Financial Independence Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930 essay)

---

• Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930 essay)
• from 21 yr old condo dweller NW 10k to 25M with roommates NW almost 200k. Thank you for teaching your lessons. (here are some of the big ones for me)
• Mega Backdoor Roth - What's the issue with holding earnings/gains in a Traditional 401k?
• Has your personality helped/hindered your road to FI?
• Daily FI discussion thread - January 08, 2018
• CPA new to FI/RE seeking feedback
• Weekly FI Monday Milestone thread - January 08, 2018
• Scene: Hard to start trusting a financial professional? But...I'm not likely a good choice to DIY investment.
• Do FIRE sims have biased weighting of scenarios?
• Trucking with a BSCS - Follow Up
• Starting My Journey to FI - Need Advice (24M)
• Mid FI Depression
• Close to burnout... one-more-year syndrome
• FI/RE and worried about losing it all
• Remember folks, FIRE money is all relative
• To combine or not to combine investment with long-term, pro-FI partner?
• Turning 20 this month! What do you wish you knew when you were my age? Any tips?

Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren (1930 essay) Posted: 08 Jan 2018 06:22 AM PST John Maynard Keynes wrote this essay in 1930, trying to imagine what the economy would be like 100 years in the future. He thought that as people became more and more productive and efficient, they would naturally work less and mankind would enter a new era of vastly increased leisure. He saw this a good thing but a huge challenge as well, as people would have to learn to find some other purpose in life besides working and earning money. This really struck a chord with me as someone considering what I might do with my life beyond working, so I thought I'd share the excerpt for the benefit of other like-minded people on this sub. RE does not automatically equally happiness; you have to put some effort into it! "Yet there is no country and no people, I think, who can look forward to the age of leisure and of abundance without a dread. For we have been trained too long to strive and not to enjoy. It is a fearful problem for the ordinary person, with no special talents, to occupy himself, especially if he no longer has roots in the soil or in custom or in the beloved conventions of a traditional society. To judge from the behaviour and the achievements of the wealthy classes today in any quarter of the world, the outlook is very depressing! For these are, so to speak, our advance guard-those who are spying out the promised land for the rest of us and pitching their camp there. For they have most of them failed disastrously, so it seems to me-those who have an independent income but no associations or duties or ties-to solve the problem which has been set them. I feel sure that with a little more experience we shall use the new-found bounty of nature quite differently from the way in which the rich use it today, and will map out for ourselves a plan of life quite otherwise than theirs. For many ages to come the old Adam will be so strong in us that everybody will need to do some work if he is to be contented. We shall do more things for ourselves than is usual with the rich today, only too glad to have small duties and tasks and routines. But beyond this, we shall endeavour to spread the bread thin on the butter-to make what work there is still to be done to be as widely shared as possible. Three-hour shifts or a fifteen-hour week may put off the problem for a great while. For three hours a day is quite enough to satisfy the old Adam in most of us!" submitted by /u/ACT-tutor [link] [comments]

