Jaspreet Singh: 11 Best Purchases To Make in Your 20s

In a recent YouTube video, money expert Jaspreet Singh shared his opinion on the best purchases you should make in your 20s — and they’re nothing to do with how you look, what you drive or what you wear.

Instead, he offered the following 11 purchases that will help to increase your wealth and set you up to be “financially free and never have to worry about money again.”

Singh suggested that you invest in the stock market, but in broad-market indices like the S&P 500, a safer and more reliable investment compared to picking out individual stocks. While there are no guarantees, and Singh made sure to point out that you will probably lose money at some point, investing this way aims to generate average returns of about 10% per year, taking advantage of the growth of the largest 500 companies in the U.S.

He did remind his listeners that he is not a financial advisor, adding, “So make sure you always do your own due diligence and never blindly trust a random guy on YouTube.”

Instead of purchasing a home for personal use, Singh recommended buying rental properties. Though it’s true that you can take cash out of a home once it builds equity, he warned that it’s too easy to spend that money on things that might not be good investments. The income from a rental property can not only take care of your property expenses but offer a steady flow of relatively passive income. He recommended using the equity you build in a rental property to then buy a bigger one, or multiple, if you can swing it.

Next, he advised buying a “cheap but reliable car,” in good shape, something like a Toyota or Honda. He said that young people, especially when they start making a decent salary, will often buy unnecessarily expensive and/or unreliable cars. This strategy avoids the hefty monthly payments and depreciation of new, luxury vehicles, which leaves you more money to invest in other things.

Especially once you begin making a steady income, even if it’s not super high, or if you’ve begun investing, Singh emphasized paying for a tax advisor to help you maximize tax breaks and tax deductions, “So you can pay the least amount of money in taxes as legally possible.”

He also recommended an estate planning attorney, and a regular attorney who can advise you on legal matters.

Singh suggested that your 20s is not too soon to invest in life insurance, especially if you are getting married or having kids. This makes sure that there is money for your family to pay for your expenses if something happens to you. Term life insurance is a good option, he said, adding “The whole point here is if…the worst case scenario happens.”

He recommended PolicyGenius, a life insurance marketplace, as a good place to find it.

Singh said that as you make more money you can start to buy back your time, which he calls “your most valuable asset.” What does that mean? This means hiring people to do things that might take you precious time, from shoveling snow to mowing your lawn, or even picking up groceries for you. But only if it still leaves you with a profit.

For example, he said, “If your time is worth $30 an hour and you can pay somebody $20 an hour to mow your lawn, well now it makes sense to get that lawn mowed by somebody else so you can work on getting that $30 an hour so you have more money coming in.”

Singh is a big proponent of self-improvement, much of which is low-cost and at your fingertips. He recommended buying five books on personal development, five on money management and investing, five on starting a business if you’re an entrepreneur or five on growing in your career. If you are not an entrepreneur, five books on leadership. And in addition, five biographies about people who are successful that you admire. 

If you read these books and apply their knowledge, he said,  “I guarantee you… you are going to be in a completely different mindset and a completely different skill set for you to see different levels of success in the rest of your life.”

Another important area to spend money on, Singh urged, is your health — physical, mental and even spiritual. “Your body is the only vehicle you get,” he said. “Take care of it, invest in it. Get a gym membership, get a nutritional coach, get a trainer. Get help to be more physically fit if you’re mentally unfit, if you’re surrounded by toxic people, if you’re depressed, if you’re anxious, if you’re unhappy, invest in this.”

He suggested you invest money in those things that “touch the ground.” This piece of advice might sound odd, but it’s advice a friend once gave him and he has found it to be very useful. This includes good-quality shoes, tires and mattresses, since these directly affect your daily comfort, health and safety.

Strategic travel is important to provide networking opportunities and expose you to new ideas and people, Singh said. Singh believes that you should use travel to broaden your horizons and open your mind, especially if you work for yourself or are starting or running a business.

Lastly, Singh encouraged practical purchases, which can save money in the long run, like buying a tea kettle or cooking certain foods at home.