Avash Rijal

In this competitive world where everyone is pulling one’s weight to excel in his/her study and career, transitioning from adolescence to adulthood can be nerve-wracking. The urge to live a safe, happy and wealthy life is undeniably a daunting task.

Having a feeling of not unlocking the optimal potential or falling behind others, many young people suffer from a quarter-life crisis. In this stage of life, financial independence remains critical to gain self-confidence and attain desired goals.

Being financially independent enables one to live a life on his/her own terms, provides extra opportunities to make investments and helps overcome problems during the time of unemployment. As economic self-reliance provides freedom of choice, it also offers peace of mind to the people. Thus, financial independence is the most effective way to survive the rat race in which the people are forced to toil like a dog to make a buck.

The ever-pervasive social media which has painted a picture where everyone looks perfect and everything looks easy to achieve has immensely fuelled the expectations of those transitioning into adulthood. They would want to achieve everything in the age of early 20s, which is when the real struggle actually starts.

But when they get their reality check as their efforts yield far less than what they had expected, they are likely to suffer from inferiority complex, underconfidence, depression, and what not!

On the other side, if teenagers and youths in their early 20s try to maintain a passive income source for themselves without doing much hard work, it could be a lot easier for them to cope with hardships that life throws at them, enabling them to avoid possible mental stress.

Therefore, it is imperative that young people are taught to explore more than one income source, the need for passive income, and the benefits that can be accrued from making safe investments. The teenagers must learn that attaining financial independence entails a life skill necessary to survive in this cut-throat age.

The high school graduates in the Kathmandu area have been using ride-sharing platforms like Tootle and Pathao during their spare time to make a passive income. This is one of the best examples of the importance of being financially independent. Many of them have been able to carry on with their life even in the aftermath of extended lockdown, which has hit the economy hard.

Awareness of the need of being financially self-reliant must be generated across the nation by citing examples like these so that the youths can survive any adverse situation calmly and easily.

Therefore, parents and schools must train their children from an early age to manage their own finances by involving them in all financial decisions, including spending, saving, and investing, making a budget on a weekly/monthly basis and sticking to it, and setting financial goals, among others. After all, financial independence, which helps us develop and practice healthy financial habits, is a rare skillfulness that enables us to deal with any hardships and crises in life.