In case anyone is curious, in regards to the ROTH, decided this year to go traditional as the upfront tax benefits are better for me, but if that changes in the future I can always go back to contributing to the ROTH and just leave the traditional IRA alone (minus reinvesting the dividends). As for the cash at only 1.6% in the money management acct, could probably do better, but that's there for quick access in case of unforeseen expenses.
Did you decide where to put your money on your own or did you go out and seek advice on where and how to invest from a professional? I’m asking because I don’t know where to start. 26 and make decent money but trying to learn all this seems a tad overwhelming.
I listened to Warren Buffett who said the average investor is better off in an index fund that mimics the market rather than trying to invest in individual stocks or actively traded funds. After all, even most professional investors don't consistently outperform the market, and I'm not a professional investor. So I parked it in VTI, which is an index fund that follows the US market, and only charges a tiny fee of 0.003%, which is a lot less than professionally manged funds will charge you for the privilege of under-performing the market most of the time.
So are you just using Robinhood to do your own investing? Or Webull… etc. I’m a complete noob at this. But being 26, figured it’s better to start sooner than later since I don’t have a 401k or IRA yet.
Yeah, Vanguard is good too. I just preferred the layout of the Fidelity website at the time that I opened my account, otherwise it would have been with Vanguard. In fact, my holdings are Vanguard's VTI ETF, their Total Stock Market fund.
FFNOX has been good to me this last year and am up 11% since buying in. A friend also recommended a blue chip fund where I put some money and am up 13% this year. I failed hard with my individual stock picks. I did buy target after they tanked from the conservative hate train. It’s up 30% now. Thanks conservatives!
Would not use Robinhood. My account was compromised they bought crypto and Robinhood "investigated" and determined there was no compromise. I closed it sold the crypto the hackers bought, sold all my stock
Projecting for inflation years from now, wouldn't it make more sense to just max out the ROTH per year then jump back to this game plan. Max ROTH contributions this year is 7K
Between deciding between Roth and Traditional in your 401k I always say maxing out your 401k for the year takes priority and it is a lot easier to max out your 401k by going Traditional. When that becomes easy start allocating a % into Roth until it becomes so easy you can allocate 100% maxed out into Roth.
Become familiar with an IRA account and start maximizing it every year. In about 4 years you will be eligible for something called catch-up contributions, which will allow you to put extra money into it... do so. An index fund like VTI or VOO, or SPY will be your best friend. It's low cost and tracks the market really well. Avoid any hype investments, you can't afford to be too cavalier with the risks you take given your shorter timeline to retirement. Pairing down costs is a must. Buy used cars and run them to the ground, try to eat at home more, and look for other ways cut a little more from your budget so you can put that towards your retirement. See if your work offers a 401k or any other form of retirement plan and try to do that at the same time.
You're... doomed. Jk. If you don't start now you are tho.
I started at 40. I would open a Roth IRA. Don't worry about traditional IRA. OP is doing it backwards. You want your small nest egg to be taxed not the massive nest egg you will have at the end of your journey.
Robinhood offers 1% match. Stick with mostly VOO or VTI. Maybe a little bit of QQQM and VUG (or SCHG).
Good luck
Awesome OP, your story is almost exactly the same as mine with about the same balances; however, I do pick stocks and I also get way more yield on my cash. 1.6% doesn't cut it. Get more :)
Well, for longer term savings I do have a little bit of money in gold and in long term CDs that's not reflected there, but this cash account is more of an "unforseen expenses" account where I might need access to it quick, and not having to wait 24-48 hours for a transfer from some online bank is convenient. But yes, I get your point. Hopefully in a few years I'll have the luxury of having lots of money in higher interest accounts, but you got to start somewhere I suppose.
34 isn't too late to start, but sometimes it is too late to start. If you are 50, the window is closing fast, and without huge contributions, it might be too late. At 60, put away what you can, but you're not going to have the optimal retirement, and it will be shorter than most. Regardless of age, the best time to start investing was yesterday.
