This was very helpful. Though we are the same age, single, and no pets, I have nothing. Literally nothing. So depressing to see how my life has only been a series of set backs when compared someone like this. Only a miracle could save me at this point.
@@mr_gingersnap I’m glad it was helpful. The most helpful advice I can give you to start, as hard as it is not to, is don’t compare yourself. Focus on your situation. Look for the positives, one being that you’re in your 30s and still have plenty of time. A lot of people don’t realize these things until much later in life with a lot less time on their side. What’s your biggest setback currently? Do you have any debt to work through?
Thanks for the transparency and great video. New subscriber here. Wow your finances are so simple. I think it’s bc you have minimal debt. You are very disciplined. I grew up in an upper middle class family in the Midwest. Where it seemed like “money grew on trees” however my parents were very good with money and saved but spent as well. Life definitely has taught me that you must be intentional and of course money indeed does not grow on trees. I am on the get out of debt journey now. Watching your videos about minimalism makes me think that I could go on that path- I would need to get rid of a heck of a lot of stuff.
Thank you, and welcome to the channel! I completely understand, I grew up with very similar environments around me; I would say my family was upper middle class too. If you feel comfortable sharing, how old are you and what's your main source of debt? Do you have a plan for how long you think it'll take to get out of it? Being intentional with your money is so important, and minimalism for me has been crucial with that. It let me to start asking the question, "how does this thing (whatever it is) bring me value?" When I first got into minimalism in 2017-ish (finding Matt D'Avella on RUclips was my spark), that was my biggest takeaway. I think it's less about removing things in general, and more so about removing things you don't actually use. I realized I had all of these things - physical and digital - that were just taking up space/time that brought me no value; clothes I didn't wear, doomscrolling on apps, furniture that just filled up a room, etc. By removing those things I noticed an immediate shift in my overall happiness and in a sense a weight that was lifted. You learn to stop wanting what you don't have, and start recognizing/appreciating what you do.
Love the video! Another great book on money is The Millionaire Next Door. I recommend it to all my friends that are looking to gain knowledge on the topic.
Thank you! And thanks for sharing that book. It's been awhile since I've read that one but I know there were some great takeaways from it. Good recommendation.
Great video! 26 here, salary is just under $120k a year here (high cost to very high cost of living area), so far overall net worth is about $150k between retirement accounts, recently purchased property, cash, and stocks. I was mostly lucky to have very minimal debt, Important for people to see a realistic breakdown of costs and savings.
Thanks! And wow, you’re doing awesome! Yes, I agree minimal debt makes a substantial difference. If you don’t mind sharing, to have a high net worth like that at 26, were your parents good with/open with you about money or were you mostly self taught (books, online, friends, etc.)?
@@flonoughtso my parents did not teach me much about investing, retirement accounts etc., the only thing they taught was just to spend as little as possible and save money (first generation immigrants, that’s all they knew as well). I learned what I know honestly from finance instagram and self research (definitely have to take information from insta with a grain of salt though). Love content like this, super helpful and I find a lot of people still don’t know/think it’s too complicated or not for them when really this should be for everyone to some extent
@@RestingWolf That’s awesome. Props to you for taking the time to learn on your own. And I agree with you, some of it can be questionable depending on the advice. Always worth learning from different perspectives and diving deeper into real examples vs. short style content doesn’t give you the whole picture. Thank you, I’m glad it’s helpful. I enjoy having conversations around money because you can always learn something, even if it’s a small takeaway. I agree with you, an understanding of the basics goes such a long way. It’s a matter of finding people you can learn from that can explain it in layman’s terms. And seriously great job on where you’re at, you’re doing awesome. Love hearing comments like yours.
@@flonought how did you learn about managing personal finances and when did you sort of get serious about it? I think I started investing right after college and I got my first full time job (~22 ish). It helped to live with parents for about 2 years before moving out, especially given where I live rent is now easily $2k/mo for a 1 bedroom even studios. Around me a huge deterrent of investing likely is housing cost, honestly it’s sad that around me $70k/year for 1 person is eligible for housing assistance, just shows how difficult it is to set money aside for investment for the average person.
@@RestingWolf I would say the biggest learnings early on came from hearing my parents say "spend less than you make," showing me how credit cards work at an early age, teaching me about the power of compounding, and in general just being open about money with me. Everything else since then has been self taught through books, RUclips, and other people when money conversation comes up in more detail, or talking with friends openly about debt they are in vs. salary they make and how they are managing payments. Buying my condo somewhat set me back financially (that was at 26), but I don't regret it at all because it taught me so many invaluable lessons should I look to buy something again in the future; I won't be so starry-eyed next time. I started to get more serious around 31 after I sold my condo, and my expenses got much more consistent when renting again. Before that it was mostly 401k and light investing in the stock market. If you don't mind sharing, what city do you live in? But I agree with you, it's definitely hard today especially in higher cost of living areas on top of any student debt, car debt, credit card debt, kids, etc. However, some people I have talked to could get themselves out of debt but are actively choosing to not make good choices (door dashing food consistently vs. going to the store and meal prepping, using credit cards when they are clearly not a credit card person, etc.). Really sucks to see it happen.
