I'm a Millennial in Great Financial Shape – 11 Steps I Took to Get Here

Millennials have a mixed financial picture. Some were hit incredibly hard as young workers during the Great Recession of 2008-09, others are suffering through the COVID-19 pandemic. But many millennials have bounced back, found good jobs, made smart retirement plans and secured what may be the last truly low home mortgage rates.

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But every millennial's journey is different. Ruth (not her real name), a 33-year-old freelance marketing writer from Connecticut, is grateful that she and her husband, also 33, are in good financial shape. They own their own home, have solid retirement accounts, no credit card debt, have almost paid off their second car, and she makes about $120,000 a year net as a freelancer. Her husband makes just under $150,000 a year from his full-time job and an additional $15,000 before taxes from a side hustle.

She explains the steps they took to get to where they are now.

Also read why millennials have the fullest wallets after the pandemic.

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Lived below their means

Just because you have a high income doesn't mean you're financially well-off. The creeping lifestyle is a real phenomenon that affects even the wealthy. Ruth experienced the temptation to spend money herself when she stopped living paycheck to paycheck, but she always made an effort to get by on a more limited budget.

“That meant I bought a house that cost much less than I was approved for,” she said. “I chose to save money rather than spend it, even though it was tempting, and kept our living expenses lower than necessary.”

Learn more: Here's the salary you need in every state to actually bring home $100,000

Minimized debt

Ruth makes it a point to always pay off her debts, especially credit card debt. “If I don't have enough money to pay off a purchase by the end of the month, I can't do it,” she said, except in emergencies.

She described the accumulation of credit card interest as a “vicious circle.”

Set concrete goals

She and her husband carefully set one-, five-, and ten-year financial goals for liquid savings and large purchases, and then adjust their spending accordingly. They look to the future and continually evaluate their goals.

Priority savings and loan repayment

Having a large emergency fund was always important to Ruth and her husband, especially because they had witnessed her husband's parents struggling financially and she herself had to pay medical bills in her twenties.

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They made sacrifices to meet their strict savings goals. That meant postponing vacations, not going out with friends, and not making big-ticket purchases like expensive lunches or shoes. Ruth then put the money she would have spent either toward paying off a loan or into a savings account.

She said: “At the end of the month, it's eye-opening to see how much we've saved, and we've never regretted not ordering lunch from Uber Eats.”

Seized opportunities when they arose

However, Ruth admits that there is also a bit of luck involved, in the form of opportunities that arise.

For one, her husband was able to take advantage of his employer's tuition reimbursement program and is now completing his second master's degree. He is also taking full advantage of his employer's 401(k) plan match. He started a side business in addition to his full-time job because a previous employer wanted extra work.

“When my schedule allowed, I took on extra work. This allowed us to increase our income and save more,” she said. “These are opportunities that not everyone has, but it also requires an extra time commitment on our part.”

Learn more about structuring your finances

Because it was important to them to always have a substantial emergency fund on hand, they were able to draw on it multiple times, she said.

“However, anything we don’t need for a major emergency goes into high-interest savings accounts like CDs to maximize potential interest.”

Price increases taken into account

Although they did not foresee the extremely high inflation rates of recent years, they always assumed in their budgeting that the costs of everything from food to property taxes would rise over time.

“We are padding our budget so that we don’t go from comfortable to less comfortable in the blink of an eye, which has helped us tremendously given the incredible inflation of the last few years,” said Ruth. “Our dogs’ prescription food, for example, went from about $180 a month to $340 a month in [two years].”

Developed skills

Other factors that were beyond her control also played a role, says Ruth, such as the boom her company was experiencing at the time.

“I connected with the right clients at the right time,” she says, “but those opportunities also came to me because I had worked hard to build my skills and network, even though I was really struggling with a chronic illness at the time.”

Strategically built stability

Despite luck and timing, none of their families supported them financially because they had nothing of their own to give. When they had the resources they needed through their own work, Ruth said, “We also made a lot of strategic decisions to build stability.”

She added: “I think we were lucky, above all, that the difficulties did not permanently hamper us, and we were lucky with the opportunities that we then pursued with all our strength. Not everyone has these opportunities, even if they work for them, and I think that's where the luck factor is absolutely crucial.”

Spoke to a financial advisor

Although Ruth, as a personal finance author, is more financially knowledgeable than the average person, she spoke with a financial advisor several years ago to make sure she was doing everything she needed to do to plan for retirement—information that helped her chart her course.

Momentum used

Ruth said she and her husband both started earning decent incomes late, but were still able to get ahead. They didn't reach their earning potential until they were about 26, after Ruth had paid off significant medical bills.

“Even if you start late, that's OK and you have time to catch up,” she said. “Momentum can work on your side, especially if you are privileged and can translate your experience into higher earnings and catch up on retirement.”

Ruth's advice to others is to focus on your goals. For example, if work-life balance is more important to you than having a big emergency fund, then prioritize that. “Determine what your goals are, what you need to do to achieve them, and when you want to have them achieved.”

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I'm a Millennial in Great Financial Shape – 11 Steps I Took to Get Here