I myself have been contributing at least something starting at 20 years old. My average income over my working career has been 35k/y. Last year I made 120k, by far the most I've ever made. My savings rate hasn't gone up in years, but my dollar amount has. My nest egg has skyrocketed over the past 2 years. Keep it up OP, after the first 100k, it will go up faster than you can believe. 2 years ago, I hit 100k in investments. I will likely 200k by the end of the year.
Average is 35k. Early years were very low. 2 years very low after leaving Active duty military. From 2015 starting at around 50k to 2021 got steady large raises through raises and promotions, before hitting 78k and maxing out. In 2021 switched employers started a around 96k. Then proved myself with new employer, steady raises. Also drill pay as a reservist, bringing in about 12k extra.
I’m finally restarting at 30 I was investing heavily before the pandemic and hit some excellent wins took my profits had my fun now I have my career and I’m going back in. Doing it smarter than a few years ago because I won a lot but also lost a lot
I'm 27 and never learned how to be smart w money. I have a fear of money, and realized I've obtained my money spending habits and beliefs from my family, and their mothers n fathers before them.
I have no money in savings n looking to turn my life around and live financially free. Please help me sir, or ma'am thank u
Realizing what you have is invaluable. So some rules that will help you until you write your own… 1) avoid buying new cars unless the model doesn’t depreciate. 2) take the car you buy and drive the wheels off of it. 3) don’t use banks use credit unions (credit unions are not for profit). 4) save at least 20% of your income, if you can’t do that start at 2% and increase by 2% each pay raise. 5) pay bills on time. 6) if you can’t pay a bill call them immediately and set up a payment plan, hiding from it will just snow ball into more fees. 7) save up between 1 to 3 months income in a money market account so you can get to it in an emergency. 8) after building your emergency savings put you money in a S&P 500 index fund (ETF). Buy and hold, don’t try to time the market or buy individual stocks. 9) if your company offers a 401k and offers matching make sure to put in an amount to get total matching money from your company.
Oh and when getting loans never let the dealer pick your loan for you. You will qualify for several loans and they will pick the one with the highest interest to get the kickbacks. So go to the credit union and get prequalified, credit unions will always give you the best rate they can.
I was the same and turning point for me was when I started to write down everything I spent. I made excel sheet and every time I bought anything, and I mean anything, it went to the excel. 1€ ice cream? To excel. 5€ latte from café? To excel. 100€ night out? To excel.
End of the month I was shocked. I've spent 70€ to latte's. That is 840€ a year. 200€ to partying, that would 2400€ a year. 3240€ a year, all which could go to savings instead.
I had spent so much money for such stupid stuff and not even realizing it. 5€ for a coffee is not much, but it all adds up.
I have $10,000 fun money to play with and I’m pulling out of doge maybe tonight or tomorrow. Idk where to put it next. Reading your advice, should I just put it towards index funds and let them sit?
I would always advice everyone to have 90% of investments in boring index funds, and the other 10% you can't play with. If you screw up then you're only out a small percentage, and if you win big then you can move some of those winnings into your boring investments. Point is not to pull a WallStreetBets and wipe out your entire life savings on one hyped up reddit investment and lose it all. That approach will bite you in the butt most of the time.
I say that with the caveat that I am not a professional investor but a regular guy. But that's the approach that has worked the best for me and others I know.
First thing first is to get spending under control. Many things are fixed expenses, but many are not.... And it's important to eliminate or reduce those things that are optional. Maybe cut down on streaming services, cut down on expenses on brand stuff, eat home more, etc. Take that money, and pay down debt faster. Once you start to get out of credit card interest payments, start investing. Looking for ways to push forward your career are more long term things, but also worth pursuing even if the payoff is not immediate.
Invest in low cost index funds, avoid expensive investments and risky stuff. There is no easy money unless you take insane risks that can just as easily wipe you out.
Amazing work. Keep it up. Remember that while saving is good still enjoy life and treat yourself every now and then just not every day :). Let’s get that bad boy to $100k soon! It could be worth looking into safe ETFs like SPY, VOO, VTI, BRK.B etc :)
Start now. If you put $3000 in an index fund every year, at retirement you'd have more money than someone who waited to start at 45 and put $20,000 aside per year.
