u/Greystorecombo

I just started focusing on investing after going through a time where I had to borrow from payday loans, cash advance apps, personal loans etc(I don’t need to worry about paying off any of those debts anymore). I’m not trying to ever be in that situation again. Fortunately, I was able to get a good job just in time. First I’m going to grow an emergency fund. Next, I plan on researching high yield savings account and CDs. So far, I think CDs make more sense for the short term as I increase my knowledge on investing. It seems CDs have a fixed interest rate, while High yield savings interest rates can fluctuate. I’ll probably have my emergency fund in a high yield savings account, just so that it can be available at any time if needed. The rest will go into various CDs set to different lengths(if it makes sense). My question is, what are the main forms of investing that I can do further research on? I’ve heard about 401k, Roth IRA, HSA, treasury bills, index funds. Which ones are the must have investments, in your opinion? Which ones would you focus on first, and what order would you do research in? I know there are many investment opportunities, but if you had to prioritize the ones that have the most impact(short term or long term), which ones would those be? Also, I’m not near retirement, and I’d rather choose safer investment options for now, since I’m still near the beginning of my financial research. Later on, I’ll likely put a small amount of my money into riskier investments.

What would you add to this list?

If a person has major financial issues and just needs more time to figure things out. These are just my opinion. Also, what should they do to prevent this from happening.

Use emergency fund

Sell personal items

Apply for a low interest loan(credit union, or having a high credit score)

Use your car as collateral to get another loan

Ask for credit limit increases on current credit cards

Apply for as many new credit cards

Use the credit cards you already had, plus the new credit cards.

Use buy now pay later apps to extend the time to pay off purchases

Use cash advance apps that are more flexible in repayment and don’t have a monthly fee if possible

Use payday loans

Go to a pawn shop

Other things: sell blood, use gig apps, lowering utility and insurance bills, lowering phone bill, lowering other bills or eliminating them if possible, cooking at home, home gym, fuel efficient car, share expenses with roommates, selling your car or downgrading to a more affordable one, moving to a more affordable area, use app coupons when shopping at grocery stores,

Are there any other things a person can add?

What are some things they can do to prevent financial disaster? Maybe learn a skill that’s always in demand and that doesn’t take too long to learn as a back up skill?

Investing seems like it would take a long time to make money from interest, but I can see that helping out if the amount is high enough.

Just wondering what other ideas people have.

Here’s the current set up I’m thinking of.

Amazon chase prime: 5% for Amazon.com, Whole Foods. Also has Audible benefits.

Bank of America cash rewards: 3% cashback on online shopping or groceries. Will probably use it for groceries outside of Whole Foods. But you have to choose your top category each month.

PayPal Mastercard: 3% cashback if you check out with PayPal. Some credit cards don’t offer their grocery % on “superstores” like Walmart. So this card can be used in those situations. And other online purchases.

Capitol one Savor: 3% back on groceries.

Discover it cashback: 5% back on groceries if that category is available for that quarter.

Adding these cards to the list:

Citi custom cash card: 5% up to $500 each billing cycle on your top category, which includes grocery stores and streaming as some of the categories.

Bank of America cards, once you qualify to be part of their tier system that rewards you for storing your money with them. Percentage varies based on tier.

Chase freedom flex: 5% quarterly categories. Sometimes includes groceries.

Chime prime: you get 5% on a chosen monthly category, up to 1500$. But you have to have atleast 3k in direct deposits per month. And you have to have a secured credit card with them that you’ll use to make purchases.

Amex Blue cash everyday: 3% on groceries, online retail shopping?, and gas. Up to 6k on each category per year.

Kroger Mastercard: 5% on anything when using Apple Pay or other mobile wallets? 3k limit per year.

Are there any cards I’m missing that have high cashback percentages? 3% or higher? It can be for the quarter or with limits. Mainly looking for groceries, online shopping, or everyday if they offer it.