New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- Your first salary brings financial freedom, but it also brings a new challenge: deciding how much to spend, save and invest. In your 20s, when financial responsibilities may still be relatively limited, it is tempting to spend more on lifestyle upgrades, travel and expensive purchases. However, the money habits developed during these years can shape your financial security for decades.

Building wealth early does not necessarily mean earning a high salary or investing large sums. It means making deliberate financial choices, maintaining an emergency cushion and starting investments early enough to benefit from compounding.

Akhil Rathi, Partner at 1 Finance, believes the 20s should be treated as a period for building ...