It’s never too early to plan for your financial future. Being a young college graduate with your first full time job is awesome. Saving money should be a top priority for you – but it’s not. No matter your age, you should have some type of savings plan so you can one day buy a house, go on a luxurious vacation or even retire whenever you want. Here are six key reasons why you should save money in your twenties.

It’s a habit that you have to practise

Even if you start saving just a few rands every week, it’s important to establish a savings habit while you’re young. Start saving small, painless amounts and watch your savings account balance grow. You’ll be building your discipline to save money – and it’ll motivate you to find ways to stop wasting money. Save as little or as much as you can.

Live below your means

Make sure you have more money coming in than going out. Overspending is the biggest financial problem for many. You can control your spending by creating a budget and by living a lifestyle that’s realistic for your income and working towards healthy spending habits. For others, a low income might be a problem. If you’re in this boat, get proactive and look for professional opportunities that can increase your pay cheque, like networking or more education.

Key to having the life you want

From traveling and earning a degree to buying a home and getting married, you probably have many plans, dreams and goals. Whatever you envision for your life, more often than not you’ll need money to make it happen. However, money to cover those expenses doesn’t just materialise – you have to save. Turn your dreams into realities by setting concrete saving goals.

An emergency fund is a must

Saving for an emergency fund will protect you and help keep your finances on track. Even when life hits you with unexpected or big expenses, an emergency fund will act as a financial buffer. So instead of spending the money you saved on other stuff – like buying those expensive mens shoes online that you’ve always wanted – you can use your emergency fund to cover the unexpected expense.

Have a system to track and manage funds

Setting a savings goal is an exercise in futility if you don’t figure out a system for saving money that works for you. Stay organised, be able to quickly and easily track your progress and make adjustments as needed. Some people track savings for different goals using a spreadsheet, while others might actually create different savings accounts or sub-savings accounts to easily keep track of funds slated for different purposes.

Savings have to be balanced with other financial goals

While saving money will always be an important part of your financial health, it’s not the answer to every money question. At times, your financial situation might call for you to put more of your funds towards other goals, like paying down debt, investing or even covering day-to-day expenses when money gets tight. Once you have an emergency fund saved up, funds might be better allocated to other goals.