 When you are young, you are as free as the wind. You can try out different careers, start businesses, fill and start all over again. It is time you build yourself a future endeavors by studying, working and exercising. There are, however, some key things you should avoid at this stage. In this video, I'll be sharing with you the seven liabilities to avoid in your 20s. 1. Not having a life insurance. A healthy-looking young man walked into a store to buy some groceries and then slumped at the counter while trying to pay. He was rushed to the hospital. When he becomes conscious, he was told he has brain cancer and asked whether he had insurance and he said, No, what do you think will happen? If you think you are too young to have any ailments, read the history of Stephen Hawking. A renowned American scientist who is diagnosed with ALS, a model in your own disease at the age of 21. You may not look at it at the moment, but anyone can get sick. The only way to plan for this sufficiently is to have comprehensive health insurance. Having health insurance gives you peace of mind over cost of treatment when something happens to you. It gives you the liberty to spend your income and investment and savings while the insurance company covers the full cost of your recovery. It also gives you access to more job opportunities because employers are more likely to hire people with health insurance than those that do not. Not having health insurance is a big liability at this stage. 2. Attending an expensive college without a plan. Going to Harvard or Cambridge for a further degree is a huge boost for your career. Most multinationals hire excellent candidates from the schools. The schools only take the best of the best. So, getting in is even a challenge in its own. The school, however, have very high tuition fees as well. Most people take student loans to pay for tuition. While this is a great strategy, if you are not prepared for what comes next, the debt from students' loan can become a liability. Only take a loan if you can repay without going bankrupt. And even when taking the loan, ensure you have put in place plans to pay back. Many people go to these colleges hoping to get a job that can take care of the debt, but hope is not a strategy. You need to know what the job prospects in your area of study are. You have to plan to intern during the summer and get to know some professors in your schools who can recommend you for internal scholarships that you can use to upset your student loan. Taking a loan for college is a smart move, but only when it is backed with a carefully formulated strategy that ensures the loan would be repaid promptly when due. Having a student loan to repay and no job is a recipe for unhappiness. 3. Spending more than you earn There are so many things to buy. The number of things one can own is endless. The resources to purchase them are however limited. There are also very few things that we need. How many shoes do you own that you have not worn in years? How many shirts and trousers do you own? How many of them do you actually wear? Why buy things you don't need? When you are young, you are usually at the stage of building your wealth. Spending more than you earn can only put you in debt and debts can keep you poor. Therefore, you should create a budget for a month and stick to it. Do not purchase anything outside of your needs or time. You will get used to it. If you still find yourself making impulsive purchases even after creating your budget, then anytime you want to make a purchase, ask yourself this question. Can I do without it? If your answer is in the affirmative, walk away. 4. Not having a savings This is a liability to be avoided at all costs. At every point in time, as a young man, you have to have your living expenses for 3 to 6 months saved up. This is because of the nature of jobs you will likely hold at this stage. There will hardly be a permanent job and you can be fired at any time. The economy is unpredictable too. The company can decide to downsize and when this happens, you want to be prepared to deal with it while still pursuing your dreams. Having a savings gives you backup cash to pay for personal development courses, books and even networking conferences in your area of interest. Savings can help you quickly replace your film if it's stolen and pay for your rent if your salary is late. The advantages are numerous. 5. Not having a financial plan To spend is easy, but to make money is not as easy. It only seems fair to maximize our use of money since spending it is way easier than making it. Having financial goals is the first step to financial planning. How much do you want to be worth in the next 5 years? Clearly defining your goals can help you make better financial plans. According to Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, a man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble. Working without a financial plan can be a liability. You will likely spend without purpose. Financial plans help you make every dollar count. That way, you maximize your income towards your sustenance and growth. 6. Getting an expensive apartment Leaving in an expensive apartment can be a liability at this stage, especially when you can barely afford it. It puts unnecessary pressure on you. The apartment comes with both expensive rents, utility and transport. It even gets better because of the neighborhood. You might feel the need to blend in. This might mean wearing more expensive clothes than you can ordinarily afford and calling Uber when you can use the bus. Getting an apartment that is barely affordable can be a liability at this stage. 7. Having too many subscriptions There are enough applications today to keep a person occupied all day. Some of them require subscription fees to maintain. A popular example is Netflix. People usually subscribe with the hope that they will have the time to use up the subscription. But sometimes, they get caught up in work, but they end up not using them at all. They also just can't seem to find time to unsubscribe from all the magazines, websites and applications they have subscribed to. So, there are emails are full of clutter and they continuously receive debt alerts from subscriptions they cannot even remember. Having too many subscriptions than you need can be a liability in your 20s. It can both deplete your income and take up space in your email, making it hard to sort out relevant information. You may have some or all these liabilities combined, but the good news is that it is not the end of the world. You can start now to write down your goals, then work on yourself with everything you have got. Thank you very much for watching our videos. 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