Im currently 19 struggling on a decision with my savings i currently have $3330 with an end goal of 4440 for a 4 month emergency fund. My question is should i focus on my emergency fund or fund my emergency fund and my roth ira?
My biggest expense is food. I have to eat to survive but now that I’m an adult my parents almost completely stopped feeding me, they don’t even leave me portions of food from the dinners they make anymore so I find myself just going out to eat to survive. I just did the math and I need 4k just for a vehicle and my goal is to have it within 4 months and that means 500 a check twice a month and I’m just barely making over 500 a check I am struggling so hard I got this job because the manager made it sound like I’d be making 15-17 every night with tips, that’s why I’d be being paid 5.15 an hour but that’s just simply not true every night I’m making minimum wage or just slightly above. I need a better job but every job “available” is just fast food jobs or other minimum wage jobs that don’t want to start full time.
Why do people, who actually have money left over after bills and etc choose not to save money? Like those who don’t even have a emergency fund. If you were ever that person what was going through your mind at the time ?
Edit: specifically for people who do not live pay check to pay check and actually have money left over to save and enjoy life etc
Recently started reading about Arthur Schopenhauer — a philosopher who was basically famous for being extremely pessimistic about human nature and society.
One quote from him stuck with me:
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And honestly it feels very relevant financially for people aged 16–25 now.
A lot of spending today seems driven by:
After a while people stop making financial decisions for themselves and start making them socially.
Think that’s why so many people end up financially stressed while still trying to look like they’re doing well.
Curious what other people think about that idea.
A few years ago I genuinely believed financial success meant upgrading everything constantly — better phone, expensive dinners, branded clothes, bigger apartment.
But the more I chased that lifestyle, the more financially anxious I became.
Over time I started simplifying things. I stopped buying things just because other people had them. Focused more on savings, investments, and peace of mind.
Ironically, that’s when my finances actually started improving.
Has anyone else naturally become less materialistic with age?
I’m 28 and starting to think seriously about what life will look like when I hit 50. For me, “comfortable” means not stressing about bills, having the freedom to travel a bit, and ideally being able to slow down from the grind if I want to.
Here’s where I’m at financially right now:
Some personal context: I’m not aiming to be “rich” by 50, but I do want peace of mind. I’d love to be able to take my family on trips without worrying about money, and maybe even have the option to work part-time or on passion projects instead of just grinding for a paycheck.
I’d love to hear from people who’ve already crossed into their 30s, 40s, or even 50s:
I know everyone’s definition of comfort is different, but hearing real experiences would help me shape my own plan.
The thing is — I actually do have assets:
So technically I could almost wipe out the loan completely if I sold everything.
But mentally it feels weird to go from “having investments” to basically sitting with nothing just to get rid of the debt.
Right now I’m thinking about another approach:
just paying more than the minimum every month so I reduce the interest a lot, but still keep most of my assets invested.
At the same time… 15% sounds insanely high to me and part of me wants this debt gone immediately.
What would you do?
every time someone posts about saving money online the comments fill up with "just get a coupon extension coupon extension" like it is a guaranteed thing. it is not.
i have one installed and i would say it finds something usable maybe a third of the time if i am being generous. there was one checkout on a nike order where it popped up and took 10% off without me doing anything, which felt great.
I'm a big fan of secondhand shopping to find products for low cost. I always found it frustrating that there's no single place to easily find nearby charity shops, thrift stores, car boot sales, antique fairs, table top sales, or vintage markets. Google Maps misses loads of them.
So I decided to build an app to solve that which would be really useful while travelling. You can even share your thrift haul.
It's called Ganddee (free on iOS & Android).
I’d love for you to try it out and hear feedback.
Feels like modern life constantly pushes people our age into emotional spending without them even noticing.
Bad day?
Order food.
Bored?
Buy something online.
Stressed?
“Treat yourself.”
Lonely?
Go spend money somewhere.
Everything now feels built around turning emotions into purchases.
I honestly think a lot of financial problems for younger people don’t start with being irresponsible…
they start with never learning how emotions affect spending habits.
The scary part is companies massively benefit from people staying impulsive and emotionally reactive.
Simple question, do most homeowners actually see real savings with solar, or is it more about long-term projections?
Hi guys I have been working for a while now and have saved just over £5,000. I don’t want to blow everything away and was just seeking some advice on what to do with money? Thanks in advance
I am 21 and I’m really struggling to save, I earn around 650-900 (AU) a week but after buying any necessities, phone bill, hanging out with friends and having a social life, subscriptions, gym membership and so much more.
Ughhhh I know I need to be better but I just don’t know how to start, what tips helped you guys? I feel like my friends are saving so much while also doing the same things as me and I just don’t know how anyone does it.
I don’t even have a car yet I can’t imagine how it’s going to be if I don’t start disciplining myself with how I spend.
Any tips are appreciated, I know a lot of this comes down to being smarter but if anyone has struggled with this please share any tips
I don’t think enough people talk about how much social media changes spending behaviour for people aged 16–25.
You open apps every day and constantly see:
After a while, unrealistic spending starts feeling normal psychologically.
I think a lot of people aren’t actually bad with money naturally…
they’re just surrounded by constant comparison and pressure to keep up.
Feels like financial awareness now is also learning how to separate real life from online life.
Curious if anyone else has noticed this with themselves or people around them.
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I’m 24 years old, no college degree and no debt. A year and a half ago, I landed a job with the railroad. Standard 40 hour work week, salary works out to be roughly 85,000 per year. I’ve been doing research on multi family investing for years now and I’ve always wanted to retire as soon as possible. I currently have 27k in a high yield savings account, 11k in my Roth IRA, and I like to keep as little as possible in my checking, usually around 1 or 2 thousand. I live in an area where buying a 3-4 family home for 3-400k is possible, and that’s the direction my brains been headed. Live in one unit, make (maybe) 4-500 bucks per month after all rents are paid, move out a couple years later, and buy another. I can’t wrap my head around throwing 1500 a month away renting when I could be having tenants contribute to equity in a property. Seeing everyone on social media being my age and millionaires just motivates me to get there on my timeline… hopefully by early to mid 40s. Stocks are definitely the safer, less stressful way to go about it, but I’ve always had this dream and I want to try to make it work. I’m aware of the hassle that comes with being a landlord, but I’m ready to deal with it. I’ve never made a Reddit post but just decided to see if anyone had any feeback they’d be willing to share on if this is a good plan, or if I’m just way better throwing it all in the s&p.
Just started my first real job out of college and finally have a little breathing room financially. Got about $800 saved up after emergency fund and was looking at CDs but every time I google it the results show options requiring $1000-$2500 minimum. Am I just looking in the wrong places or is there a realistic CD option for someone who isn't sitting on a lot of cash yet? And honestly is the interest even worth it at this amount or should I just stick with a HYSA for now?
Does anyone know if you actually get the products? I’m down to like $5 but not sure if it actually ever gets to $0
And if so lmk if anyone wants to exchange slashes
As someone earning an hourly wage ($25-$28/hr) I am wondering how my peers are saving. I’m 18 but I work in retail yet I’m looking to have a stable amount of savings which somehow seems impossible.
Earning hourly whilst paying uni expenses and travel costs daily has begun to add up. I’ve been working since 15 yet I’ve never been too good with money. What tactics can I use now to save? I’ve tried the 50% savings 50% spending but I always end up transferring money between my accounts 😅
I just wonder what I can do! Please let me know realistically what saving tactics and goals I can make for this year