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The question on just about every responsible yet financially unsuspecting persons mind is: How can I be smart with my money? Well there is an obvious answer....Budget it of course. But what if this is your first time to have the privilege of financial Independence? Well, then you have a few obstacles to deal with first. For the younger generation of financially independent people, there is the issue of finally being able to buy what you want when you want it, and this is a splendid freedom; however, even your parents didn't have this. There are very few purchases that can be made without planning. You even plan to purchase your groceries before you actually do it. Another obstacle more for the "young adult" ages (that's mid 20's to mid 30's in my book) would be not truly know what all a budget entails or how to even put one together. For any one who's had a budget before, and this is NOT your first time to be financially independent, well maybe you just need to refinance a few debts and adjust your living habits. Let's take a look at each of these one at a time.

I CAN FINALLY BUY WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT!
This is a horrible mind frame to be in, so if you think this on a daily basis now may be a good time to try and adjust your frame of mind. A more financially savvy way of thinking would be "I HAVE THE ABILITY TO PURCHASE ANYTHING I WANT, I JUST HAVE TO PLAN FOR IT!" I am currently a newlywed and as such there are many things on my mind. A new home, a new car, a bigger and more comfortable bed, nicer kitchen appliances, more SPACE, nicer clothes for my new job...etc. The problem is, if my husband and I were to go out and just purchase all these things immediately all at once, we would be financing a nice fat loan of almost $300,000! So instead we prioritize two lists. The first list is what we NEED: 1. bigger living space, 2. bigger, better bed 3. new or newer cars. See what was done there? We can't get a bigger bed until we have a bigger place to keep that bed. So we prioritized a bigger living space as #1, then the bed, and then we decided we don't have to necessarily have BRAND NEW cars, we could do with used. The good thing about a used car is that the value doesn't drop immediately once you drive it off the lot! It's alway good to have a "go-to" guy for advice. Find someone who is financially where you would like to be someday and ask their advice before any major financial investments (such as a new car.) Then there was the list of things we want: 1. nicer

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