2012 - 11 : What does and doesn't matter??

A question was asked that caught my eyes....

As a youth, what does and doesn't matter to you?
  
For me as a youth, everything matter....but as an adult it is important that we are financially literate. When i started my first job about 3 ++ years ago, i was surprised to know that my salary barely covered the lifestyle that i thought that i might have after graduation.
The other things that i realized that most of ppl who live above their means are in debt. Most of  people around me started to get part time job to get some extra income to cover their expenses, to pay debt, to have a better life. it turned out that, the only way to have a better life in the future is to manage my financial properly now.

My rule of thumb;
-1/3 of your monthly income should be spend on the fix monthly expenses ( car loan, housing mortgage/rent, bills, insurance, education loan).
-10% of your income should go to saving.
- the balance will go to other miscellaneous expenses (gas, grocery, travel fund, entertainment, shopping, etc)

Once in a while, reward yourselves with something above your means (ie: a very nice handbag, shoes, dress, gadget). It does give satisfaction.
Over rewarding yourself with something above you mean will cause you in a deeper debt ( which is NO NO)

Fix income
- housing mortgage/rent - buying a house is a long term commitment (sometimes longer than a marriage). Most people believe that buying a house is a good investment. it really does. Just make sure that all hidden cost of owning a house is identified =).
 -car loan - a car lifetime is 10 years ( it's a fact) and the price is going down. for domestic use, get a car that low fuel consumption, low maintenance and high quality. it is ok to pay high down payment for shorter monthly paying loan period.
- bill - save energy consumption, get the best package available.
-insurance - i got myself medical insurance for the sake of tax exemption. whatever come with it is just like added feature. i dont even buy all the investment crap that the insurance agent told me ( no offence). i just hate people who gain money by threaten other people insecurity.

Saving.
it is not for your old days (you already hv EPF for that)...it is more for emergency. or one of those days that you need a large amount of money immediately. Your saving should be at least 3 times to 12 times your monthly income.

Miscellaneous expenses
Some of it avoidable and some of it unavoidable. For example, a healthy meal is important but does it necessary to eat at a fancy restaurant everyday? i always pick a small portion of my miscellaneous expenses and put in my reward fund =P

Different people have different way of viewing their financial. Even the richest man in the world has debt. You method of managing your financial is totally your choice.