from 21 yr old condo dweller NW 10k to 25M with roommates NW almost 200k. Thank you for teaching your lessons. (here are some of the big ones for me) Posted: 08 Jan 2018 04:44 AM PST I will often see success stories here about people who have accumulated immense wealth at later stages in their life and are kind enough to share their stories. Here are a few of the advice you gave me, and how they have made a positive impact on MY life. Advice given: one of your hobbies should make you money How it was used: Tutoring 4 hrs a week gives me great joy, and covers all of my groceries and then some. At these early stages in life, this gave me a huge head start on savings (about 120CAD/week). It honestly feels too good to be true. Advice given: Live in a place you can afford, there is no shame in roommates. How it was used: I bought a very cheap triplex at 22, and then a duplex at 24 closer to the city that I could live in. I live in the downstairs with 2 roommates, and now effectively live rent free. More savings. I am looking at triplexes next week so I can purchase ANOTHER property owner occupied, and live in my own small flat rent free (flat value 700/m, far cry from my 1500/m rented condo). Advice given: (from a PM) "Cash out some of your risky investments and pay off your fucking car loan you barn animal" how it was used: No car payment, less stress, more savings. I find i am not checking my phone constantly for most recent market prices, and my car just feels better knowing it is not bleeding me monthly at almost 6% interest rate. Advice given: sometimes, you get work benefits just by asking How it was used: Asked my work to send me to PMP training. They delivered and I write the exam in a month. Once I get this designation, it should help my career in the long run. Advice given: Max out TFSA, Max out TFSA. Max out TFSA How it was used: well...maxed out TFSA, and after you do it the first time its not hard at all. TFSA contribution is limited to 5500/yr, which I can almost cover with tutoring alone. Anyway, I have been floored recently, as more and more of my bills approach zero and I have been living well below my means. My rent is zero, my car payment is zero, no loan payments, contribute max out rrsp and then have over 3k take home pay (about 2k leftover to invest after bills and TFSA...and really know where tf to put it tbh). Thank you for sharing your stories, and teaching your lessons. You've changed my entire way of thinking and I am well on my way. submitted by /u/SloppyMoses [link] [comments]

Mega Backdoor Roth - What's the issue with holding earnings/gains in a Traditional 401k? Posted: 08 Jan 2018 11:12 AM PST Just got the 'go' from my employer that I can do unlimited rollovers on after-tax contributions into an IRA. I'm all giddy and understand how fortunate I am. After significant research on the topic, I was planning to rollover my after-tax contributions into my existing Roth IRA and create my first Traditional IRA to hold the rolled over gains from after-tax contributions. It's my understanding this will avoid a taxable event. Is this a good approach? I have come across a few articles suggesting I eliminate any existing Traditional IRAs prior to doing Mega Backdoor Roth "to avoid confusion" and I'm not clear as to why. I am able to 'eat' taxes on the after-tax gains this year if needed but I would like to take advantage of pre-tax compounding and will likely need to set up a traditional IRA some day anyways for job switches, etc. Please advise on your recommended approach here. submitted by /u/FunnyConfirmer [link] [comments]

Has your personality helped/hindered your road to FI? Posted: 08 Jan 2018 06:45 AM PST So, I'm a pretty extreme introvert in that I genuinely enjoy spending the vast majority of my free time alone as opposed to being around other people. This isn't due to any past trauma or hard life circumstances or anything, I actually consider my upbringing to be pretty fortunate as I was brought up in a sort of traditional family with a mom and dad who emphasized family values, good education, hard work and basic common sense. I also worked to overcome my natural shortcomings while growing up. I had horrible stage fright and didn't like talking to strangers, so I took lessons in public speaking and forced myself to interact with other people to break out of my shell. It worked, high school was pretty miserable overall but I made a bunch of friends in college and after that I got a job where I was responsible for a number of people and have done well since then. However, while I may have learned to interact with other people, I still enjoy being alone. I'm single, no kids, and have no desire to get married or to try and start a long term relationship. I couldn't care less of what people think of me outside the work place (most of my co-workers just think of me as the weird person who lives a very boring life but it hasn't negatively affected my work in any way). My entire aesthetic basically revolves around functionality rather than fashion or trends (I realized how stupid fads and flavor of the month stuff was in middle school, after spending years of allowances trying to get the "cool stuff" like everyone else and having nothing to show for it in the end) and saving money to me was like a game, I got a higher score the more I was able to save. I do have hobbies but they are very low maintenance (reading, writing, music, games, jogging, TV shows etc). This was all before I had even heard of the term Financial Independence. I discovered this subreddit only a couple of months ago and realized I had basically been walking to road towards FI pretty much all of my adult life because it had mostly just come naturally to me. Furthermore, to me the ideal life was relaxing at home enjoying my hobbies and not having to worry about much else (AKA a job/money) so I started working towards earning a lot of money to support that goal. In the end, my personality basically made me fit right into the FI lifestyle very naturally. I do consider myself pretty unusual personality wise and most of the people I talk to say they would go crazy if they went without human interaction for extended periods of time like I do in my personal life so I'm curious as to what other people's experiences have been in regards to this. submitted by /u/jasta85 [link] [comments]