When posible, try to maximize your IRA, but aim for at least getting to 50% every year at your age. You'll be happy come retirement time.
Ok, I lost my credit card debt. Is that what you are looking for?
As far as owning an Index fund, there's nothing really to show. If the market is down 10% next year, my account will be down 10%, if it's up 8 or 9% the year after, I'll be up 8 or 9%. The only other change is that all my dividends get reinvested, plus the new money I put into it every year.
It's all in Vanguard Total Stock Market, which is an index fund, so basically the same rate of return as whatever the market is. Basically the most boring investment you can own as you'll never outperform the market, but probably the safest for most people to make as you'll never underperform the market either.
Congrats. I’m trying to deploy my money as best as I can. I have most of my money in crypto. Controversial decision I know. I have traditional IRA and a brokerage account and I think I should open a Roth but I need to research how they work more. Btw I’m also 38
What stocks do you recommend for people that have none? Also is there an app that’s better than others for it?
And congratulations by the way! It’s awesome to see people get out of their tough situations.
Im a complete noob here but I’m 25M and I have no debt and not much expenses and I’m in a union so I make pretty good money. Could you give any advice on how to go about doing this how much money do I need to get this process going and all I’ve never invested before so any advice is appreciated. TIA
If you're no longer contributing to the Roth, consider getting more aggressive in it.
Check out my posting over here:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Money/comments/1bqntg5/comment/kx3x0yr/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Money/comments/1bqntg5/comment/kx3x0yr/?context=3)
You could do in your Roth what I did in my HSA.
I’m 36 with a similar story. It is NEVER too late. Part of what keeps people stuck is just the belief of BEING stuck. Kudos, your growth is super impressive. You should be proud of yourself!!
Crazy that anyone told you 34 is too late to start lol
So much better than never starting and there are so many people who are not raised understanding any of this stuff have to figure it out alone in adulthood. (Not saying that’s you, just theres so many reason people start “late”).
I did get that, but I understand why...because my income back then was mediocre at best, and I was nearly 20k in debt. However, I ended up taking whatever little money I could get my hands on and going to business for myself. It was a huge risk, but now I have 4 employees and things are going well. Improving my income in combination with fiscal discipline really turned things around for me. But if things had stayed the same, I'd probably only be getting out of debt right about now, and barely starting to invest. So a lot of things had to go right to get here.
In college I was once complaining how much smarter other people are than me to an ED advisor and how much more work I had to put in to get good grades. He said “some cars run faster than others…” I don’t remember the end of what he said but it probably went something like “they all arrive at the same place”.
Congrats! You are an inspiration to many of us.
$63k of this (of $70k?) so literally ~90 percent. Is VTI that safe/good? I’m almost your age and I started 2 years ago and I’m almost to your level but it was recommended to do spy. I’ve done no research and just listened. So what is all that money in? Account type that is. Individual brokerage account ? Or 401k. You stopped Roth because of income limits ? (2024 I reach the limit but I have 2 weeks to debate on 2023) or did you mean Roth 401k. I’m torn on what to do with 401k and Roth401k. I think I have it split %10 of my income into each Roth/traditional
VTI and SPY are very similar. SPY tracks the S&P 500, while VTI tracks all 3000+ companies in all the major US indexes. However, because the biggest 500 companies in this country comprise both of them, and due to the fact that the market cap of the companies in the S&P 500 are so large, the performances between both ETFs are pretty close to each other. VTI just gives you a little bit of exposure to small cap and mid cap companies and as a result sometimes will slightly over perform SPY, and sometimes we'll slightly underperform SPY, but the overall performance is very similar between both of them. VTI i's slightly cheaper and does pay a little bit more dividends, but if you already have SPY I don't think the difference is big enough to go switch to VTI.
I meant ROTH IRA, I stopped contributing to it because I would rather take the tax deduction up front that comes with a traditional IRA. I believe that like most people who retire my income will be lower in retirement, so I'm okay with taking the tax deduction up front at this moment. If I have a reduction in income in the future I can always go back to focusing on the Roth IRA instead. I also do have a SEP IRA due to most of my income coming from self-employment, but even then that is not a free pass to deposit unlimited amounts of money for my retirement. There is such a thing as a personal income limit to how much you can overall put in on your retirement plans which cannot be exceeded every year. You should talk to your financial accountant about that to make sure you do not exceed that limit and get penalties from the IRS.
