Let’s talk about personal finance, which is the least fun topic for adults. That thing your
parents talked about when they weren’t fussing at you about credit cards or wondering why
you spent $13 on oat milk lattes.
We all learned the Pythagorean theorem by heart, but no one believed it was important to
teach people “how to budget without crying.” We’re now Googling “how to not go broke”
while claiming to know what compound interest is.
Managing money is a necessary part of being an adult. It’s not enjoyable or glamorous, but
it’s very important if you want to appreciate things like having electricity or not living with five
roommates until you’re 32.
So get ready, get your third-hand coffee, and let’s speak about why personal finance is
important… before your credit score steps in.
Astrology isn’t the reason you’re broke; it’s math, babe.
The cold, hard reality is that your money problems aren’t because Mercury is in retrograde;
they’re because you’re making $2,800 a month and somehow spending $3,200.
Having a crystal in your wallet and showing off your wealth on TikTok isn’t what personal
finance is all about. It’s about harsh math, boring spreadsheets, and the sad truth that Uber
Eats is the bad guy in your budget tale.
Budgeting is like being an adult on “expert mode.” It’s knowing that your $6-a-day matcha
adds up to $180 a month, which is the same as a complete vehicle payment, which is the
same as existential regret.
Personal finance does not mean being limited. You only have to choose between “a little
uncomfortable discipline now” and “total financial panic later.”
Let’s be honest: no one wants to “track” how much they spend. But crying in a Target aisle
because your debit card said, “Try again later, sweetie,” doesn’t give you any power.
Overdraft costs are real, but astrology isn’t. Make a good choice.
Schools Taught You Algebra, Not How to Pay for Food
Do you remember when your high school teachers made you figure out the hypotenuse of a
triangle and said, “You’ll need this someday”? Lies. Everything.
What did they not educate you?
How credit cards really operate.
What an interest rate does (spoiler: it hurts).
Why landlords want more receipts than the IRS does.
How to complete your taxes without getting upset or doing something illegal.
Instead, we learnt that mitochondria are the cell’s power source, which is quite useful when
you have to choose between paying rent and fixing your transmission.
The school system made us think that becoming an adult means having a big “You’ll Figure
It Out” button. Spoiler: it doesn’t.
You have to take care of your own money since no one else will do it for you. Not your
parents, not school, and definitely not those shady “money guru” YouTubers who peddle
$700 budgeting courses.
If you were to write a book about becoming an adult, the first chapter would be “Managing
Your Money Before It Manages You.”
The Score for Credit Hunger Games (Because Being an Adult Is a Sport Now)
A credit score is a random three-digit number that tells you how much you are worth. This is
a sign that you are an adult.
Your financial GPA is what tells you how much your life costs. It tells you if you can rent an
apartment, buy a car, or even acquire a new phone plan without having to fill out a lot of
paperwork and tell sad stories.
This is the fun part:
If you skip one bill, you can ruin your credit, but it will take about… the rest of your life to fix it.
It’s like a riddle inside a contradiction inside an app you don’t check that tells you how to use
credit “the right way.”
Banks really do judge how much debt you can handle based on how well you’ve handled
debt in the past.
The system is rigged, but that’s just how capitalism works, baby.
Personal finance is how you fight back: by checking your score, understanding it, and not
allowing an unpaid $43 charge from 2017 stalk you like a ghost in your attic as an adult.
“Not paying it” isn’t a good tactic, so remember that. Late fees are a way to hurt your own
finances.
“Budgeting” Isn’t a Bad Word—It Keeps You from Getting Hurt Emotionally
When people hear the word “budget,” they think of spreadsheets, sin, and never eating
avocado toast again. Take it easy. That’s not budgeting; that’s punishment. Real budgeting is
merely telling your money where to go before it sneaks off to buy AirPods on a whim again.
Having a decent budget doesn’t mean you have to hate your life. It implies having power, the
kind that enables you pay your bills and buy plane tickets at the same time.
You can use an app, a notebook, or even your Notes app like a crazy accountant. It doesn’t
matter. The goal is to quit making guesses.
Here’s everything you need to know about budgeting:
It lets you see. You finally find out where your money goes (hint: it’s all food and streaming
subscriptions).
It makes you feel more sure of yourself. No more “how broke am I?” panic every time
someone asks you to go out.
It gets rid of guilt. When it’s part of the plan, you can really love spending money.
Making a budget doesn’t mean giving up fun. It’s making sure that your pandemonium is in
order.
The Toxic Relationship You Keep Avoiding: Saving Money
Let’s talk about saving money, or what most Americans call “wishful thinking.”
The guideline that never changes is to pay yourself first. Yes, yes, you’ve heard it. But for
most of us, “savings” is still something we can put off until our next payday. Which, spoiler
alert… never comes.
The truth? Having money saved up is like having emotional insurance. You don’t worry every
time your car makes a sound. Or when your boss says “quick heads-up” at the outset of
every team meeting.
This is the hard math:
One bad day away from ruin with little money saved.
$500 saved gives me a little peace of mind, but I’m still worried.
If you save more than $1,000, you can sleep through financial nightmares.
It accumulates up over time, even if you start with just $10 a week. It’s not about how much
money you save; it’s about proving to yourself that you can quit hurting yourself.
You can either control your savings or your panic. Choose one.
Investing: Where Fear and FOMO Meet
You stay afloat by saving. Investing really does make you rich.
Personal finance is about both: saving money and putting it to use instead of letting it sit
around collecting dust and “good intentions.”
The good news is? Not just hedge fund guys called Chad can invest. You don’t need to
make six figures; all you need is Google and time.
They’re not magic: stocks, index funds, and ETFs. They’re just grown-up games that give
you points for not checking your account every ten minutes.
Yes, it is scary. But being 50 and poor is also bad. Investing for the long term is not about
gambling; it’s about compounding. You give up short-term dopamine hits for long-term
gratification that you done something responsible.
It’s your future self congratulating your current self for acting like an adult for once.
Your money worries aren’t “normal,” but they can be fixed.
We joke about being poor so often that it’s become a way of life. But constant money stress
isn’t a meme; it’s a full-time job that you don’t talk about.
Bills that are late. Getting by on one paycheck at a time. It’s like being in survival mode when
your rent is due but your card doesn’t clear.
That’s why it’s important to know about personal finance. Money affects almost everything:
your health, your relationships, your sleep, and even your ability to live without the continual
sound of panic violins in your head.
It’s not about getting rich; it’s about not living like you’re constantly one bad week away from
ruin.
Even small things, like keeping track of your spending or building an emergency fund, might
help you get your sanity back in a system that is meant to deplete you.
So, yes, maybe it’s time to stop thinking of money management as math homework and start
thinking of it as self-care that keeps the lights on.
The Brutally Honest Ending
Congratulations if you made it this far. You either have amazing focus or terrible money
problems (or maybe both).
The truth is that managing your money won’t make your life ideal. But not getting it? That’s
how you stay poor for good.
Learning how to plan, save, invest, and budget doesn’t mean you have to stop having fun.
It’s about buying yourself freedom: to go on vacation, quit a job you despise, pay for therapy,
or just breathe without your checking app making you want to fight or run away.
So, money might not make you happy. But being good with money? That buys calm, and to
be honest, that’s near enough.
