FinancialAdvice #BudgetingHelp #MoneyManagement
Hey there! 🌟
First off, congratulations on starting your journey towards financial independence! It’s awesome that you’re already thinking about how to save and create a solid financial plan at such a young age. Here are a few pieces of advice that might help you get started:
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Create a Budget: Sit down and track your expenses to see where your money is going. This will help you identify areas where you can cut back and save more.
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Emergency Fund: It’s always a good idea to have an emergency fund for unexpected expenses. Aim to save at least 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses.
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Invest Wisely: Consider opening a high-yield savings account or investing in low-cost index funds to earn more on your savings. Start small and do your research.
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Avoid Debt: Be mindful of using your credit card wisely and try to pay off your balance in full each month. Avoid high-interest debt as much as possible.
- Plan for the Future: Since you have a two-year timeline before transferring to a university, start thinking about your expenses and how you can save accordingly. Look into scholarships, grants, and other financial aid options for when you make the transition.
Remember, small changes can make a big difference in the long run. Good luck on your financial journey! 💸✨
if your only costs are 250-300 a month on gas and food what are you spending the rest on?
Stop letting the extra money disappear and invest in a HYSA. Also, avoid the temptation of the credit card. If you use it, pay it off monthly. You will want as much saved up as possible before taking that next academic step. Hopefully, you can save enough to cash flow your bachelor’s degree.
Here’s some 2 cents
– Track your income and expenses to know where your money go
– emergency fund at least 3-6 months’ worth of expenses
– Avoid debt!! I can’t stress enough. Pay off your credit card in full each month to avoid debt trapÂ
– Pay bills, save, invest then use the remaining money for other needs
– Invest early in low-cost index funds.
– Learn about personal finance
For the University stuff, trust me there are lots of university in other part of the world that better (QS rank) and significantly cheaper. Lots of scholarship available too. Widen your search, hoard more achievements to make yourself appealing for scholarship.
1/4 million usd scholarship is always better than a lifetime of student loan.Â
There are worlds top 50 uni that cost less than 5K eur!! per year.
> I’ve just got my first credit card and have an extra $1500 each month
That’s a very troubling sentence to read. You definitely do not have extra money each month because you have a credit card.
Track your spending and make a budget. You’re spending $1500-$2k a month that you don’t know what on or where it’s going. Figure that out. That will be a great lifelong skill to have.
For savings/investments, at this point just put as much as you can in a HYSA. Your most impactful decision out of all of this though will be your college choice. Try to pick a major that you’re good at and will pay a high salary. That’s more important than trying to do what you love. You can do what you love in your free time. Also pick an affordable college: either your state university or a private school that’s good and gives you a lot of scholarship money.
Give your self a spending budget outside your necessary expenses. Maybe 200$ a month to spend on wants, fun, whatever. Then save up some money to cover your necessary expenses in case something happens (car repair, unexpected job loss, etc). 3 months worth would be good for you starting out. Save this in a high yield savings account. After that, start saving up for University. I’m not going to tell you not to go—I personally had to go because of what I majored in. However be wise about your decision on where you go. It will not feel good to finish university with 6 figures of debt if you can have avoided doing so.
Then since you are young, I HIGHLY suggest opening a Roth IRA, contributing what you can monthly. Even if you start out investing 50$ a month or 100$ a month into your Roth IRA now, it will help a lot in the future. You are so young you have a lot of time for compound interest to work for you.
I recommend reading I will teach you to be rich by Ramit Sethi, and The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins..also recommend reading up on Bogleheads too. All of this will give you a good understanding on how to budget while still enjoying your life. It will give you an understanding on how important investing is and how to do it so your money grows without you having to do much.
Understand compounding interest.
Whoa, what do you mean you have an extra $1500 a month?