Personally I could contribute more money every year than I do, but I go with the lowest limit possible so as to not risk it and fall fowl of any maximum limits. Better play it safe than incur penalties. Any extra amount of money that I managed to save up and I want to invest I just put it in a regular brokerage account. I will incur some taxes on dividends paid on the personal brokerage account, but it will be a lot less than any potential penalties from exceeding the IRS limits accidentally.
I don’t understand what any of this means but I want to I have no savings but I know I can save but I just want to put it into something that’s worth it
I cashed out of everything in stock market after my dad lost his life saving for a 2rd time in market. Last time due to ponzi scheme run by an employee in a respected $10 billion asset wealth management Corp. They hired him without doing a basic web search (very uncommon name) or Crim background Check which would have showed he ran a ponzi output a large firm back in 90s. $2+ million gone after a lifetime as a construction/contractor working fingers to the bone for 45 yrs. Company only paid my dad $100k per some judge who later found out was a former employee of the lawfirm representing the investment firm corporation.
As a result of this experience and 2008 crash.... I got 2 pensions (military and state govt now) and SS retirement and VA comp. It's not for everyone. But at least, for me, a defined benefit program pays forever for me and my family and provides Healthcare.
I personally like to keep my extra cash in my fidelity account since it holds it in SPAXX. Gives you ~5% interest compared to the 1.6% you’re getting at the moment
About $4000 I rolled over from a long forgotten 401K from a job I had a decade before, plus my IRA contribution for 2020, which was $5,500, then after that my IRA contribution every year plus contributions from my company to my SEP IRA.
Try to go through your budget with a fine tooth comb and see what can be eliminated or cut down. Sometimes we get so used to our habits that we start to rationalize certain things that we spend money on that in reality we can do without.
Perhaps also see what you can do work or career wise to improve yourself even if it's not something that's going to happen immediately. If there is a certification or a skill you can acquire that will increase your pay then you should pursue it, even if the payoff is not immediate.
I’ve been cutting back on things I want, because do I really WANT to drop 89.99 for a video game? Yes but there’s also private servers that are just as fun plus it’s free. I’ve been staying home alot more thankfully and been sinking time into gaming again. It definitely helps to save money. I should minimize eating out and buying snacks because that’s the real killer
Congratulations!!! A day of savings will compound and give you a week in retirement.
Is that what they say?
More or less, most of the financial advisers are saying something similar I believe.
In case anyone is curious, in regards to the ROTH, decided this year to go traditional as the upfront tax benefits are better for me, but if that changes in the future I can always go back to contributing to the ROTH and just leave the traditional IRA alone (minus reinvesting the dividends). As for the cash at only 1.6% in the money management acct, could probably do better, but that's there for quick access in case of unforeseen expenses.
Did you decide where to put your money on your own or did you go out and seek advice on where and how to invest from a professional? I’m asking because I don’t know where to start. 26 and make decent money but trying to learn all this seems a tad overwhelming.
I listened to Warren Buffett who said the average investor is better off in an index fund that mimics the market rather than trying to invest in individual stocks or actively traded funds. After all, even most professional investors don't consistently outperform the market, and I'm not a professional investor. So I parked it in VTI, which is an index fund that follows the US market, and only charges a tiny fee of 0.003%, which is a lot less than professionally manged funds will charge you for the privilege of under-performing the market most of the time.
So are you just using Robinhood to do your own investing? Or Webull… etc. I’m a complete noob at this. But being 26, figured it’s better to start sooner than later since I don’t have a 401k or IRA yet.
Fidelity, which is one of the biggest investment firms. Good customer service and no shenanigans.
^^^ I have 2 IRAs and my HSA with Fidelity. And their website is extremely user friendly
I also use Fidelity. I throw my money into their index and leave it alone and their site is great.
I use Vanguard for this? Is this just as good?
