The 4 worst purchases you need to avoid.

👋 Hey guys - Noah here,

When you're young, it's easy to fall into the trap of buying things that can end up setting you back years on your financial journey.

So here are the four worst purchases to avoid when you're young...

1. A brand new car

This is the big one. The worst financial decision most young people make.

Here's what actually happens when you buy a new car:

The second you drive it off the forecourt, it loses 10% of its value. Instantly.

After one year, it's lost between 10-35% of its value.

After three years, it's lost up to 60% of its value.

That's before you even consider insurance, tax, fuel, or maintenance.

What to do instead:
Buy a 3-4 year old car. Someone else has already taken the massive depreciation hit. A £20,000 car that's now three years old? You can probably get it for £8,000-£10,000.

It'll still look great. It'll drive the same. But you'll save thousands.

2. Everyone wants the new iPhone. I get it.

But phone contracts are designed to keep you paying forever.

Here's the trap most people fall into:

You get the latest iPhone for £40 per month over 24 months. Feels manageable, right?

But after those 24 months when you've paid off the phone, most people forget to cancel the contract. They keep paying £40 per month for a phone they already own.

Plus, you can usually get the phone cheaper by buying it outright and getting a separate SIM-only deal.

You could save £100-£400 over two years just by buying the phone outright and using a budget network.

What to do instead:
Keep your current phone for one more year. Save up. Buy your next phone outright when you can afford it. Get a cheap SIM-only deal for £10-£15 per month. You'll save hundreds.

3. Eating out and takeaways every week

This one sneaks up on you.

A £5 meal deal at lunch. £8 for a Deliveroo after work. £15 at Nando's on Friday. £12 for a Sunday roast.

Doesn't feel like much, right?

Let's add it up. That's £40 per week. £160 per month. £1,920 per year.

Nearly £2,000 just on food you could have made at home for a quarter of the price.

I'm not saying never eat out. But if you're doing it multiple times a week because you can't be bothered to cook, you're throwing money away.

What to do instead:
Learn to cook five simple meals you actually like. Meal prep on Sundays. Keep eating out for special occasions.

That £1,920? Invest it instead and in 10 years at 7% returns, it's worth over £27,000.

4. Designer clothes on credit

Everyone wants to look good. But buying designer gear you can't afford on Klarna or credit cards is a trap.

A £150 pair of trainers on Klarna's "Buy Now Pay Later" might seem fine. But if you're doing this every month, you're constantly in debt for clothes.

Plus, trends change. You'll wear it for six months, then it sits in your wardrobe.

What to do instead:
Buy one quality item every few months that you can afford outright. Build your wardrobe slowly. You'll look better and feel better because you're not stressed about payments.

Why this matters

Your late teens and early 20s are when you build your financial habits.

If you spend these years financing cars you can't afford, paying too much for phones, wasting money on takeaways, and buying clothes on credit, you'll hit 30 with nothing saved.

But if you make smart choices now, avoid these traps, and save the difference, you'll be miles ahead of everyone else.

By the time your mates are still paying off their car loans and phone contracts, you'll have money saved and invested.

Ready to start building real wealth?

Avoiding these purchases is brilliant for saving money. But if you want to actually grow wealth and build financial freedom, you need to learn how to make your money work for you.

My friend Samuel Leeds runs free property investment training that shows you exactly how everyday people are building wealth through property.

This is how you go from saving a few hundred quid to actually building something that generates income.

Check out the free training here

All the best,
Noah