Thanks for this! Definitely inspired me to look into being more intentional with my money/spending. I'm a 28 year old guy who makes ~55k a year (i work in education) with a savings account of around 18k. With the help of some funds I gained after my dad passed away and my extremely supportive mom, I was able to recently purchase a house and have been working to acclimate to my new expenses....I know NOTHING about investing my money, but it feels like a great time to start.
you're welcome. and yes, the earlier the better! so now is the perfect time to get more intentional. sorry to hear about your dad, but that's awesome you have a really supportive mom. and congratulations on the purchase! hopefully it's treating you well so far. that's big learning/adjustment processing going through all of home buying process. saving/investing can seem intimidating, but learning even just a few simple things/habits can go such a long way for your finances. the key is to use a simple system that works for you, don't overcomplicate it. i highly recommend reading "i will teach you to be rich" by ramit sethi or checking out his youtube channel. he really opened my eyes to a lot of things around money, and puts things in pretty simple terms.
@ 😆 I feel ya on that, eating out adds up real quick over the month/year. You got this! Make it manageable enough at first or set something more realistic for yourself (in terms of budget) so you stick with it. Is it a bad enough habit where you’re accumulating credit card debt because of it? or is it more in terms of you just don’t have much left at the end of the month but all your other bills are covered?
@ yeah I think it’s more of the latter. I make enough to cover my bills and even have some left over to put in savings but I just know so much of my income is wasted on fast food and my savings could look a lot better if I just locked in.
@@Granitepierce gotcha. Hey well recognizing that is the first thing. Have you ever tallied it up to visually see how much is going to eating out? At times that helps too being able to actually see how much you’re spending on it. But you really should lock in. You’ll be so thankful for paying yourself first instead of giving it to someone else. It won’t seem like much at initially but those savings will really start to snowball. The biggest thing is saving consistently and making it automatic so you don’t even have to think about it; you just have to do the work to come up with that number that’s doable for you to consistently save. How old are you (if you don’t mind sharing)?
I agree and am beyond thankful for how open they were/are with me. I’ve realized this more and more as I talk with others about money. But I’m glad to hear that you figured it out. Is there something you can think of that helped you most to get started in the right direction with money?
@@jahanas22 sometimes that’s what it takes, and those moments typically stick with you the most because you want to avoid feeling that way again. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my rock bottom moments and dumb money decisions along the way too but I know I was in a better position than most starting off. All you can do is learn from your mistakes, and find people smarter than you to teach you (online or in person). My parents, books, and RUclips have played a vital role in what I’ve learned/continue to learn. I appreciate you sharing.
It’s honestly crazy to see how similar we live. I’m 20 years old and work as a Fire Alarm Technician/ electrican making about 80k a year in Miami Fl. I never went to college and used my parent funded savings account to buy a house and move out of there’s in NY.
About 80K/year at 20 years old, well done!! That is awesome to hear. So that was a savings account they set up for you early on to use for and/or instead of college? And you're able to save a good amount on that salary currently?
@@flonought the savings account was set up specifically to be used for education so I had to pay a large percentage to withdraw it for non education. Only reason I was able to do this was because my high school offered a free trade school program. Right now I pay $900 in rent spiting a condo with my friend from home that goes to umiami. I can comfortably save around 2k a month but your perspective just stopped me from leasing a Mercedes so I thank you for that!
@@NickParma2 Damn, that's pretty cheap rent too for your salary. Good for you! Well I can't tell you how happy that makes me that this stopped you from leasing the Mercedes. You're welcome! And props to you for following through and changing your perspective on that decision. Do you have any other debt? You are so far ahead right now with what you're making and saving. Be smart, especially for the rest of your 20s. All the work you do now will start compounding like crazy later on.
Great info, thanks! My parents were the same with the credit card at young age and I established good credit early on and grew up paying it off in full. After losing my job due to covid, I decided to contribute a lot more to my emergency fund. I’m now at about 50% of income to investing and saving.
Thanks for sharing! That sucks that happened, but I’m glad it adjusted the way you save. Sometimes it takes something like that happening or some kind of different perspective for changes to be made. I know I was the same way after being somewhat House Poor, spending on dumb things like furniture I didn’t need, and other unnecessary spending. That experience - mixed with books and people’s perspectives that were better with their money - really changed my view of money and my saving/spending habits.
For the most part yes. The nice part though with this is since all my saving is already covered, the goal is to use all of the “wants” money and not feel bad about doing so. It’s a bonus if I have some leftover and then I can use it for the following month or put additional in savings.
That’s a good point, usually I don’t think about that when getting a phone but I’ll have to remember that for next time. Most of the time I don’t mind buying new because I’ll keep my phone for a long time. I would have kept my iPhone 10 but the storage was always maxed out. I got much more storage this time so should last a lot longer.