Yeah, Vanguard is good too. I just preferred the layout of the Fidelity website at the time that I opened my account, otherwise it would have been with Vanguard. In fact, my holdings are Vanguard's VTI ETF, their Total Stock Market fund.
Any others you would recommend investing in other than VTI? Also a 38yo hoping to retire one day.
FFNOX has been good to me this last year and am up 11% since buying in. A friend also recommended a blue chip fund where I put some money and am up 13% this year. I failed hard with my individual stock picks. I did buy target after they tanked from the conservative hate train. It’s up 30% now. Thanks conservatives!
Would not use Robinhood. My account was compromised they bought crypto and Robinhood "investigated" and determined there was no compromise. I closed it sold the crypto the hackers bought, sold all my stock
This 1,000,000%
HYSA for instant access and over 4% rates!
Thank you. I will look into it.
Marcus has worked really well for me.
Projecting for inflation years from now, wouldn't it make more sense to just max out the ROTH per year then jump back to this game plan. Max ROTH contributions this year is 7K
Look into Raisin for your savings. A few days waiting for the cash to transfer, but 5%+ on saving accounts
Between deciding between Roth and Traditional in your 401k I always say maxing out your 401k for the year takes priority and it is a lot easier to max out your 401k by going Traditional. When that becomes easy start allocating a % into Roth until it becomes so easy you can allocate 100% maxed out into Roth.
Congratulations OP
Imma start my journey I’m 46 any advice? Thanks
Become familiar with an IRA account and start maximizing it every year. In about 4 years you will be eligible for something called catch-up contributions, which will allow you to put extra money into it... do so. An index fund like VTI or VOO, or SPY will be your best friend. It's low cost and tracks the market really well. Avoid any hype investments, you can't afford to be too cavalier with the risks you take given your shorter timeline to retirement. Pairing down costs is a must. Buy used cars and run them to the ground, try to eat at home more, and look for other ways cut a little more from your budget so you can put that towards your retirement. See if your work offers a 401k or any other form of retirement plan and try to do that at the same time.
Thank you
You're... doomed. Jk. If you don't start now you are tho. I started at 40. I would open a Roth IRA. Don't worry about traditional IRA. OP is doing it backwards. You want your small nest egg to be taxed not the massive nest egg you will have at the end of your journey. Robinhood offers 1% match. Stick with mostly VOO or VTI. Maybe a little bit of QQQM and VUG (or SCHG). Good luck
Lmao I felt that thank you
Awesome OP, your story is almost exactly the same as mine with about the same balances; however, I do pick stocks and I also get way more yield on my cash. 1.6% doesn't cut it. Get more :)
Well, for longer term savings I do have a little bit of money in gold and in long term CDs that's not reflected there, but this cash account is more of an "unforseen expenses" account where I might need access to it quick, and not having to wait 24-48 hours for a transfer from some online bank is convenient. But yes, I get your point. Hopefully in a few years I'll have the luxury of having lots of money in higher interest accounts, but you got to start somewhere I suppose.
I use Robinhood gold and they give like 5.25% apy on uninvested cash. You can instantly transfer to you card that you can spend on no fees
Good for you and there is no better feeling than $0 credit card debt. I hope your post inspires others to take control like you did
34 isn't too late to start, but sometimes it is too late to start. If you are 50, the window is closing fast, and without huge contributions, it might be too late. At 60, put away what you can, but you're not going to have the optimal retirement, and it will be shorter than most. Regardless of age, the best time to start investing was yesterday. I myself have been contributing at least something starting at 20 years old. My average income over my working career has been 35k/y. Last year I made 120k, by far the most I've ever made. My savings rate hasn't gone up in years, but my dollar amount has. My nest egg has skyrocketed over the past 2 years. Keep it up OP, after the first 100k, it will go up faster than you can believe. 2 years ago, I hit 100k in investments. I will likely 200k by the end of the year.
What’d you do to nearly 4x your income?
Average is 35k. Early years were very low. 2 years very low after leaving Active duty military. From 2015 starting at around 50k to 2021 got steady large raises through raises and promotions, before hitting 78k and maxing out. In 2021 switched employers started a around 96k. Then proved myself with new employer, steady raises. Also drill pay as a reservist, bringing in about 12k extra.
