That's the life skills I talked about above. - If you have a job and ever get to the point where you have only $500 in savings, that is a huge red flag that yo

That's the life skills I talked about above. - If you have a job and ever get to the point where you have only $500 in savings, that is a huge red flag that you're doing something wrong. You should immediately stop buying things and budget your income so that you're saving a few hundred dollars a month, and endeavor never to get below a certain comfortable pad. If you're in IT, you can easily get a $10k pad in place within one year of having your first job. Once that's in place, then you can think about owning a television and other consumables. Not before. - If you regularly find yourself with no money in your wallet, that's a symptom that you're not thinking ahead. I tend to keep between $50 and $200 in my wallet. If I buy something and notice that I've only got a couple 20's in there, I'll make a note to either stock up from the sock drawer or hit an ATM when I get a chance. ATMs are a way to get money out of the bank. It's best not to think of them as a replacement for your wallet (since that's the way to maximize your fees). You don't have to have lots of money to do these basic things. I was doing them when I made $34k/year.