First Salary? Master Your Money, Avoid Lifestyle Traps!

• First salary often feels large, but fixed costs and lifestyle creep quickly make it feel tight, silently raising your cost of living.
• Your true salary is what remains after securing flexibility: prioritize savings, emergency funds, and insurance first.
• Budgeting should be loose, focusing on fixed costs, flexible spending, and monthly surplus, rather than rigid micromanagement.
• Sequence savings to leave your account first; this automatically adjusts spending and builds financial discipline.
• Distinguish expenses: invest in health, skills, and insurance to reduce future stress, and avoid spending solely for appearances.

Why It Matters: Manage your first salary deliberately, prioritizing savings and smart spending for long-term financial freedom.