I agree with you, I feel very comfortable at this salary. But I also work at avoiding lifestyle creep and always remember to “pay myself first” in terms of saving vs. spending. It’s definitely something you have to work at. I could see how others may not feel the same with student loans, car debt, credit card debt, etc. Ultimately comes down to one’s lifestyle, a basic financial understanding and/or ability to learn the basics, and coming up with a system that works for you where you don’t have to put much thought into it.
Married here in a medium cost of living area (ages 29 and 31). Gross income is ~$180k after health premiums. Net (after taxes) is ~$143k. From that net, we are currently at: 7.0% charitable donations 33.3% needs 50.7% savings/debt 9.0% wants We're aiming to retire early or at least have that option. Our net worth is right around $517k currently (~45% of that being inheritance from my dad passing away in 2021). We have 3 cars, 2 are 2013 models, and the fun car is a 1999 turboed Miata (all paid off). We live in a 70s rambler with a low 2.125% 15-year mortgage. It's not the best, but it helps with our financial goals and let's us travel across the pond once a year.
Your comment is exactly why I made this video. I really appreciate you sharing! If you don’t mind sharing additional context, may I ask what your goals are for retiring early? And by that I mean your desired retirement age, estimated $ amount needed, and main reason for the goal of wanting to retire early (how will you spend your time).
@flonought for sure! I'm anticipating around age 55 with a total balance of ~$4.8 million in investments/retirement accounts. Assumptions are 3.09% inflation going forward, needing 70% of our current income at a 4% withdrawal rate with 78% from our investments, and 22% from social security (I dont have everything completely broken out). These numbers are bound to change as is a long way out yet, and we could probably survive on less. The biggest concern is health premiums if we do fully retire. Our main goal would be to travel around the US in a motorhome or something and possibly travel more outside of the US, too. Also, just not being tied down to a 9 to 5 job is really the goal, so if we find something we both like that earns some income, we may change plans. My wife would love to start a gardening business. We're both in finance currently. I like my job, but again, would love reduced hours for more free time to do whatever. Possibly photography for fun on my end.
I appreciate the thoughtful responses/context. That sounds like fantastic goals to set for yourselves, and seems like you're well on your way to achieve it! And I agree with you on not being tied to a 9 to 5. That's why I asked about the retirement piece because sometimes people say that without having a true vision of what they actually want that to look like; it's a lesson that I learned and love from Ramit Sethi to truly picture what that "rich life" looks like down to the little details. I wish you both the best in your journey to achieve them! Also, I saw on your channel you had your Miata 0-60 video; the turbo noises sound good! I'm sure that thing is a blast to drive. I've only driven one Miata (late 90s), it was non-turbo but still super fun to drive with the top down.
@flonought Thank you! I hope you reach all of your financial goals! It's a blast! I've had one faster car, but it was nowhere near as fun to drive. The Miata is just so easy to throw around and makes all the right noises! 😁👍
currently 20 years young. i have my only job and i bring in about 19k per year :(. So far my debt has been my car which is about to be paid off only owe about $3,000.00 on that and i’m debt free. i also am trying to build an e-fund but with such a low income it’s hard to balance that along with investing into my retirement fund. However besides that I hope i can get to where you are someday definitely inspiring! Take care man
I appreciate you taking the time to share! Well if you don’t mind, let’s talk through it. Looking for more context though, so is that about $1400/month? Do you live at home and/or have rent? What’s your car payment and what’s the interest on the loan (if there is one)? Until I hear back from you for the above questions, I’ll start by saying this: you’re only 20. The fact that you are even thinking about this stuff at that age means you’re already ahead. You have so much time! And you’re almost debt free so give yourself some credit.
@@flonought Yes! Apologies for the late response I wasn’t expecting an answer lol. But anyway here is more context I make about $1800 a month so the math for my yearly salary was off a good amount. Currently I have no rent :) i live on the military’s dime for housing wise and my only expenses really is my car bill, car insurance, and a wifi plan, the rest either goes to my investments, e-fund, and golf because that’s my escape from work. So far so good but I truly feel like I can save more but I know it’s rough with such a low income at the moment. I believe the interest on my loan is 6.74%. My main goal is to attack the loan and pay it off ASAP so I can really start building a solid foundation with my e-fund like yours which will take time with how much i make… From there I want to push and be somewhat aggressive with my retirement investments along with personal investments. Yeah man so far so good it just sucks because I am beginning to realize that in my early 20s the pay is very low and your bills take most of it away and I’m left with not that much. So at that point budgeting is crucial right now in my current state but I’m comfortable enough to where if a problem pops up I can still take care of it w/o stress thankfully. However, I do want to be debt free 👊. Also thanks man I am trying to stay on point! I cannot thank my parents enough though because without their advice on finances I would not be where I am. Same goes with content creators like yourself because it creates a whole new perspective on things. Anyway enough of my rambling that’s pretty much it. Thank you again!
