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Laid out In order of urgency.
Hang in there… This is like 15 years of shit I’ve nerded out on condensed into a single page.
Put away at least $1k
Money Envelope system (Dave Ramsey)
Write everything down that you pay for monthly/quarterly/bi/yearly.
Literally budget your cash dollars into envelopes.
I use software to handle budgeting (YNAB); but I started writing everything down and it works just fine.
Your liquid money(Not emergency, Not Investments); This is the long game.
Start Saving Now. Even if you do not end up setting up any banks, etc.
Start by trying to save to cover 1 month of bills.
Try to get your savings to at least 6 months of your monthly/quarterly/bi/yearly bills.
Balance your Savings with Investments.
This helps getting away from living paycheck to paycheck seriously reduces monetary stress.
You will need a bank of some sort to transfer money around to do investing/build credit.
Wealthfront might be a good option, they offer nearly free checking/savings/investing
Local credit unions are usually pretty good. Vantage was good, but they require like $3k in some form (credit/savings/checking)
Some big banks still offer free checking
Put away at least $1k in banked checking/savings (similar to emergency cash, forget about it)
Debit cards are tricky. It’s your “real” money attached to that card.
Dave Ramsay - Debt snowball
E.g. Spare $ per month = $250
Once you are debt free(or only a mortgage);
Put spare cash to Savings or investments.
Always keep a bank balance higher than your CC balance.
Set your credit card to pay off the monthly balance. You may earn “rewards” for your spending as well as avoid fees/interest charges.
Use for online purchases or any time you need to swipe a card
To start building up your credit score, get a lower max ($500-$1000) card.
Get a couple cards with higher balances.
Utilities in your name
Finance something you have the cash to pay for.
After setting up a credit card. Freeze your credit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0497-credit-freeze-faqs#place
You may need to unfreeze in the future if you want to apply for loans or do any kind of credit check.
Expect this money is not available for a long time; It’s like a trust fund for old people.
They both use investment robots to handle everything. Low fees. Good return.
2 ways to invest:
A little bit regularly
Wait for an economic downturn and invest heavily
Taxes are always wacky with investments, consult professionals(I’m not one) before investing.
“Roth IRAs also allow tax-free withdrawals of earnings on contributions after a five-year holding period under certain conditions. Those conditions include reaching age 59½, being disabled, or using the funds for first-time home buying expenses.”
You can put up to $6k per year into a RothIRA.
A 401k is nice if your company matches contributions. otherwise not really necessary.
Before buying, take friends that will tell you all of the shitty things about the place.
Save and wait for a housing bubble burst.
Actual cost of owning a house is about double your mortgage. (Bills, maintenance, etc.)
Try to avoid PMI by having enough of a down payment.
Expect that whatever you put into individual stocks could go away.
It’s literally just gambling.
No day trading - Buy and Hold for years.
Fun to play with, but not good for investment, unless you have time to manage it and a lot of money and luck.
I’ve only put a couple thousand into stocks; over like 20 years. I’ve been both lucky and unlucky. Far better returns with a robot managed plan mentioned above.
You can invest in specific stocks with services like Robinhood or Acorn. But that’s complicated to give advice on… If it’s a company you really like; go for it, but plan to keep it for many years if not decades.
Financial blogs and sites