Daily FI discussion thread - January 08, 2018 Posted: 08 Jan 2018 03:10 AM PST Please use this thread to have discussions which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! Have a look at the FAQ for this subreddit before posting to see if your question is frequently asked. Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

CPA new to FI/RE seeking feedback Posted: 08 Jan 2018 09:37 AM PST Hello All I am a 33 year old certified public accountant (CPA). I have been reading and following the FI/RE discussions and wanted to seek feedback on where I am at financially. My job is very stressful so I have a goal to obtain FI so that I can more control over my schedule to spend more time with my kids. I like the actual work that I do so I would like to continuing working. I just want to be able to have more control over my schedule by obtaining FI. On paper, I feel like I am on track, but the day to day grind makes it hard to see the overall big picture. I welcome feedback, observations, advice etc, that each of you may have as you obtain FI! Some background info on me: 33 years old Married with two toddler aged children Wife does not work W2 income $200,000 annually Gross rental income $100,000, Net rental income $24,000 (after mortgage, taxes, insurance, vacancies, maintenance) My passive income is not sufficient for me to stop working. I live in a medium cost of living area. I am not "frugal" but I do not spend money excessively (i.e. I like to enjoy a nice meal out here and there) and want to maintain the same lifestyle. $650,000 primary house (mortgage of $325,000) Rental properties: Property 1: $315,000 (mortgage $150,000) Property 2: $300,000 (mortgage $120,000) Property 3: $185,000 (mortgage $100,000) Property 4: $380,000 (mortgage $240,000) Property 5: $140,000 (mortgage $100,000) 401(k): $200,000 (maxing out contributions) Other brokerage accounts: $50,000 (primarily index funds) Cash: $225,000 (held in certificate of deposits) Estimated NW: $1.4 million (excludes estimated taxes on realizing future gains on assets) Goals: Grow non-real estate holdings to $1.0m by 2020. My strategy is to save 60% of my take home pay over the next 36 months. I've been looking for investment options so currently have most of the savings sitting in cash. Pay off primary residence by 2025. I could accelerate this by selling off one or two rental properties and paying off the primary. I am conflicted with this strategy because the cash flows on the rentals are very good since I bought them when real estate prices were low. Not sure I want to acquire more rentals because prices have gotten too high and not sure if I can really management any more properties. General passive income of $75,000 annually before I feel like I can really "retire". submitted by /u/CPA84 [link] [comments]

Weekly FI Monday Milestone thread - January 08, 2018 Posted: 08 Jan 2018 03:10 AM PST Please use this thread to post your milestones, humblebrags and status updates which you don't feel warrant a new post to the sub. While the Rules for posting questions on the basics of personal finance/investing topics are relaxed a little bit here, the rules against memes/spam/self-promotion/excessive rudeness/politics still apply! Since this post does tend to get busy, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

Scene: Hard to start trusting a financial professional? But...I'm not likely a good choice to DIY investment. Posted: 08 Jan 2018 04:05 AM PST Here's the scenario: A point where I'm probably needing to solicit services to help with my investments and I'm anxious about how to proceed without making a fool of myself. I have no one to get a referral from. Most don't save. How do you compare these services? ROI? What level of fees is reasonable? What rules should I follow (if any)? Do I need to compulsively check to make sure nothing is changed? Should I have more than one financial adviser for second opinions? Is it sufficient to walk in with a book and say "invest me like this"? Similar questions. How do I even go about this? Seems like people just "know a guy" or "trust a firm". But we're talking our future here so I'm a bit stressed because I don't want someone to mismanage my money or take advantage. I've considered getting investment software for myself to do it from home, but I'm not entirely sure what most of the investment market is even comprised of so I feel like I might be hard pressed to pull off the investment strategies I'm inclined to utilize. Let alone other hurdles that I might face with that route. Do you have any advice /FI? submitted by /u/phoen1x09 [link] [comments]