@@birdieboys2612 Haha no worries, I try to be as active as I can in the comments. Also me messing that up is not surprising; math has never been my strong suit (I failed multiple times in college 🤷♂). But I appreciate the additional context. Let me put things in perspective for you, I looked at my previous statements and in 2017 I was 26 years old and only bringing in $1,959/month; at that point in my life I also bought a condo that was costing me about $1,200/month; it was risky as hell at the time (and honestly pretty fucking dumb). Had I stayed in my apartment, which was only about $800/month, I would have still been able to save quite a good of money on that income. So the fact that you have no rent right now is HUGE. Personally if I was in your position, again not financial advice just my two cents, I would not be investing anything until that car is paid off. I would aggressively put as much as I could towards the car to pay it off as quickly as possible. If I did anything at the same time I would be putting money towards the emergency fund, but I would hold off on investing until the car debt was completely gone. Investing right now with car debt is slowing you down, especially since you only have $3,000 left on it. True, your pay might be low right now, but again you are only 20. The fact that you are already thinking this ahead financially is huge because most people don’t start thinking about this until their 30s, 40s, and on. And you saying that you can take care of a problem if it pops up is HUGE. Most people are not able to cover a $500 to $1,000 issue, should one come up, so you’re already ahead. I’m glad to hear your parents are open with you about finances, that’s awesome and makes a big difference. And thank you, I appreciate you saying that. Keep it up man, you’re way ahead of where I was at your age! You’ll be surprised how fast it starts building up.
@@flonought Thank you again for the reply! Had to say this again I mistakenly wrote in a smart ass way which was not at all my intention lol apologize on my end. Thanks again man for your kind inspiring words that I am not taking for granted. Thank you again take care!
@@birdieboys2612 You’re welcome! I appreciate you sharing with me. And no apology needed, it didn’t come off that way when I read it. You take care too!
May I ask how old you are and/or what’s your biggest struggle with your current salary? Yes, it seems like a lot to me too but it’s also all relative to your spending habits; someone who makes $200K/year could still be living paycheck to check. It is the most I’ve made so far in my working career. But to give additional context, my starting salary at my first job out of college was $29K (this is now my 3rd job since graduating).
Love being open about the details, honestly would of saved my wife and I from making so many stupid mistakes when we were younger in our 20s if we had it broken down like this and understood the details. And honestly we still make a ton of silly mistakes Here’s our breakdown: I’m 34, my wife is 32. We make approximately 440k a year in total comp. The way we budget is: 15% high interest savings 8% bitcoin And the rest just goes towards living expenses + investments to make more cashflow (for example I have a side business and my wife is writing a book) We operate under the principle that investing in ourselves and focusing primarily on increasing income pays off in the end. We probably have gotten really lucky with this strategy though ( although we for sure put in the work over the years!)
I totally agree with that, I wish I had it broken down like this in my 20s too and/or took the time to research more. Thanks for the breakdown! That seems to be a very high combined income. I’m curious, with investing in your side business is that something you plan to turn into a full time thing? Or when you say “other investments” is that in any 401K/Roth IRA/Stocks (and if not, what’s the reason? Just curious) or is it all in the side business?
@@flonought yea that’s the plan. Biz partner and I make similar comp. We could probably have raised money, but we are choosing to self fund to keep equity and most importantly control of our time. Yea we both contribute to our 401Ks but just to the match. We could choose to max it out which would make more sense tax-wise and long-term investment. However, we aren’t planning on banking retirement on our 401ks and would rather invest it in things that save us time or build opportunity. I have some individual stock holdings but it’s probably like 5%ish nothing crazy. I have friends who do the whole IRA conversion trick, but we don’t do that
Thanks for sharing, doing pretty well man, slow and steady wins the race, you’re going to hit the big snowball curve soon, exciting stuff! 28, recently became a truck driver, I think I make 110K ish in paper but make a bit more than that because of per diems. Saving 5k a month minimum and trying to max out my Roth IRA this year but also working on building an ADU garage conversion that’s a huge hole in my pocket right now, concistency is key, salute all my finance/financial freedom enthusiasts 🫡🤙🏽
appreciate that, thanks! yes, i finally feel like i'm getting caught up and am starting to see the snowball happen. and that's awesome man! is that 5k/month retirement fund related or more towards other investing?
This was very helpful. Though we are the same age, single, and no pets, I have nothing. Literally nothing. So depressing to see how my life has only been a series of set backs when compared someone like this. Only a miracle could save me at this point.
@@mr_gingersnap I’m glad it was helpful. The most helpful advice I can give you to start, as hard as it is not to, is don’t compare yourself. Focus on your situation. Look for the positives, one being that you’re in your 30s and still have plenty of time. A lot of people don’t realize these things until much later in life with a lot less time on their side.
What’s your biggest setback currently? Do you have any debt to work through?