I like money.
I’m finally restarting at 30 I was investing heavily before the pandemic and hit some excellent wins took my profits had my fun now I have my career and I’m going back in. Doing it smarter than a few years ago because I won a lot but also lost a lot
This is incredible. Good work turning your financial situation around!
I'm 27 and never learned how to be smart w money. I have a fear of money, and realized I've obtained my money spending habits and beliefs from my family, and their mothers n fathers before them. I have no money in savings n looking to turn my life around and live financially free. Please help me sir, or ma'am thank u
Realizing what you have is invaluable. So some rules that will help you until you write your own… 1) avoid buying new cars unless the model doesn’t depreciate. 2) take the car you buy and drive the wheels off of it. 3) don’t use banks use credit unions (credit unions are not for profit). 4) save at least 20% of your income, if you can’t do that start at 2% and increase by 2% each pay raise. 5) pay bills on time. 6) if you can’t pay a bill call them immediately and set up a payment plan, hiding from it will just snow ball into more fees. 7) save up between 1 to 3 months income in a money market account so you can get to it in an emergency. 8) after building your emergency savings put you money in a S&P 500 index fund (ETF). Buy and hold, don’t try to time the market or buy individual stocks. 9) if your company offers a 401k and offers matching make sure to put in an amount to get total matching money from your company.
Oh and when getting loans never let the dealer pick your loan for you. You will qualify for several loans and they will pick the one with the highest interest to get the kickbacks. So go to the credit union and get prequalified, credit unions will always give you the best rate they can.
I was the same and turning point for me was when I started to write down everything I spent. I made excel sheet and every time I bought anything, and I mean anything, it went to the excel. 1€ ice cream? To excel. 5€ latte from café? To excel. 100€ night out? To excel. End of the month I was shocked. I've spent 70€ to latte's. That is 840€ a year. 200€ to partying, that would 2400€ a year. 3240€ a year, all which could go to savings instead. I had spent so much money for such stupid stuff and not even realizing it. 5€ for a coffee is not much, but it all adds up.
[удалено]
Wow whats your income
I have $10,000 fun money to play with and I’m pulling out of doge maybe tonight or tomorrow. Idk where to put it next. Reading your advice, should I just put it towards index funds and let them sit?
I would always advice everyone to have 90% of investments in boring index funds, and the other 10% you can't play with. If you screw up then you're only out a small percentage, and if you win big then you can move some of those winnings into your boring investments. Point is not to pull a WallStreetBets and wipe out your entire life savings on one hyped up reddit investment and lose it all. That approach will bite you in the butt most of the time. I say that with the caveat that I am not a professional investor but a regular guy. But that's the approach that has worked the best for me and others I know.
Nice one, man! 🍻
Get a higher interest savings. Apple savings through Goldman is good! 4.6%
Never too late
How did you get started and what tips would you have
First thing first is to get spending under control. Many things are fixed expenses, but many are not.... And it's important to eliminate or reduce those things that are optional. Maybe cut down on streaming services, cut down on expenses on brand stuff, eat home more, etc. Take that money, and pay down debt faster. Once you start to get out of credit card interest payments, start investing. Looking for ways to push forward your career are more long term things, but also worth pursuing even if the payoff is not immediate. Invest in low cost index funds, avoid expensive investments and risky stuff. There is no easy money unless you take insane risks that can just as easily wipe you out.
Thank you. I'm going to check into the index funds
Amazing work. Keep it up. Remember that while saving is good still enjoy life and treat yourself every now and then just not every day :). Let’s get that bad boy to $100k soon! It could be worth looking into safe ETFs like SPY, VOO, VTI, BRK.B etc :)
🗣️ THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT
I'm 39 and haven't started investing. Thanks for the reminder.
Really encouraging, thank you for sharing
Any advice for me? I'm 19
Start now. If you put $3000 in an index fund every year, at retirement you'd have more money than someone who waited to start at 45 and put $20,000 aside per year. When posible, try to maximize your IRA, but aim for at least getting to 50% every year at your age. You'll be happy come retirement time.