Do FIRE sims have biased weighting of scenarios? Posted: 08 Jan 2018 01:55 PM PST Looking at a couple of the more popular FIRE sims the standard approach seems to be to take your retirement length (say 30 years) and test it over every available 30-year period. The issue I see is, from what I can tell, in this case that means they're not showing any sims that begin after 30 years ago. So 2017-2018 results are included in just one sim. 2016-2017 in just two sims. While 1987-1988 are included 30 times. So far I'm not sure returns have been different enough in the past 30 years for it to matte, but it seems like if there's a long-term change in stock market returns that these sims would never catch up to properly reflect that. I can think of a few rough ideas for solutions to this issue. I'm curious what ideas the community has for addressing it. submitted by /u/CWSwapigans [link] [comments]

Trucking with a BSCS - Follow Up Posted: 08 Jan 2018 01:39 AM PST Hi everyone, this is a follow-up to my post located here: https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/7oqtjf/24m_with_a_bscs_currently_working_as_a_truck/ I noticed that in a majority of the comments, people are recommending me to go to a major city and get an entry-level computer science job. I'm writing this post because I think I can get rich faster by staying where I am, and I wanted to ask whether you all agree with my reasoning. Let's get this out of the way first: I make about $70k a year, with benefits and 6% match, as a truck driver. I live in a low cost-of-living area with a healthy renter population. Inflation hasn't really affected the home prices in the area much since the 80's or 90's, so I'm going to ignore it in my calculations. Making $70k a year, I should be able to buy two cheap homes ($15k-$25k) a year. I'm buying homes that are fixer-uppers, so after I repair them they will all generally appraise for about $40k-$50k, doubling their value (and adding the same amount to my net worth). I can make a conservative $150-200/month profit in cashflow from each home that I flip and rent out. Here's an example of how quickly this strategy will increase my net worth. (when I write 1, I mean at the end of year 1). For monthly income I'm using an average of $175/home, and assuming that each home is worth $40k after I fix it up to be conservative. Year ----- Number of homes ----- Income from rentals ----- Total net worth 1 ----- 2 ----- $350 ----- $80k* 2 ----- 4 ----- $700 ----- $160k 3 ----- 6 ----- $950 ----- $240k 4 ----- 8 ----- $1300 ----- $320k 5 ----- 10 ----- $1650 ----- $400k <---- With the cost of living in my area, this is where I will reach financial independence. Entering the 6th year: At this point I would maintain a net value of about $400k, and be financially independent. That's not the coolest part, though. If I continue to work my day-job at this point, then I should be able to borrow against the homes that I own to take out a commercial home loan in the $1.2-1.6million range. For some of you that live in the city, that might mean a single-family residence, but in my area I could fairly easily find a 30-40 unit mobile home park that needs some work for that price. Once I pay for repairs, assuming that I'm making a small $50 profit per mobile home after paying for bills, maintenance, and hiring an on-site manager (who will also manage my other properties), at 30 homes my monthly cash-flow from the park would be about $1500. $1500 + $1650 = $3150 a month. That is my goal gents. At 7 years in I will be 31 years old, and bringing in $3150/mo I should be able to travel, write, run my own hobby farm, and gamble on penny stocks at my leisure (pretty much everything I've ever wanted!). I hope that this better explains why I stayed in a lower cost of living area. If you think that moving to a city to increase my earning potential would help me become financially independent faster I'd like to know how! Please be detailed or mention the strategy used. Financial independence is my goal and I'll retool my approach if there's a faster way to accomplish it. EDIT: Formatting. submitted by /u/growingpockets [link] [comments]