Thanks for the transparency and great video. New subscriber here. Wow your finances are so simple. I think it’s bc you have minimal debt. You are very disciplined. I grew up in an upper middle class family in the Midwest. Where it seemed like “money grew on trees” however my parents were very good with money and saved but spent as well. Life definitely has taught me that you must be intentional and of course money indeed does not grow on trees. I am on the get out of debt journey now. Watching your videos about minimalism makes me think that I could go on that path- I would need to get rid of a heck of a lot of stuff.
Thank you, and welcome to the channel! I completely understand, I grew up with very similar environments around me; I would say my family was upper middle class too.
If you feel comfortable sharing, how old are you and what's your main source of debt? Do you have a plan for how long you think it'll take to get out of it?
Being intentional with your money is so important, and minimalism for me has been crucial with that. It let me to start asking the question, "how does this thing (whatever it is) bring me value?" When I first got into minimalism in 2017-ish (finding Matt D'Avella on RUclips was my spark), that was my biggest takeaway.
I think it's less about removing things in general, and more so about removing things you don't actually use. I realized I had all of these things - physical and digital - that were just taking up space/time that brought me no value; clothes I didn't wear, doomscrolling on apps, furniture that just filled up a room, etc. By removing those things I noticed an immediate shift in my overall happiness and in a sense a weight that was lifted.
You learn to stop wanting what you don't have, and start recognizing/appreciating what you do.
Thanks for the insight. 26 years old listening and subscribed
Absolutely, welcome to the channel! Appreciate you taking the time to watch.
Straight to the point, nice
Much appreciated!
This is the best financial advice ! Cuz it’s real
Thank you! I’m glad you found it helpful. My goal for the channel is to keep it genuine.
Love the video!
Another great book on money is The Millionaire Next Door. I recommend it to all my friends that are looking to gain knowledge on the topic.
Thank you! And thanks for sharing that book. It's been awhile since I've read that one but I know there were some great takeaways from it. Good recommendation.
Great video! 26 here, salary is just under $120k a year here (high cost to very high cost of living area), so far overall net worth is about $150k between retirement accounts, recently purchased property, cash, and stocks. I was mostly lucky to have very minimal debt, Important for people to see a realistic breakdown of costs and savings.
Thanks! And wow, you’re doing awesome! Yes, I agree minimal debt makes a substantial difference. If you don’t mind sharing, to have a high net worth like that at 26, were your parents good with/open with you about money or were you mostly self taught (books, online, friends, etc.)?
@@flonoughtso my parents did not teach me much about investing, retirement accounts etc., the only thing they taught was just to spend as little as possible and save money (first generation immigrants, that’s all they knew as well). I learned what I know honestly from finance instagram and self research (definitely have to take information from insta with a grain of salt though).
Love content like this, super helpful and I find a lot of people still don’t know/think it’s too complicated or not for them when really this should be for everyone to some extent
@@RestingWolf That’s awesome. Props to you for taking the time to learn on your own. And I agree with you, some of it can be questionable depending on the advice. Always worth learning from different perspectives and diving deeper into real examples vs. short style content doesn’t give you the whole picture.
Thank you, I’m glad it’s helpful. I enjoy having conversations around money because you can always learn something, even if it’s a small takeaway. I agree with you, an understanding of the basics goes such a long way. It’s a matter of finding people you can learn from that can explain it in layman’s terms.
And seriously great job on where you’re at, you’re doing awesome. Love hearing comments like yours.
@@flonought how did you learn about managing personal finances and when did you sort of get serious about it? I think I started investing right after college and I got my first full time job (~22 ish).
It helped to live with parents for about 2 years before moving out, especially given where I live rent is now easily $2k/mo for a 1 bedroom even studios. Around me a huge deterrent of investing likely is housing cost, honestly it’s sad that around me $70k/year for 1 person is eligible for housing assistance, just shows how difficult it is to set money aside for investment for the average person.
@@RestingWolf I would say the biggest learnings early on came from hearing my parents say "spend less than you make," showing me how credit cards work at an early age, teaching me about the power of compounding, and in general just being open about money with me. Everything else since then has been self taught through books, RUclips, and other people when money conversation comes up in more detail, or talking with friends openly about debt they are in vs. salary they make and how they are managing payments.
Buying my condo somewhat set me back financially (that was at 26), but I don't regret it at all because it taught me so many invaluable lessons should I look to buy something again in the future; I won't be so starry-eyed next time. I started to get more serious around 31 after I sold my condo, and my expenses got much more consistent when renting again. Before that it was mostly 401k and light investing in the stock market.
If you don't mind sharing, what city do you live in? But I agree with you, it's definitely hard today especially in higher cost of living areas on top of any student debt, car debt, credit card debt, kids, etc.
However, some people I have talked to could get themselves out of debt but are actively choosing to not make good choices (door dashing food consistently vs. going to the store and meal prepping, using credit cards when they are clearly not a credit card person, etc.). Really sucks to see it happen.
