HopeFul Reflections

I have been working for a fairly short period of time. My family taught me about making money, but they didn’t really teach me about how to save and grow my money. Luckily I had two things. First I had a girlfriend I plan to marry that made me think of the future and how to be financially ready for the wedding that is going to bankrupt us. I also heard about a book called the whitecoat investor. Here’s what I learned and some of my own personal moves.

Summary:

I save at least 20%. I invest in retirement savings accounts. I actively cut back on recurring costs and look online for tips. Finally, I don’t like debt. I just wanted to talk about what I do. I am not an expert so I have no place to offer advice, I’m just sharing my experience.

1. I save as much as possible. The best way to not lose money is to save it. Simple but difficult. I saved enough after one year of working to fund a year of living while I went back to grad school. I saved about 30% of my income. 20% would have been fine too, but I wanted to be aggressive since I was told this wedding is likely going to cost as much as a luxury car. I was able to save this much because I was ok with living in a fairly cheap apartment and not having too many expenses. Some of my expenses after rent included Netflix, Spotify, my dates with my gf, my dates with my gf, my dates with my gf, my medications, and other small entertainment items. I still enjoyed my life However, I tried to otherwise save every penny.
2. I invested in my retirement savings. I opened a Roth IRA and tried to invest as much as I could. I also learned that you don’t just put money in this. You also have to invest the money you put into it. I went for index funds because they are diverse. They’re made up of a bunch of investments so if one is bad its not the worst things in the world since the others are probably fine. When the money is put into these accounts it grows tax free until you take it out. The amount you end up with is pretty crazy.
3. I tried to find places to cut back on expenses. I canceled subscriptions I didn’t really need and kept the ones I really cared for. I tried to cook/ meal prep more. I tried to find deals online. I looked online for ways other people saved money.
4. I am waiting until I pay off debt first before I invest in more risky investments like stocks and real estate. I also have a plan for paying off my debt. I pay off high interest stuff first and then lower interest stuff. For student loans, I’ve found a program that allows me to work for a number of years for the government until my debt is forgiven.

-JKG