When we reach our 20s, most of us are having quarter life crisis as we graduate from college and take our first step in front of the door of the real world—we begin to wonder where our lives would take us as we grow older.

Investing in your 20s will be a wise decision because during that age, you still don’t have too much responsibilities, which means you have more opportunity and chance to save up for yourself and your future.

In an article written by Rappler, the Sun Life Chief Marketing Officer Mylene Lopa also claimed that it’s best to start investing while young. “The sooner you start setting aside a portion of your earnings to grow as a fund for the future, the better,” she explained. “The earlier it starts to earn, the bigger the growth potential is over time.”

According Richard Thaddeus Carvajal, a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines and CEO of Philgems Realty Corp, 20s is the best decade to help us prepare ourselves to adulthood.

“Not all of us may be planning to settle with the typical Filipino dream, but one thing is for sure: we all want to live a comfortable and sustainable life in the future,” Carvajal said.

“Acquire new skills and knowledge you can monetize while you have the time, energy and opportunity to hustle. On top of that, increase your financial literacy by attending seminars, reading investment books and even getting expert help from a professional such as a registered financial planner,” he added.

That is why investing as early as possible to prepare ourselves for things that we don’t have control over is always a smart choice.  But the question is, where should you start and which path would lead you to financial freedom? Below are tips to guide you where to invest in your 20s.

Emergency Fund

Emergency fund is the money that you can use when unplanned financial expenses occur like family crises which can support the unemployment of a family member, health issues, and an abrupt travel expenses due to serious matter. This can also support personal matters like when you unfortunately lose your job because of company shutdown, downsizing, or resignation.

Life insurance

20s is the best time to get a life insurance because as the general rule, life insurance is less expensive the sooner you start to purchase one. Life insurance can actually act as a protection to several financial necessities, it can also guard your family needs when there is a loss of income due to unforeseen circumstances. 

Develop and extend your skills to improve income

Developing your skills does not necessarily mean that you should return to college and take additional degree. It can also mean attending to different seminars and workshops to help you hone your skills or discover new ones to help you improve your income. It can also mean finding a mentor who can provide knowledge and tips, taking a freelance job, or simply just by going to a public library. And doing this in your 20s is a great advantage as you still have enough energy and time to do extra activities aside from work.

Save up for retirement

When you’re in your 20s, retirement seems so far off that it hardly feels like it’s going to happen at all. In fact, it’s one of the most common excuses people use to justify not saving for retirement in their early age. If that describes you, think of these savings instead as wealth accumulation—Marguerita Cheng, CFP, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth suggested. Anyone nearing retirement age will tell you that with the years passed by and embodying the Filipino mindset “saka na lang”—preparing for retirement becomes more difficult if you don’t start early.

Invest in yourself

Investing in yourself means you are helping to better yourself as you are becoming more prepared to a bigger life. Investing in yourself can be by taking up a new hobby, enrolling yourself in an art class, learning new skill, exercising to enhance your health, building your network as it helps you to widen your opportunity that will help you in the future.

You may not earn a lot of extra money as you start your career, but there’s one thing you have advantage on more than richer and older people—time. The best time to start investing is right now. It might be a small investment, but the sooner you start the bigger it grows over time.