Thanks for this! Definitely inspired me to look into being more intentional with my money/spending. I'm a 28 year old guy who makes ~55k a year (i work in education) with a savings account of around 18k. With the help of some funds I gained after my dad passed away and my extremely supportive mom, I was able to recently purchase a house and have been working to acclimate to my new expenses....I know NOTHING about investing my money, but it feels like a great time to start.
you're welcome. and yes, the earlier the better! so now is the perfect time to get more intentional. sorry to hear about your dad, but that's awesome you have a really supportive mom. and congratulations on the purchase! hopefully it's treating you well so far. that's big learning/adjustment processing going through all of home buying process.
saving/investing can seem intimidating, but learning even just a few simple things/habits can go such a long way for your finances. the key is to use a simple system that works for you, don't overcomplicate it. i highly recommend reading "i will teach you to be rich" by ramit sethi or checking out his youtube channel. he really opened my eyes to a lot of things around money, and puts things in pretty simple terms.
The most my parents talked to me about money was asking me if I had McDonalds money when I asked for McDonalds…
How do you feel with/about money today?
@ well now that I do in fact have McDonalds money I can’t stop spending it there lol. This year I’m making an effort to spend less money eating out.
@ 😆 I feel ya on that, eating out adds up real quick over the month/year. You got this! Make it manageable enough at first or set something more realistic for yourself (in terms of budget) so you stick with it.
Is it a bad enough habit where you’re accumulating credit card debt because of it? or is it more in terms of you just don’t have much left at the end of the month but all your other bills are covered?
@ yeah I think it’s more of the latter. I make enough to cover my bills and even have some left over to put in savings but I just know so much of my income is wasted on fast food and my savings could look a lot better if I just locked in.
@@Granitepierce gotcha. Hey well recognizing that is the first thing. Have you ever tallied it up to visually see how much is going to eating out? At times that helps too being able to actually see how much you’re spending on it.
But you really should lock in. You’ll be so thankful for paying yourself first instead of giving it to someone else. It won’t seem like much at initially but those savings will really start to snowball. The biggest thing is saving consistently and making it automatic so you don’t even have to think about it; you just have to do the work to come up with that number that’s doable for you to consistently save.
How old are you (if you don’t mind sharing)?
You're very lucky. My parents never discussed money and I've had money issues until the last 10 years.
I agree and am beyond thankful for how open they were/are with me. I’ve realized this more and more as I talk with others about money. But I’m glad to hear that you figured it out. Is there something you can think of that helped you most to get started in the right direction with money?
@@flonought It was basically hitting rock bottom. It required me to start over. I've also since got better jobs that have helped as well.
@@jahanas22 sometimes that’s what it takes, and those moments typically stick with you the most because you want to avoid feeling that way again.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my rock bottom moments and dumb money decisions along the way too but I know I was in a better position than most starting off. All you can do is learn from your mistakes, and find people smarter than you to teach you (online or in person). My parents, books, and RUclips have played a vital role in what I’ve learned/continue to learn. I appreciate you sharing.
It’s honestly crazy to see how similar we live. I’m 20 years old and work as a Fire Alarm Technician/ electrican making about 80k a year in Miami Fl. I never went to college and used my parent funded savings account to buy a house and move out of there’s in NY.
About 80K/year at 20 years old, well done!! That is awesome to hear. So that was a savings account they set up for you early on to use for and/or instead of college? And you're able to save a good amount on that salary currently?
@@flonought the savings account was set up specifically to be used for education so I had to pay a large percentage to withdraw it for non education. Only reason I was able to do this was because my high school offered a free trade school program. Right now I pay $900 in rent spiting a condo with my friend from home that goes to umiami. I can comfortably save around 2k a month but your perspective just stopped me from leasing a Mercedes so I thank you for that!
@@NickParma2 Damn, that's pretty cheap rent too for your salary. Good for you! Well I can't tell you how happy that makes me that this stopped you from leasing the Mercedes. You're welcome! And props to you for following through and changing your perspective on that decision.
Do you have any other debt?
You are so far ahead right now with what you're making and saving. Be smart, especially for the rest of your 20s. All the work you do now will start compounding like crazy later on.
New sub here! Enjoy transparency.
Appreciate your support!
Great info, thanks! My parents were the same with the credit card at young age and I established good credit early on and grew up paying it off in full. After losing my job due to covid, I decided to contribute a lot more to my emergency fund. I’m now at about 50% of income to investing and saving.
Thanks for sharing! That sucks that happened, but I’m glad it adjusted the way you save. Sometimes it takes something like that happening or some kind of different perspective for changes to be made.
I know I was the same way after being somewhat House Poor, spending on dumb things like furniture I didn’t need, and other unnecessary spending. That experience - mixed with books and people’s perspectives that were better with their money - really changed my view of money and my saving/spending habits.
Do you end up using all of your wants money every month ?
For the most part yes. The nice part though with this is since all my saving is already covered, the goal is to use all of the “wants” money and not feel bad about doing so. It’s a bonus if I have some leftover and then I can use it for the following month or put additional in savings.
could've gotten like a second hand iphone in great condition from BackMarket for a little cheaper. Oh well, great video man
That’s a good point, usually I don’t think about that when getting a phone but I’ll have to remember that for next time.
