I have worked in global bank for 25 years. These are the 6 most important financial councils that I tell family and friends.

• Racquel Oden has worked in global banking for more than two decades.

• Some of the advice he gives to family and friends is to focus on retirement as soon as possible.

• He also says that prioritizes investments on the debt of student loans and CDs on regular savings accounts.

This essay as a conversation with Racquel OdenHead of wealth and private banking of the US HSBC. It has been edited by length and clarity.

I have worked in the global banking for HSBC, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Merril Lynch and many more. Over the years, I have given my clients many tips on savings, budget, investment, retirement and financial planning.

When it comes to my family and friends, the most important financial council that I give them is to start keeping money as soon as possible.

It is never too young to start saving or investing, and there are many things that even generation Z could now be doing to help achieve its financial objectives, either saving the initial payment of a house, a dream trip abroad, a luxurious wedding or even an early retirement.

I know it sounds very far, but you must always save for retirement paying your 401 (K).

Simultaneously, you must also reach the point where you have enough in your personal savings account to support your life expenses during the next six months in case you lose your work for any reason. This money is what I call short -term effective, what you can use to pay your basic needs: things such as apartment rental, automobile payments, edible invoices, etc.

I think that for many young investors, they are not sure when to start investing. We often think: “I need to have all this money to invest.”

I want to take that stigma. Any amount of money will work better for you in monetary markets than in a savings account, which does not provide much or any interest. Once you have more than short -term effective, you can create another account in preparation to invest.

The good thing about sitting with a financial advisor is that most banks do not initially charge for this service.

Making a plan is an entry into the investment, and it is comfortable because you can sit and ask yourself: “What do I want to achieve with my finances? Do I want to buy a house, plan a wedding or make the next big trip?” With this plan, you can think beyond retirement.

I encourage people to think about their lives in terms of different cubes, for example, saving for a house can be a cube. Each of these largest cubes or financial objectives has a different temporal horizon. The creation of a larger financial plan can help you better understand the deadlines for each objective and eliminate part of anxiety around investment.

We like to see Tiktok and surf Instagram, but do you a favor and base you basic before looking through those places.

Communicate with traditional resources, such as financial advisors in your bank. You can follow social influencers for some things, but not for something as crucial as your finances. Feel comfortable with the traditional sources of this information, such as banks, does not mean that you finally have to choose or choose your services.

You can buy and find the appropriate financial advisor for you.

The control and savings accounts are the lowest accounts that carry interest, at this time. Short -term vehicles such as CDs or the deposit certificate, a type of savings account that earns a fixed interest rate, can be better options than a regular savings account.

CDs can be a great option, which allows you to make a brief investment of, for example, nine months or less and gain an interest of 4% in some cases. But you must remember that these interest rates are always changing, so keep aware of them.

I encourage customers, of course, pay their minimum monthly payment that is due. But the concept of paying the debt of student loans should not be something that worries you because having cash, and making sure your cash works for you, is the most intelligent way.

However, if your cash is only sitting in the current accounts, it does not charge interest, then pay the student loan because, in this case, your money does not work for you. He is not obtaining any performance in his cash sitting in a current account. However, debt reduction raises its credit score, so this is also something to think about.

Do you have a story to share about financial planning? If so, communicate with the editor, Manseen Logan, to mlogan@businessinsider.com.

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