t be invested. Instead, a high-yield savings account is a more appropriate place to hold that money until you need it.
Think about how to improve your career — and your life
If you spent the start of your career rising and grinding, you probably had little energy to think about what kind of work – and life – would actually bring you the most joy. When you’re financially stable and advancing in your career, you can begin to think about what comes next for you.
You don’t need to wait for retirement to do the things you truly enjoy, says Shehara Wooten, certified financial planner and founder of Your Story Financial, a financial advisory firm in Dallas.
“You may even want to, if you’ve planned properly, take some time off,” she says. “If that’s not something you’re able to do, take some time to find out how you can get paid more, how you can really be appreciated for the work that you do.”
Ms Wooten also recommends seeking the help of a financial adviser to discuss what kind of lifestyle you want to have in retirement and the savings you need to accumulate to get there.
You may have a skill set that can translate to a higher-paying career, which will help you accomplish your goals more quickly.
Protect yourself and your loved ones
What worked when you were 25 and single isn’t going to cut it when you’re 35 with two kids and a mortgage. Here are some ways to protect your family:
Insurance: Ms Malani recommends a term life insurance plan if you own a home with someone else, someone is dependent on you for support or you have a co-signer on one of your loans.
Estate planning: Talk to an estate lawyer about crafting a will, identifying guardians for your children, appointing a medical power of attorney and other details.
Update beneficiaries: Revisit who you listed as your beneficiaries on your bank and investment accounts. If that information is outdated and you were to die, your money won’t go to the right person.
Donate to others
As your salary grows, it becomes easier to meet your needs and still have money left over each month. Some of that money can be budgeted toward meaningful causes.
Estate planning can also help you map out how you’d like to donate money or valuable possessions to charity.
“I like to have people write out their story and go to the end of their life,” Ms Wooten says. “What do you want that to look like? What do you want people to say about you? What do you want your legacy to entail?”
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The%20specs
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Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Race card
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; 5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; 6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (PA) 1,400m
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
SPECS
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
WISH
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Honeymoonish
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Persuasion
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RESULTS
2.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
2.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
3.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Inthar, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.45pm: Al Ain Stud Emirates Breeders Trophy – Conditions (PA) Dh50,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
4.25pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: JAP Aneed, Ray Dawson, Irfan Ellahi
4.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Edaraat, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Major honours
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
- La Liga - 2013
- Copa del Rey - 2012
- Fifa Club World Cup - 2011
CHELSEA
- Premier League - 2015, 2017
- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