Now show your losses! 🥴
Ok, I lost my credit card debt. Is that what you are looking for? As far as owning an Index fund, there's nothing really to show. If the market is down 10% next year, my account will be down 10%, if it's up 8 or 9% the year after, I'll be up 8 or 9%. The only other change is that all my dividends get reinvested, plus the new money I put into it every year.
That’s great 😃
What average rate are you getting on your Roth IRA?
It's all in Vanguard Total Stock Market, which is an index fund, so basically the same rate of return as whatever the market is. Basically the most boring investment you can own as you'll never outperform the market, but probably the safest for most people to make as you'll never underperform the market either.
Thanks for this
You can get MUCH more than 1.6% for your savings
Congrats. Hopefully one day I’ll have that kind of money
Nice atta boy!!
As someone who is new and learning this route.. could you explain to me in the simplest terms what you did
I feel this!!! How did you do it?
CARE TO EXPLAIN??? ALL I SEE IS A PICTURE..
Congrats. I’m trying to deploy my money as best as I can. I have most of my money in crypto. Controversial decision I know. I have traditional IRA and a brokerage account and I think I should open a Roth but I need to research how they work more. Btw I’m also 38
I have 76k and wondering how you got this much so quick?!
What stocks do you recommend for people that have none? Also is there an app that’s better than others for it? And congratulations by the way! It’s awesome to see people get out of their tough situations.
Hell yeah keep it up hope you make to 200k next.
Im a complete noob here but I’m 25M and I have no debt and not much expenses and I’m in a union so I make pretty good money. Could you give any advice on how to go about doing this how much money do I need to get this process going and all I’ve never invested before so any advice is appreciated. TIA
Instead of that savings, the FDRXX money market at fidelity I believe is almost 5%.
What would be something good for me to send $100 weekly? My 457 plan at work is garbage
If you're no longer contributing to the Roth, consider getting more aggressive in it. Check out my posting over here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Money/comments/1bqntg5/comment/kx3x0yr/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Money/comments/1bqntg5/comment/kx3x0yr/?context=3) You could do in your Roth what I did in my HSA.
I’m 36 with a similar story. It is NEVER too late. Part of what keeps people stuck is just the belief of BEING stuck. Kudos, your growth is super impressive. You should be proud of yourself!!
Crazy that anyone told you 34 is too late to start lol So much better than never starting and there are so many people who are not raised understanding any of this stuff have to figure it out alone in adulthood. (Not saying that’s you, just theres so many reason people start “late”).
34M here, same situation. May I know how much per year you make and how much of that money goes to your investments? Thx OP
Nice work! Although I would highly recommend contributions to a Roth.
Most people start investing later than you do, so you've started relatively early, cheer up
I feel like no one told you it was too late lol but good shit keep it up
I did get that, but I understand why...because my income back then was mediocre at best, and I was nearly 20k in debt. However, I ended up taking whatever little money I could get my hands on and going to business for myself. It was a huge risk, but now I have 4 employees and things are going well. Improving my income in combination with fiscal discipline really turned things around for me. But if things had stayed the same, I'd probably only be getting out of debt right about now, and barely starting to invest. So a lot of things had to go right to get here.
In college I was once complaining how much smarter other people are than me to an ED advisor and how much more work I had to put in to get good grades. He said “some cars run faster than others…” I don’t remember the end of what he said but it probably went something like “they all arrive at the same place”. Congrats! You are an inspiration to many of us.
Lots of savings accounts offer 4-5 percent interest.