Starting My Journey to FI - Need Advice (24M) Posted: 08 Jan 2018 03:42 PM PST I have been reading about FI a lot lately, and actually just finished reading "Set for Life" by Scott Trench. I'm ready to start focusing on the long-term goal and reach FIRE. I currently use YNAB (You Need A Budget) for budgeting everything and planning for the future. Below, I have laid out my current situation with my expenses and income clearly written out at the end. CURRENT SITUATION I'm a 24M and graduated from college in May 2017 with a Bachelor's in Financial Management (minor in Account, and Real Estate emphasis) with $44k in student loan debt. A year before graduation I purchased a newish car that I owe $32k, but underwater about $4k - this was when I was banking on getting a decent paying job after college. I decided not to go for a traditional job and got my real estate license in September, and have been working as a licensed real estate agent since mid-October. The job is 100% commission and haven't made any sales yet, but I'm expected to start making around $4,400/month before taxes by Spring. I'm also a co-founder of a company that was founded back in March 2017 - so we are still gaining exposure and ramping up production. There's no guarantee, but I may earn around $20k before taxes this year if everything goes according to plan (and more the following years) - but I'm not banking on that as we are committed to putting as much revenue back into the company as possible right now. The company is applying for various patents and trademarks, so we plan on working our hardest to build the brand up as much as possible and exit (be acquired or merge with another company) in around 5 years. With our predictions, I could potentially walk away with between $2-5 million, or more. I have started driving for Uber recently and plan on working 6-8 hours per week for some extra money. It will also be an excellent time to meet people and potentially earn more real estate clients. I also really enjoy it, so it doesn't feel like work! I have a great understanding on investment properties, how to find decent deals, manage them, and the finances behind them - I'm just lacking the funds to jump in there. So my goal is to knock down as much debt as I can, save up a good amount of money, and purchase some investment properties. I also plan on first purchasing a duplex so I can live in one side and rent out the other (house hacking). I have minimal savings and have enough cash to get by for a couple months. I'm very fortunate with my family supporting me along the way. My dad has been providing a couple thousand each month to help me get by, and I'm also racking up some CC debt for everything that that money doesn't cover. DEBTS $44k - Student Loans $32k - Car Loan $6k - CC Debt $82k - TOTAL DEBT MONTHLY EXPENSES $530 - Car Loan Payment $150 - Car Insurance $30 - Health & Dental Insurance $550 - Student Loan Payment $650 - Rent & Utilities $175 - Gas (drive a lot being a RE agent and Uber) $90 - Entertainment $400 - Food $50 - Gifts for Family & Friends $90 - Pup-Related $200 - Personal $50 - Misc $2,965 - TOTAL EXPENSES POTENTIAL INCOME $4,400/month - Real Estate Agent $600/month - Driving Uber $5,000/month - TOTAL INCOME +$20k potential income from my Start-Up in 2018. I know it looks like there's a ton of potential to earn a lot, lower expenses, and save the remaining. At the moment, I might earn $700 from real estate this month (January) and hopefully $500-600 from Uber. I'm also interested in starting a blog to keep track of my journey towards FI and share my experience and findings since I'm starting from the very bottom. I will also write other articles on my blog to gain extra money through affiliate marketing and ads - and it's something that I'll enjoy doing. I hope the blog will also help others that are in a similar situation or just starting out and motivate them. Please ask any questions if clarification is needed and I'll happily explain further. I'm looking for all guidance, advice, etc. from anyone I can to get a good grasp on what I need to do. submitted by /u/TheRyRyGuy [link] [comments]

