I graduated in May with my bachelors and got a comfy entry level tech job that'll pay for all of my certs and training to grow vertically in a year or so. Anyway, I don't have any debt (thanks mom and dad) and I'm 21 so pretty early getting into saving and investing.
I made a few goals of saving on a google spreadsheet, getting to $5k in savings, then a few hundred dollar splurge, then saving another $5k to invest. Longterm goal of at least $15-20k for a downpayment on a house/condo to own and eventually rent out.
To any oldfags/adults, what are some things you wish you did when you were first entering the workforce? Thanks.
Consider living with your parents for a year or two and save most of your paycheck. It's pretty normal now even in America even if it's a bit of a sacrifice socially. You'll need far more for a downpayment and closing costs than that plus money to have on hand obviously. Being able to save without paying rent will drastically accelerate your savings rate.
Austin Reed
I'd say first step is to put everything into a HISA and pay your daily expenses with a Credit Card. That will maximize your interest on what should be your emergency fund. The pajeets on here should be able to tell you the next riskier options are with your income
Grayson Perez
>Only getting into investing at 21
You've got some catching up to do. My recommendation would be staying at your parents house for as long as possible, eating home-made meals and cycling to work if you live within 10 miles of your work place, a 10 mile cycle should take you around 40 min, you avoid all the rush hour traffic and you get to work out a bit, what's not to like?
It's not much for advice but this shit adds up. If you spend $5 a day on food that adds up to around $1200 a year, and if you stay at your parents house, chances are that you could use their groceries to make your food so you pretty much end up with free food.
If you live frugally af, at your parents house you can easily live off around $3-5k/year and you can save the rest, so you won't even have to wait that long for that downpayment, making that "longterm" goal a short term one, and instead you can make "owning several properties" a long term goal.
t. 21 year old that has been working/investing since 18 and owns a house and an apartment. (I'm renting out the house so it's pretty much paying off my apartment) My current goal is to have at least $50k in inverse ETF's before the next financial crisis hits.
Hopefully you will make it user.
Andrew Edwards
Here’s helpful insight, he lived with mommy and daddy or got some money. There’s your insight
William Brown
not bragging at all, i guess i just have good spending habits and made sure to always have at least a small job covering expenses throughout school while saving most of my big cheques
Zachary Reed
I'll be staying with my parents for at least a year and I cook my own food regularly. Work is 15 miles away though taking the interstate so cycling isn't an option.
Sebastian Moore
I'm ready to jump into real estate once I graduate and land a decent income, curious what your net worth is
Luis Allen
Good, if you're dead set on buying a house very soon, contribute enough to meet the match for your companies 401k in an index fund or retirement target date fund, and then save the rest a high interest online savings account. I'm getting 1.75% with Ally and it keeps going up regularly.
Open a credit card or two as soon as possible if you don't have one already so you can start building credit. Rates are only going up and unfortunately it's doubtful you'll have 750+ in even two years with a couple credit cards.
Arguably I'd reconsider buying so young so you have more flexibility to move to a better job, but maybe you're already in a huge city where you wouldn't want to leave it's okay. Cars can really destroy your budget though. If you can take an express bus or train easily, seriously suck it up and consider it. I live by an apartment complex with a bunch of Indians many of whom are making quite a bit of money but they all take the bus and realize huge savings because of it.
Ayden Anderson
It's only like $100k atm as most of it is eaten up by liabilities (Mortgages on the house and apartment, but those are worry free investments as all I need is a $5k rainy day fund in case I cannot find someone that wants to rent the house, so it is technically closer to $250k) When the next recession hits my actual networth will be $250k, $400k if I don't count the mortgages as liabilities.
Thomas Watson
>t. delusional kid who thinks he will time the crash with his stupid inverse fund and 3x his portfolio
Joshua Johnson
I've already planned on putting enough into my 401k up to the company match limit.
I haven't checked my credit score but it's at least 700+ from the last time I did, my parents add me as a couser on theirs to build some of my credit. I will be applying for one of my own in the following days. I'm not deadset on owning a property within the next year or two, however it would be a good start I believe considering the high growth rate the town I'm living in is at.
Tyler Edwards
>dude how are you not in the top5% of savings for our age(more inclined to believe it’s 1% actually.)
>lol I’m not bragging >didn’t even offer advice on how to convince mommy and daddy to take care of you past 18
Possibly, but housing has gone up so much relative to wages over the past couple of years and everyone and their brother is buying a house so there are few deals to be had anymore and it's somewhat difficult to imagine the price increases we've seen continue for much longer. Though, trying to time the market is a fools errand and it's dependent on location so you could be right. It's something to look into over the next few years.
Brayden Morgan
I've got a stop loss at 50%, so far I am up 8%.
Josiah Brown
>15-20k > down payment
Lmao. Ok you must live in Bentonville AK.
Jordan Ross
Large city in the South, I admit I wasn't really sure what the ideal down payment level was so I just listed that for now and can easily adjust it as I go.
Carson King
if you put 20% down, then you dont need mortgage insurance, which is hugely expensive like extra 500$ a month, so it's worth it to save for the 20%.
I am looking at real estate in Charlotte and I cant find anything < $600,000, which means $120,000 down payment. I'm not even looking for anything fancy, just a decent home in a "nice" area in a tier 3 city and I still need 120,000 just for the down payment.
15-20 will get you a brand spanking new double wide though.
Adam Gutierrez
Suburbs, waxhaw is a nice quiet one south of Charlotte. Will likely be doing the same thing whenever I reach that point looking at suburbs in my current city.
Oliver Thomas
To add, assuming my current 2 year relationship extends another two years my gf (likely wife) and I will definitely be purchasing one together.
Anthony Jackson
home ownership / rent income isn't a universally good investment. it depends on the housing market and how likely your career will have you move cities.
get to know your co workers and put yourself on the job the job market after ~5 years, even if your comfortable at the same place.
Sebastian Williams
Having grown up in a few different states I know all too well the reality of moving after 2-3 years. What would you suggest as a more stable long term investment assuming I won't be in the same city every 3 years?
Sebastian Gray
Credit karma is reporting my score to be between 790-800.
Samuel Lewis
>stable long term investment with investments it's a trade off between stability and growth. if you can afford to not touch the money for 10+ years then stocks are generally more advisable. otherwise bonds, or at least a high interest savings account will give you something in return while you save up for a purchase.
$5k isn't significant so there's no rush but get comfortable with investing in the market as your savings add up bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started
Hudson Hall
>I cant find anything < $600,000 Stop talking out of your ass