Most of the time I don’t mind buying new because I’ll keep my phone for a long time. I would have kept my iPhone 10 but the storage was always maxed out. I got much more storage this time so should last a lot longer.
Great video 👍🏻
Glad you enjoyed it!
90k a year is a very good yearly salary.
I agree with you, I feel very comfortable at this salary. But I also work at avoiding lifestyle creep and always remember to “pay myself first” in terms of saving vs. spending. It’s definitely something you have to work at.
I could see how others may not feel the same with student loans, car debt, credit card debt, etc. Ultimately comes down to one’s lifestyle, a basic financial understanding and/or ability to learn the basics, and coming up with a system that works for you where you don’t have to put much thought into it.
Married here in a medium cost of living area (ages 29 and 31). Gross income is ~$180k after health premiums. Net (after taxes) is ~$143k.
From that net, we are currently at:
7.0% charitable donations
33.3% needs
50.7% savings/debt
9.0% wants
We're aiming to retire early or at least have that option. Our net worth is right around $517k currently (~45% of that being inheritance from my dad passing away in 2021). We have 3 cars, 2 are 2013 models, and the fun car is a 1999 turboed Miata (all paid off). We live in a 70s rambler with a low 2.125% 15-year mortgage. It's not the best, but it helps with our financial goals and let's us travel across the pond once a year.
Very nice, there is some degree of luck when it comes to it.
Your comment is exactly why I made this video. I really appreciate you sharing! If you don’t mind sharing additional context, may I ask what your goals are for retiring early? And by that I mean your desired retirement age, estimated $ amount needed, and main reason for the goal of wanting to retire early (how will you spend your time).
@flonought for sure! I'm anticipating around age 55 with a total balance of ~$4.8 million in investments/retirement accounts.
Assumptions are 3.09% inflation going forward, needing 70% of our current income at a 4% withdrawal rate with 78% from our investments, and 22% from social security (I dont have everything completely broken out). These numbers are bound to change as is a long way out yet, and we could probably survive on less. The biggest concern is health premiums if we do fully retire.
Our main goal would be to travel around the US in a motorhome or something and possibly travel more outside of the US, too. Also, just not being tied down to a 9 to 5 job is really the goal, so if we find something we both like that earns some income, we may change plans. My wife would love to start a gardening business. We're both in finance currently. I like my job, but again, would love reduced hours for more free time to do whatever. Possibly photography for fun on my end.
I appreciate the thoughtful responses/context. That sounds like fantastic goals to set for yourselves, and seems like you're well on your way to achieve it! And I agree with you on not being tied to a 9 to 5. That's why I asked about the retirement piece because sometimes people say that without having a true vision of what they actually want that to look like; it's a lesson that I learned and love from Ramit Sethi to truly picture what that "rich life" looks like down to the little details. I wish you both the best in your journey to achieve them!
Also, I saw on your channel you had your Miata 0-60 video; the turbo noises sound good! I'm sure that thing is a blast to drive. I've only driven one Miata (late 90s), it was non-turbo but still super fun to drive with the top down.
@flonought Thank you! I hope you reach all of your financial goals!
It's a blast! I've had one faster car, but it was nowhere near as fun to drive. The Miata is just so easy to throw around and makes all the right noises! 😁👍
currently 20 years young. i have my only job and i bring in about 19k per year :(. So far my debt has been my car which is about to be paid off only owe about $3,000.00 on that and i’m debt free. i also am trying to build an e-fund but with such a low income it’s hard to balance that along with investing into my retirement fund. However besides that I hope i can get to where you are someday definitely inspiring! Take care man
I appreciate you taking the time to share! Well if you don’t mind, let’s talk through it. Looking for more context though, so is that about $1400/month? Do you live at home and/or have rent? What’s your car payment and what’s the interest on the loan (if there is one)?
Until I hear back from you for the above questions, I’ll start by saying this: you’re only 20. The fact that you are even thinking about this stuff at that age means you’re already ahead. You have so much time! And you’re almost debt free so give yourself some credit.
@@flonought Yes! Apologies for the late response I wasn’t expecting an answer lol. But anyway here is more context I make about $1800 a month so the math for my yearly salary was off a good amount. Currently I have no rent :) i live on the military’s dime for housing wise and my only expenses really is my car bill, car insurance, and a wifi plan, the rest either goes to my investments, e-fund, and golf because that’s my escape from work. So far so good but I truly feel like I can save more but I know it’s rough with such a low income at the moment. I believe the interest on my loan is 6.74%. My main goal is to attack the loan and pay it off ASAP so I can really start building a solid foundation with my e-fund like yours which will take time with how much i make…
From there I want to push and be somewhat aggressive with my retirement investments along with personal investments. Yeah man so far so good it just sucks because I am beginning to realize that in my early 20s the pay is very low and your bills take most of it away and I’m left with not that much. So at that point budgeting is crucial right now in my current state but I’m comfortable enough to where if a problem pops up I can still take care of it w/o stress thankfully. However, I do want to be debt free 👊.
