$50k/yr salary fag here. Recent college graduate. No student debt, manageable rent.
Wants to learn more about finance.
Starting with some serious advantages in life and wanting to leverage that into long-term success,
What are the best things I could be doing for myself?
kneepads
Literally same OP lol except I live at home so no rent
Read Das Kapital by Marx. Don’t treat it as a criticism, treat it like an instruction manual.
Get a credit card and funnel your life through it. 2% cash back is a big deal.
Buy a house. A SMALL house, 1 bedroom cottage, smallest thing you can find. This is going to be your rental property in 6 years.
Stuff money into a brokerage like TDA or even Robinhood every paycheck. Keep buying the dip. Never sell. Get quality stocks that pay a dividend.
This is going to sound distasteful but get a second job or a side hustle. If you are young, grind hard af for the next 5-8 years. Burn till you can’t anymore and then keep going another 2 years. Building wealth is a snowball effect and if you just get that initial fat wad when you’re young it pays off massively once you hit your 30s.
t. You from 2035
put whatever your company matches into 401k. every little contribution counts with compounding interest over a 35 year time horizon. roth ira will allow it to grow tax free
listen to everything this user said, he must be a boomer with that kind of wisdom lol. except maybe the last paragraph, not everyone is built to work like that. enjoy time with family and friends after you work your 40 hours. if you’re a workaholic and that would make you happy then by all means do it
I hear the ring of truth in this post.
>Read Das Kapital by Marx. Don’t treat it as a criticism, treat it like an instruction manual.
Noted
>Get a credit card and funnel your life through it. 2% cash back is a big deal.
I have absolutely fell behind on the credit cards. Will switch off of debit as soon as I can. No debts though. I fucking hate debt.
>Buy a house. A SMALL house, 1 bedroom cottage, smallest thing you can find. This is going to be your rental property in 6 years.
It definitely seems like escaping the rent cycle is a good way to keep moving forward.
>Stuff money into a brokerage like TDA or even Robinhood every paycheck. Keep buying the dip. Never sell. Get quality stocks that pay a dividend.
Burned a few paychecks playing options. I believe i've learned my lesson. Can definitely see how holding and picking up at dips is a good idea.
>This is going to sound distasteful but get a second job or a side hustle. If you are young, grind hard af for the next 5-8 years. Burn till you can’t anymore and then keep going another 2 years. Building wealth is a snowball effect and if you just get that initial fat wad when you’re young it pays off massively once you hit your 30s.
Absolutely not distasteful! I have an English degree and landed the incredibly coveted Technical Writer/Documentation Specialist job. I can probably leverage this into some Technical Writing work on a site like upwork. It's just a matter of getting over my fatigue and utilizing those extra hours.
My current company doesn't offer 401k match until year 2 of employment. The moment it's available i'm doing so. Literally free money.
>$50k US is $70k CAD
just fuck my shit up. $70k CAD is a well-paid job people usually achieve in their late 20s
Buy diversified etfs.
Us stocks only.
5 years experience here.
And it's actually 55k/yr. Forgot to include my Cost of living adjustment.
Lost 7 months after college due to an inability to land a quality job. Worked construction and sonic in the meantime.
are you 22/23? you seem pretty sharp for just coming out of college. were your parents good with money? there are people in their 30s and 40s with less common sense than you
My parents are incredibly smart folks, and I will not disparage them, but my father is middle-aged, makes 500/hr, and is no closer to retirement than he was at the start of his life.
I don't want to become a victim of lifestyle creep like he did.
What the fuck? You actually turned an English degree into real money? Damn son, youre like a fucking unicorn.
Technical Writing is where it's at. An English degree and a modicum of HTML/CSS knowledge will get you there
It did take me 7 months to land it though.
As a side note, I almost fell for the Eikawa school trap. Thought about working in Japan for a few years and then trying foreign service. The Eikawas rejected me. Glad they did.
All in link now pussy
sad to hear about your father, if he isn’t able to save enough money in time hopefully you’ll be in a position to help them out. it’s impressive you’re able to discern sound financial advice at a young age without an example learned from your parents. most people would ignore and continue living paycheck to paycheck until they’re 50 and realize they have 15 years to get their shit together
Some advice. Stop renting as fast as possible and buy a house. The money you throw away on rent every month could be applied towards something else. If you cant save up and buy a house outright, get a mortgage with a great interest rate. Youre still paying every month but the equity on the other side will be yours and not some bloodsuckers.
500/hr? Like, what the fuck does he blow that much money on? and what does he do that pays that?
Don’t give up on options. Feel free to gamble or take educated risks, just limit yourself to a small percentage of what you put in. Taking risks at a young age is good! Losing %10 of a 20k portfolio at 25 isn’t as bad as losing %10 of a 200k portfolio at 45.
I want to emphasize that it doesn’t matter what you DO to make money, it matters how you use your money and the momentum of building wealth. Most people who “make it” aren’t wall st hot shots or brain surgeons, they’re two bit boomer contractors or some pajeet family that owns a couple of liquor stores. Mundane not flashy type shit. Chase the dollar, not the prestige of the dollar.
gamble on options
It hasn't been easy. My older brother pursued acting and my younger brother never finished college.My other brother is working on an environmental science degree but is saddled with debt (through no fault of his own, different sides of the family)
I'm worried that i'm the only one with a sense for finance and all of my relatives will be leaning on me later in life, of which there are more than I can probably support.
I completely agree, I want to enter house gang soon but picked up this apartment because it's near my work and good by my high cost of living city's standards. Also wanted to make sure I could handle the stress of the job (it's easy) and not get fired (I haven't). I even got a clause in my lease that closes it out if I get fired.
He's a TOP, and I mean TOP, Business and personal injury lawyer in his state. Dining out and champagne with every meal as well as supporting a family I guess.
I'm down $3,000 on options to date. Was ahead on every single one before eventually coming out at a loss. Fell for the Lumber Liquidators meme, the disney meme, and the SPY meme.
I just don't have a head for it i'm afraid. Time to go slow and steadyl.
This is my life’s mission now, thanks user.
Do you think the current market will keep going down? Or V shaped recovery?
Is your dad from Alabama by chance?
>Chase the dollar, not the prestige of the dollar.
100% this. My dream is being a closet millionaire living a very modest life.
Literally buy crypto coins, stick your finger in your ass and make money automatically
I plan to own a modest amount of bitcoin eventually. 1-5 I think. Currently holding a 1/3rd.
> Do you think the current market will keep going down? Or V shaped recovery?
I don’t try to speculate the future like that. I try to remain market neutral and position myself to profit no matter which way it swings. Buy the dips, stack cash/bonds when shares are expensive, write options to move in and out of positions, and collect dividends. Surf the waves, don’t try to make the waves.
>What are the best things I could be doing for myself?
Stocks, crypto, start a business,
When I get enough years of Technical Writing experience under my belt that I'm taken seriously, I plan to become an independent contractor for Technical Writing work.
Will also look into hiring writing talent that I can hopefully provide consistent business for.
what’s your background if you don’t mind me asking? upbringing, career, etc.
i enjoy learning about the lives of wise folk. too many people that think they know it all and not enough that know they don’t