Saving Money - A Rap Story Pt 2

If you missed it yesterday, I decided to dive into a concern of mine regarding financial responsibility for millennials and how poor of a job we are doing. You can read up on part one to catch up, but if you're saying to yourself, "Ugggh Bennett just give me a rundown, it's almost Friday...I can't even...", fine I'll humor you.

In part one, I recognized a problem: millennials and young professionals are being too irresponsible with their money. I stand on the grounds of Lil Dicky and Macklemore deciding to produce songs to their huge millennial fan base addressing this problem with their tracks, $ave Dat Money and Thrift Shop. I am also living smack dab in the middle of the millennial world, so I get it.

So this is the problem, and if there is anything to take away after making it this far, it is following...SAVE MONEY. If Macklemore and Lil Dicky didn't drive it home, maybe you can take a hint from a couple of the biggest rappers to come out of Chicago since Kanye West - Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper. They are some of the original people to create the artistic collection called, "SAVEMONEY". All they wanted to do was to make music and give themselves the chance to be in bigger and better places down the road...BY SAVING MONEY*!

This all comes down to a little bit of self-control, as many responsible activities do, and in case the basic saving instincts were never engrained early on, I'll share with you my own personal habits.

* * * * Now let me preface, that I am by no means a financial advisor, nor telling you * * * * 

that you need to do the following. 

All I did was the old mental trick of setting up my bank account that takes a percentage of my income and places it directly into my savings account before I'm even able to touch it. That's it. As time went on, I got better at combining other habits like holding off on impulse buys, limiting myself from excessive spending (when I am in spending mode), and only using money that I have.

These are the fundamental habits I have trained myself to live by depending on my living situation. But let's say things take a turn in life, for example I suddenly decide to leave my job (real talk: this actually happened last month). I'm not worried about the near future because I am able to live comfortably off what I saved in a rainy day fund. Until I can regain income, I am able to use this fund for necessities and even the occasional night out if I budget correctly.

I will emphasized that these are habits, so they probably won't come right away if you have decided to adopt them with little background. However, the best way to start getting better at being financially smart is to start saving, and talk about finances with people you trust. Ask questions, do general research, visit your bank, download an app, hell...hire a CFP if you can afford it. The point is we have a spending problem and it's being recognized, and if some of the biggest entertainers in the world can't help point that out, then S#@t, we have some serious thinking to do.

*According to an interview with Taylor Bennett (Chance The Rapper's brother) and Towkio, both members of the SAVEMONEY Crew

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(The necessary tools for keeping a respectable beard: facial moisturizer // beard oil // razor // scissors // beard trimmer - though I prefer the scissors // comb // shaving cream)