The 20 and 50 euro banknotes and statistics on a wooden background

I’ll never forget a young professional I worked with who earned six figures but was always broke. Why? He never budgeted, took on unnecessary debt, and assumed he had “time” to start saving later.

Here are mistakes I see far too often:

1. No budget → money disappears without you realizing.

2. No savings → emergencies turn into debt.

3. Overusing credit → interest payments eat your income.

4. No investments → missed opportunities for growth.

5. No retirement plan → relying only on state pensions is risky.

The good news? It’s never too late to correct these. Financial discipline pays dividends, literally and figuratively.