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Always live way below your means and don’t give into pressure to spend money to impress others. Many people you see on IG or in person flaunting expensive things are often those who don’t budget or save/invest.
Set up automatics savings plan to move money to an investment account automatically so you don’t have to think about it.
Large majority of people do not consciously think about the things you’re talking about so it’s really good you have that mindset.
Did you do all this at 22?
I also am kind of stuck between enjoying life and some of the finer things (my main poison is clothes haha) but I also want to heavily save haha
I wasn’t financially stable until mid 30’s. I travelled, lived abroad, partied in my early and late 20’s. Don’t be so concerned about saving if it means eating ramen and living life watching netflix. I’m 99% certain the experiences you have in life coupled with your ability to work with a team and treat people will take you just as far as working 60hr weeks for years on end…. We should all be on our unique path—walk yours!
I didn’t save much until I was about 28 and am doing fine. I mean the more you can save earlier on definitely helps but I’d prob just focus on trying to max out your 401k over the next few years. Enjoy your 20’s - life’s too short!
I’d also love to hear if you ever lived pay check to pay check or had minimal savings and if it really mattered in the long run; I currently save 40% in a good month and 20-30% in a bad month
HCOL city
There’s a few elements to savings and functional beliefs that have helped me toward stability.
Firstly, I know that I can always earn more, whilst I save a good portion (65%, quite a high combined household income), even if I lost this job I could find another that pays the same or more in a few days with the relationships I have built, that alone gives me a sense of security.
Secondarily, experiences, experiences, experiences. I save plenty, but balance it with experiencing life, meeting people, building relationships. Never undervalue what some drinks after work can get you, may cost you a few hundred but start a relationship that benefits you massively later on. In your case meeting someone with a similar fashion sense (I’ve got a prada bag that’s struck up quite a number of conversations).
I also try to reduce detractors on my income, any investments able to pay for themselves (rental properties etc) and keep my personal house a smaller expense, which allows me to do things like a 6 month sabbatical if I ever need it.
Treating money as flexibility and not a zero game has gone a long way toward that feeling of stability.
My wife and I supported ourselves on <$15k/year the first two years we were married (early 90s). When I got my first professional job, wife was in grad school so things were still tight. However, we didn't need much and started saving early. I started doing regular monthly mutual fund purchases of $75/month very early and then each year when I got a raise, I increased that monthly investment eventually up to around $3,000/month. Key is to pay yourself first. Put that money into the stock market and don't use it for anything except a home downpayment or retirement.
The smart thing to do with your money depends very much on what you want out of your life. If you want to travel the world, it's easier and cheaper to do that now than when you have kids, a dog, and a mortgage. If you want to retire early, save more now. If you want a sensible townhouse in the suburbs, live cheaply and save for that; if you want to rent an expensive studio in a cool neighborhood downtown, do that. When you turn 40 you'll regret missing out on cool experiences in your 20s—however you define those—more than you'll regret not having put enough in savings. If you need to, you can play catch-up later.
That said, do put *something* into your retirement accounts; preferably in a Roth format, and definitely into a low-cost fund tied to a broad-based market index, like VOO or VTI. And then *don't touch it!* A $1,000 set-it-and-forget-it investment in the US total stock market made 40 years ago would be worth $78,000 now; investing $1,000 every year over those same 40 years would be worth $1,007,000 today. With compounded growth, anything you invest intelligently at 22 will be worth a lot when you're 62.
It definitely does get easier as you move up the ladder. Putting in $19,500 every year with a 6% salary match starting in your late 30s makes up for a lot of financial sins made when you're younger (although, of course, you're better off still if you don't make the mistakes in the first place). Over a 20-year timeframe, 2001 to 2021, starting from $0, $30,000 a year into the US stock market works out to $2,880,000.