Also thanks man I am trying to stay on point! I cannot thank my parents enough though because without their advice on finances I would not be where I am. Same goes with content creators like yourself because it creates a whole new perspective on things. Anyway enough of my rambling that’s pretty much it.
Thank you again!
@@birdieboys2612 Haha no worries, I try to be as active as I can in the comments. Also me messing that up is not surprising; math has never been my strong suit (I failed multiple times in college 🤷♂). But I appreciate the additional context. Let me put things in perspective for you, I looked at my previous statements and in 2017 I was 26 years old and only bringing in $1,959/month; at that point in my life I also bought a condo that was costing me about $1,200/month; it was risky as hell at the time (and honestly pretty fucking dumb). Had I stayed in my apartment, which was only about $800/month, I would have still been able to save quite a good of money on that income. So the fact that you have no rent right now is HUGE.
Personally if I was in your position, again not financial advice just my two cents, I would not be investing anything until that car is paid off. I would aggressively put as much as I could towards the car to pay it off as quickly as possible. If I did anything at the same time I would be putting money towards the emergency fund, but I would hold off on investing until the car debt was completely gone. Investing right now with car debt is slowing you down, especially since you only have $3,000 left on it.
True, your pay might be low right now, but again you are only 20. The fact that you are already thinking this ahead financially is huge because most people don’t start thinking about this until their 30s, 40s, and on. And you saying that you can take care of a problem if it pops up is HUGE. Most people are not able to cover a $500 to $1,000 issue, should one come up, so you’re already ahead.
I’m glad to hear your parents are open with you about finances, that’s awesome and makes a big difference. And thank you, I appreciate you saying that. Keep it up man, you’re way ahead of where I was at your age! You’ll be surprised how fast it starts building up.
@@flonought Thank you again for the reply! Had to say this again I mistakenly wrote in a smart ass way which was not at all my intention lol apologize on my end. Thanks again man for your kind inspiring words that I am not taking for granted.
Thank you again take care!
@@birdieboys2612 You’re welcome! I appreciate you sharing with me. And no apology needed, it didn’t come off that way when I read it. You take care too!
35k. 90k seems like alot :D
May I ask how old you are and/or what’s your biggest struggle with your current salary?
Yes, it seems like a lot to me too but it’s also all relative to your spending habits; someone who makes $200K/year could still be living paycheck to check. It is the most I’ve made so far in my working career. But to give additional context, my starting salary at my first job out of college was $29K (this is now my 3rd job since graduating).
Love being open about the details, honestly would of saved my wife and I from making so many stupid mistakes when we were younger in our 20s if we had it broken down like this and understood the details. And honestly we still make a ton of silly mistakes
Here’s our breakdown:
I’m 34, my wife is 32. We make approximately 440k a year in total comp.
The way we budget is:
15% high interest savings
8% bitcoin
And the rest just goes towards living expenses + investments to make more cashflow (for example I have a side business and my wife is writing a book)
We operate under the principle that investing in ourselves and focusing primarily on increasing income pays off in the end. We probably have gotten really lucky with this strategy though ( although we for sure put in the work over the years!)
I totally agree with that, I wish I had it broken down like this in my 20s too and/or took the time to research more. Thanks for the breakdown! That seems to be a very high combined income. I’m curious, with investing in your side business is that something you plan to turn into a full time thing? Or when you say “other investments” is that in any 401K/Roth IRA/Stocks (and if not, what’s the reason? Just curious) or is it all in the side business?
@@flonought yea that’s the plan. Biz partner and I make similar comp. We could probably have raised money, but we are choosing to self fund to keep equity and most importantly control of our time.
Yea we both contribute to our 401Ks but just to the match. We could choose to max it out which would make more sense tax-wise and long-term investment.
However, we aren’t planning on banking retirement on our 401ks and would rather invest it in things that save us time or build opportunity.
I have some individual stock holdings but it’s probably like 5%ish nothing crazy.
I have friends who do the whole IRA conversion trick, but we don’t do that
are you dating
currently single and not really looking to at the moment.
More with the legs, please 😊
more with treating me as a human being, please 😊
Thanks for sharing, doing pretty well man, slow and steady wins the race, you’re going to hit the big snowball curve soon, exciting stuff!
28, recently became a truck driver, I think I make 110K ish in paper but make a bit more than that because of per diems. Saving 5k a month minimum and trying to max out my Roth IRA this year but also working on building an ADU garage conversion that’s a huge hole in my pocket right now, concistency is key, salute all my finance/financial freedom enthusiasts 🫡🤙🏽
appreciate that, thanks! yes, i finally feel like i'm getting caught up and am starting to see the snowball happen.
and that's awesome man! is that 5k/month retirement fund related or more towards other investing?
@ that’s awesome! 👏🏽
5k/ month for my real estate development project going on right now, after living expenses 😃