Mid FI Depression Posted: 07 Jan 2018 03:58 PM PST Currently only need to work 8 hours per week to pay bills and bored to death, I'm rotting away at home and don't know what to do with my life next and I don't want to do anything. Life story summarized, 34/M living in a major city, born and raised in a small city, barely got into college, somewhat of a troubled kid, got a B.S.(somehow), moved to big city for a girl and adventure and to get away from family I suppose and grad school perhaps... not my dream but families dream, got very busy as a Personal Trainer(not my plan but girlfriend at the time was encouraging me to do this for the $$$), making more money than I ever imagined, learned about FI, saved 50-60% for 4 years, got current girlfriend into FI, saving and working saving and working, half way to FI, new sports car(not very FI but cars are my thing and modifying them, although I have held off on dumping money into the car), most stable relationship ever and bored to death. On paper, no worries and life is great. But in reality I don't know what to do with my free time, I usually spend my free time lying on my couch thinking about how I'm wasting my life away. Lacking any future goals, lacking the idea of anything fun aside from getting a dirt bike, motorcycle, supercharger for my car, doing track days in my car etc. which for some reason still does not seem interesting as it use to. It almost seems like the lack of necessity has killed any reason to live life or to have a life. Struggling to find balance in life. Super resentful, super angry, super frustrated with the fact that I'm rich and bored, ungrateful and of course I am because why would you be grateful if you don't need to work for anything. I'm bored to death, I'm depressed, anxious and don't know what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. 50 more years of this is dreadful. I'm not sure what would be the next goal, I've been listening to tons of Jordan Peterson and that is helpful. Anyone else gone though this? I know the issue is lack of a future, vision, lack of goals... I can come up with a list of goals and then can break them down mentally on 5 reasons why thats a stupid goal to try to obtain and convince myself its not worth putting forth the effort. Its like I'm stuck in the "catch" or couch where the best thing for me to do is visualize a better future but I just can't. So I sit around all day, feeling like a loser. I can't really find joy/positive emotion in anything aside from eating pizza. I got a bike, started doing that and then quit. I tried to escape the city and go back home to whore around and create a new life and that went horribly. I was 10 times more lost after going back home with no career, relationship, security etc. Anyone else go through this transition phase? I don't hate my work, just traffic from commuting from clients house to house to house etc. submitted by /u/cageofrage [link] [comments]

Close to burnout... one-more-year syndrome Posted: 07 Jan 2018 10:58 PM PST 34M in US HCOL area here. Been working as a SWE (finance software) since 18 and been able to save and invest. My stats are below. I feel like I'm close to burnout, but I also feel that if I don't "pull through" for 2-3 more years, that I'll have a very, very hard time starting over looking for jobs especially since my current job is rather easy especially given the money I'm making. At the same time I feel extremely lethargic on a daily basis and don't get excited about work at all - if anything, I feel like my life is just passing by with me being a passive passenger. What should I do? My stats are: $1.5M house with $1M mortgage $1.75M in various rentals (~$1.2M mortgages left) that net ~$4k/mo FCF after costs (including debt service, interest, insurance) => $48k/year $350k annual salary $220k in stocks in taxable brokerage accounts $160k in stocks across 401k and IRAs $40k cash My "goal" numbers would be: $1M in equities between brokerage, 401k and IRAs Rental FCF of $10k/mo ($800k+ for down payments) so I don't need to touch investments for day to day expenses An additional $2M house for future family growth ($500k+ down) $200k cash to work on new business if desired, or to spend on travel So I'm still a bit off, by about $2.1M (My current NW is around $1.4M and total above would be about $3.5M NW). Additionally, I'm wondering if I should take time off while I'm still young instead of just working my ass off but I'm worried that I'll regret later putting all my time into work, but I'm also risk averse and fear losing it all if I don't put in my time now while things are going well from a financial perspective. Any input is appreciated. submitted by /u/OakBoat [link] [comments]

