💰 Money Things I Wish I Knew In My 20s | Aja Dang

I'm Aja Dang and here are the money things I wish I knew in my 20s. While I don't wish to go back to my 20s (literally, yikes). I sometimes wonder how different my life would be financially if I knew what I know now, then about money! Let's talk student loans, credit card debt and the 30 billion other mistakes I made in my 20s.

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[CristinaV.Quinones]

Omg! 36? I just turned 33. You look beautiful! I just finished grad school and luckily am interviewing for a job that will pay back 40k on my loans, and I’m using your videos to get rid of my debt in 2-3 years. You are inspiring 🙏🏼. And totally agree with everything you said! I wasted so much time and money in my 20s

[AlexandraGoicoechea]

Please keep making these videos! I am learning so much that I can then teach my daughter so that she has great financial health! Happy Birthday 🎉🎉🎉

[lkope]

Happy birthday!! I will say, working during school actually had so many non monetary benefits for me. I was better at managing my time and my social schedule and somehow got the best grades of college when i was working 2 jobs. But the biggest thing was that because I paid for my living expenses with that money, it significantly reduced the debt I took out! My last year of school I cut back to one job and took out more debt and interestingly my grades didn’t do as well. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[AimForMusiq]

I feel like community college isn’t talked about enough. I went to community college for 2 years to complete my gen eds and transferred my credits to a 4-year university. My community college was free because I received a scholarship for doing well in high school. I still got the college experience of moving away for my last 2 years!

[nicholelawrence]

Please do a video on credit cards. I am also terrified of going into debt from CC’s, but mainly bc I don’t understand them 100%. Researching but your content would help, thank you!

[wrenchguy]

I just turned 30. I completely agree with everything u said!

[MsStefania]

I'm currently 27 and seriously started saving money since I was 22, having a big goal which is buying a house is what keeps me going. I'm buying my dream house end of this year. Watching your financial journey to being debt free inspires me

[roselynmaarie]

Happy birthday Aja!

I’m currently 25 and am very fortunate that my family took a finance class together (Dave Ramsey seminars) and although I didn’t understand or see much value when I went at 19.. I’m so glad I did bc I refer back to it + utilize other strategies from videos like yours! I feel behind regarding some stuff (I live at home w my parents still) but I know I’m one of the only people in my friend group who financially has been taking steps for the future because I’m the one usually telling others what I’ve done and what steps I’ve taken.

Thank you for always sharing and being honest with your journey ❤️

[jesseeec]

If one has to take out student loans for undergrad I would recommend going to state school…and pick a major that is pretty much guaranteed to get a job

[amn]

I would add to be mindful of lifestyle inflation. Especially if you land a high stress but high paying job, that lifestyle inflation can become golden handcuffs real fast.

[silviamunoz]

I can resonate with you Aja. I reflect on all the money I could have saved in my 20's

[Alisacrooks]

Aja! I am obsessed with your new hair cut it looks fab❤. I would love a video regarding how to properly maintain a credit card. Can you also cover secured credit card too! I hope you have an awesome birthday beautiful girl 🎉

[Enchanteralle]

I'm in my 30's now and I gotta admit that I actually wasn't very savvy with my budgeting in my 20's. Not that I was in massive debt besides student loans, but I remember I would tell myself that I don't need to be so strict with my budget since I wasn't earning that much from my first job after graduating from grad school. I had the mentality that I will make more later, so I rewarded myself with shopping and luxury items. Thinking back, I spent a lot of money on things that I didn't use long term and I could've saved that money to pay back my student loan faster. The mindset of not being too strict with budgeting when not earning very much wasn't helpful. When I later earned more, I became more serious with my finance because I felt stuck with my student loans and didn't feel that I was making a lot of progress. When I finally put my foot down and learned to expand my income, get a side hustle, and identify a date to pay off all my loans, I made it to the finish line with no more student loans. Now, I turned my side hustle into my full time job and quit my day job knowing that I can further expand. My next goal is to buy my own property. So all in all, I could've made different choices in my 20's, but learned a lot from that. Thanks for sharing, Aja! And happy birthday!!

[loveandjoy]

I started a Roth IRA for my daughter when she got her first job in high school. 👍🏽. I plan to do the same for my younger daughter when she starts her first job in high school.

[magandamngirl]

Love the tips! Currently 25, I’ve been working full time since I graduated from undergrad and go to grad school part time. I’ve been saving the last 3 years and been putting it into high yield savings and it’s such a game changer!! I wish I did this when I started working in my part time waitress job in college.

[cjayne]

Happy birthday, queen! 👑✨

this video was so great, I watched it twice already 😅

I’m in my mid-twenties and really want to turn my financial situation around.

Thank you for your amazing content, Aja 💕

[Maria-ygkj]

I tell my little sister “nothing you could buy right now for immediate gratification is gonna be equal in worth or value to what you could have in 5, 10, 20+ years if you saved it.”

That’s not as simple or eloquent as I’d like it to come out but I hope she gets the idea. $100 here or there, a $500 shopping spree yea that all sounds like great fun but a one time investment of $500 accumulating interest for years and the peace of mind that would bring you now & later in life… that’s priceless compared to a dress or a bag etc

[mallorygraf]

My best advice is get a campus job if you are a student. You will learn how to manage your time between classes and work. Usually most student jobs are 10 to 20 hours max per week. You also get to know faculty and staff in a different way and they and your fellow student workers will help you with the system that every university has. Also with taking up student loans, make up a budget that you think you will make after graduation. Rent, utilities, transportation, food and extras. Then see how much you have left to pay off a student loan. I know of several people who took huge student loans to go to ivy league schools but in all honesty did not get ivy league jobs and 20 years later are still paying off student loans and these are people whose kids are now in college.😢

[leocarney]

Happy Birthday Aja! I really loved the "learning about yourself" part of your 20s. Its hard! xD

[mattjsour]

Happy Birthday, Aja. You don't look a day over 30, especially with that new haircut and great skincare routine.