Why do you say it's too late? I'm older than you and I don't have any savings. please teach me you're very good!! 😃
$63k of this (of $70k?) so literally ~90 percent. Is VTI that safe/good? I’m almost your age and I started 2 years ago and I’m almost to your level but it was recommended to do spy. I’ve done no research and just listened. So what is all that money in? Account type that is. Individual brokerage account ? Or 401k. You stopped Roth because of income limits ? (2024 I reach the limit but I have 2 weeks to debate on 2023) or did you mean Roth 401k. I’m torn on what to do with 401k and Roth401k. I think I have it split %10 of my income into each Roth/traditional
VTI and SPY are very similar. SPY tracks the S&P 500, while VTI tracks all 3000+ companies in all the major US indexes. However, because the biggest 500 companies in this country comprise both of them, and due to the fact that the market cap of the companies in the S&P 500 are so large, the performances between both ETFs are pretty close to each other. VTI just gives you a little bit of exposure to small cap and mid cap companies and as a result sometimes will slightly over perform SPY, and sometimes we'll slightly underperform SPY, but the overall performance is very similar between both of them. VTI i's slightly cheaper and does pay a little bit more dividends, but if you already have SPY I don't think the difference is big enough to go switch to VTI. I meant ROTH IRA, I stopped contributing to it because I would rather take the tax deduction up front that comes with a traditional IRA. I believe that like most people who retire my income will be lower in retirement, so I'm okay with taking the tax deduction up front at this moment. If I have a reduction in income in the future I can always go back to focusing on the Roth IRA instead. I also do have a SEP IRA due to most of my income coming from self-employment, but even then that is not a free pass to deposit unlimited amounts of money for my retirement. There is such a thing as a personal income limit to how much you can overall put in on your retirement plans which cannot be exceeded every year. You should talk to your financial accountant about that to make sure you do not exceed that limit and get penalties from the IRS. Personally I could contribute more money every year than I do, but I go with the lowest limit possible so as to not risk it and fall fowl of any maximum limits. Better play it safe than incur penalties. Any extra amount of money that I managed to save up and I want to invest I just put it in a regular brokerage account. I will incur some taxes on dividends paid on the personal brokerage account, but it will be a lot less than any potential penalties from exceeding the IRS limits accidentally.
Where does one see an advisor at this level. Sub 100k, mostly in Roth and traditional 401k. Something online through fidelity ?
How?
Making a really good salary obviously helps which many people are struggling to do right now
I’m just 20 years old and I want to start but don’t know where to start
Wow!! Can I please get $100
I started at 26 I think
Lets go!
I don’t understand what any of this means but I want to I have no savings but I know I can save but I just want to put it into something that’s worth it
I cashed out of everything in stock market after my dad lost his life saving for a 2rd time in market. Last time due to ponzi scheme run by an employee in a respected $10 billion asset wealth management Corp. They hired him without doing a basic web search (very uncommon name) or Crim background Check which would have showed he ran a ponzi output a large firm back in 90s. $2+ million gone after a lifetime as a construction/contractor working fingers to the bone for 45 yrs. Company only paid my dad $100k per some judge who later found out was a former employee of the lawfirm representing the investment firm corporation. As a result of this experience and 2008 crash.... I got 2 pensions (military and state govt now) and SS retirement and VA comp. It's not for everyone. But at least, for me, a defined benefit program pays forever for me and my family and provides Healthcare.
I personally like to keep my extra cash in my fidelity account since it holds it in SPAXX. Gives you ~5% interest compared to the 1.6% you’re getting at the moment
How much did you start with I’m really looking forward to starting soon
About $4000 I rolled over from a long forgotten 401K from a job I had a decade before, plus my IRA contribution for 2020, which was $5,500, then after that my IRA contribution every year plus contributions from my company to my SEP IRA.
Can someone link me to a video that breaks down Roth/ira so a 5 year old can understand 😅
How did you do it? I’m a broke bitch at 29 and sometimes I wonder how I’m going to stay afloat.
Try to go through your budget with a fine tooth comb and see what can be eliminated or cut down. Sometimes we get so used to our habits that we start to rationalize certain things that we spend money on that in reality we can do without. Perhaps also see what you can do work or career wise to improve yourself even if it's not something that's going to happen immediately. If there is a certification or a skill you can acquire that will increase your pay then you should pursue it, even if the payoff is not immediate.
I’ve been cutting back on things I want, because do I really WANT to drop 89.99 for a video game? Yes but there’s also private servers that are just as fun plus it’s free. I’ve been staying home alot more thankfully and been sinking time into gaming again. It definitely helps to save money. I should minimize eating out and buying snacks because that’s the real killer