FI/RE and worried about losing it all Posted: 07 Jan 2018 09:04 PM PST hi! long story short - i had a very high savings rate, went to college on a mil scholarship, served overseas (savings rate of 95%), and got a good job ($200k). i used big salary to qualify for a big mortgage and bought an old house in a Top 5, urban real estate market. i tore it down and rebuilt a huge, 3-family house and stacked it full of renters. i sold in 2017 and after taxes have $1.5mm. add in 401k and savings and i have just under $2mm plus a meager mil pension when I'm 57. i'm 37, single, no kids. my concern - if i jump off the corporate train to retire early, i'll never be able to get back on if i had to (or wanted to). my biggest fear is jumping off the corporate train; using my money to try and start a business; FAILING; and then being off the corporate train AND out of money. i don't want to sit in a cubicle staring at Excel and PPT for the rest of my life, but i sure don't want to lose all my money buying magic beans or buying a bar. ideas? submitted by /u/Guy1029384756 [link] [comments]

Remember folks, FIRE money is all relative Posted: 08 Jan 2018 02:52 PM PST Jeff Bezos is now worth over $105 billion. That means if you have 1% of 1% of what he has (1 basis point), you still have over $10M. I think Bezos is waiting to take over all the money in the world -- that's his FIRE target. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-08/bezos-s-net-worth-tops-105-billion-as-amazon-climbs-in-new-year submitted by /u/chasedreamss [link] [comments]

To combine or not to combine investment with long-term, pro-FI partner? Posted: 08 Jan 2018 12:49 AM PST 26M new to the FI movement and finance in general. My long-term partner (23F) live together and keep our finances separate. Recently we have been researching and getting excited about our FI journeys. We have just started separate investment strategies which we both put our own money into. Is it better (financially) to keep these investments separate, or to combine our wealth into one (diversified) investment strategy? submitted by /u/Leeeeeeeeroy [link] [comments]

Turning 20 this month! What do you wish you knew when you were my age? Any tips? Posted: 08 Jan 2018 07:49 AM PST Hey there guys, throwaway here because I'm paranoid. I'm pretty proud of where I am right now turning 20, but I'm looking for ways to improve. I'm a 2nd year college student studying electrical and computer engineering. I opted to go to a local state uni where I got a big scholarship, so my parents were happy to pay the leftover bill. This leaves me with no loans when I graduate. I had an internship this past summer making $25/hr and I'm lucky enough to have kept the gig as a part-time remote employee this past semester. I didn't work as many hours as I wish I had, but my expenses practically matched my income, so I didn't have to dig into any savings. I use mint to track my spending. I have a Fidelity Credit Card with 2% cash back where that cash back is automatically invested. I don't have a 401k, but I try to max my Roth every year. Here are my current financial stats: Assets TD Bank Checking and Savings accounts: $4,000 combined Fidelity Roth IRA (Retirement): Current Value $8,400 Fidelity Mutual Fund (Investment): Current Value $5200 (Half is liquid savings, half is invested) Total: $17,600 Income Job- $25/hr (5hr/week during semester, 40hr/week during breaks and summer) Expenses My expenses are typically pretty inconsistent, ranging $250-$700 per month. Usually for eating out, dates with SO, alcohol, groceries here and there (I have a partial meal plan), clothing, transportation, etc. I don't need to pay for gas, car insurance, half of groceries, or for living on campus (thanks mom & dad!), so I'm trying to take advantage of having a decent income with minimal expenses. Goals My short term goal is to graduate and get an entry level job making ~$65k/yr (fingers crossed!). I may live at home for a few years and save as much as possible, or get a place living with roommates. I'll probably end up living in the greater Philadelphia area. Long term goal is to get married, have kids, own a house, and potentially have saved enough to be able to work part-time, or best case scenario be able to FIRE (doesn't seem too easy if a family is in the picture). How am I doing so far? What things should I take into account when spending, saving, and investing? What do you wish you knew when you were my age? What do you wish you had done? Edit: formatting, I can't get the asterisk bullets to render! submitted by /u/firewannabee [link] [comments]

You are subscribed to email updates from financial independence / early retirement. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States