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In the title? Am I? im graduating in under a year with what is likely going to be either zero to 5000$ in student loans(depends if I wanna get a good running car or not) and other such things.
But im being told by my friends in college that I am insane. that why work so hard now if im gonna work for the rest of my life. My logic is to make my future life easy and that if I can get away with as little payments as possible, once i get a good, well paying job that will allow weekends and nights off, I can actually have the money for it and not feel guilty missing a few hours for it.
But like I said, im 23(almost) is it too insane to be this forward thinking. I mean is everything goes right, 3 years after I graduate, I will have my own condo with not mortgage and only 500$ "rent"

Normally hotsauce, we disagree on a lot of things. But this is the exception. You are doing it exactly right. Investing early means far greater wealth in the future. Plus, you are young, which means you can afford to split your investments between slow-growing, but more reliable ones and riskier, higher profit ones.

Make sure you are investing, though. A savings account is nice for some rainy day or vacation money, but it isn't anything to build a retirement around. Get in touch with an expert on the matter.

The absolute, best time to save and get ahead is ‘now’. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, if you’re lucky enough to have some spare cash after the necessities are covered, then put most of that away and you will set yourself up for a good life.

Way too many people think about a good life only in terms of income. Work hard to earn as much as possible and then spend it all. That’s the kind of thinking that leads to people working 50 or 60 hours a week to make lease payments on a flash car.

Live simpler and cheaper, and save whatever you can, as early as you can. Once you’ve got a real asset base underneath you then you can choose to work where you want, as much or as little as you want. That’s the good life.

I started a IRA at 18 and am nearing a decent sum at 23. Its super easy to get ready for retirement at a young age. So no you aren't insane.

I moved out of home at age 18.

My Parents made me work half of my every holiday (I would sometimes just work most holidays anyway) and then made me save half of my holiday pay.

I moved out with enough money to fully furnish my house. I am now 21 and still have all those furnishings today.

The earlier you save the bigger your head start. Plus there is nothing worse than something going wrong and then having no money to rectify it. Wait there is one worse thing, having the opportunity to make more money but lacking any savings to make the most of it.

I know I am only your age ish, but my advice is to simply save when you can.

You should pay off debt as aggressively as you can afford.

what you are doing is probably the best thing you can do.

Having no debt and having a significant amount of savings opens lots of doors for you.



I never once regretted not spending hundreds of dollars every weekend on booze or whatever, and I still went out and had fun at concerts and such, just never spent the amount of cash everyone else seemed to be.


I know a lot of people who certainly regret spending their cash now however.

For once Hotsauce, you are completely in the right.

Investing in something like a Roth IRA as soon as you can, is one of the best things you can do to set it up. Just make sure the money you are investing, you don't need later. You never want to pull out money from it.

You should also defiantly pay off any student loans you have. They are the worst kind of debt to have.

 Sasori wrote:
Investing in something like a Roth IRA as soon as you can, is one of the best things you can do to set it up. Just make sure the money you are investing, you don't need later. You never want to pull out money from it.

Be really careful about given advice this specific advice, because whether the plan works for individuals depends on their specific circumstances.

You should also defiantly pay off any student loans you have. They are the worst kind of debt to have.

What? They cost 4-5% pa. You can pay double that on a car loan, and four times as much on a credit card.

Though I do like the idea of defiantly paying. It’s like regular repayment of debt, but with more attitude.

The sooner you start pension savings the better. Start at 21 and by the time you are 60 your first month's investment will have accumulated 39 years of dividends and growth. Far too many people either save nothing, or leave it until their 30s or later, by which time they have lost a lot of the long term potential.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
In the title? Am I? im graduating in under a year with what is likely going to be either zero to 5000$ in student loans(depends if I wanna get a good running car or not) and other such things.
But im being told by my friends in college that I am insane. that why work so hard now if im gonna work for the rest of my life. My logic is to make my future life easy and that if I can get away with as little payments as possible, once i get a good, well paying job that will allow weekends and nights off, I can actually have the money for it and not feel guilty missing a few hours for it.
But like I said, im 23(almost) is it too insane to be this forward thinking. I mean is everything goes right, 3 years after I graduate, I will have my own condo with not mortgage and only 500$ "rent"

There was a guy who did as you did. Before he want to university he saved up $10K, he said later that it was a springboard for his future. Meanwhile it also eliminated the need for early debt, which has a 20% dead weight of interest.
Who was this: Warren Buffet.

Nah, you are not insane, you are doing it quite right, just don't overdo it.

I was doing the same until last year, but because I was feeling extremely depressed with my life in general a radical shift happened, and now all the money I save up is to travel and have the time of my life.

Just find a balance, I know what I'm doing is not the smart move

I saved early and managed to pay my first mortgage off by the age of 22. If you're young you don't mind living in a crappy house/area playing landlord to a load of other people, eating beans on toast and pasta and drinking cheap booze this is quite achievable. It doesn't feel like you're missing out at that age because that's what everyone else is doing. My university degree wasn't hard so I could take a job too.

 sebster wrote:

 Sasori wrote:
Investing in something like a Roth IRA as soon as you can, is one of the best things you can do to set it up. Just make sure the money you are investing, you don't need later. You never want to pull out money from it.

Be really careful about given advice this specific advice, because whether the plan works for individuals depends on their specific circumstances.

You should also defiantly pay off any student loans you have. They are the worst kind of debt to have.

What? They cost 4-5% pa. You can pay double that on a car loan, and four times as much on a credit card.

Though I do like the idea of defiantly paying. It’s like regular repayment of debt, but with more attitude.

The issue with Student loans, at least in the US, is that they will follow you to your grave. There is no way to ever drop them.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
In the title? Am I? im graduating in under a year with what is likely going to be either zero to 5000$ in student loans(depends if I wanna get a good running car or not) and other such things.
But im being told by my friends in college that I am insane. that why work so hard now if im gonna work for the rest of my life. My logic is to make my future life easy and that if I can get away with as little payments as possible, once i get a good, well paying job that will allow weekends and nights off, I can actually have the money for it and not feel guilty missing a few hours for it.
But like I said, im 23(almost) is it too insane to be this forward thinking. I mean is everything goes right, 3 years after I graduate, I will have my own condo with not mortgage and only 500$ "rent"

Everyone has different priorities and different things will suit them. Saving at a young age is not good for everyone, some people go overboard and miss their youth saving for retirement. Some people go the other way and get to 50 having no savings at all and suddenly realize they have no pension, or spend everything as it comes in, then wonder why they can't have a house or car their friends do later. You need to find the balance that works for you, but it sounds like you are doing the sensible thing. No point in saving huge amounts when you are at college and money is tight. It's the time to enjoy yourself, BUT no need to go in to huge debt. From what your saying you are making sure you don't have massive debt following you when you get in to real life. Seems very sensible way to do it.

Plan to start saving properly when you graduate, but don't be afraid to spend to buy things that make your life a little better. Spending $$$$ every weekend to go out and get drunk is something you will regret. Buying a car that works and you like rather than a junker that you hate, totally worth the extra taken from savings (IMO). Some people spend their whole lives struggling to the next pay day. Some people spend their whole life piling cash in the bank for tomorrow and never enjoying today. It's all about balance.

Yes. Plan a head like your life depends on it, because it does. When your friends are in their 40s and 50s talking about how far away retirement is and how tight things are you can just smile and enjoy the leisure time. Don't be stupid plan a head on anything t that deals with finances and make sure you check and recheck your numbers.

I've been told that every 10 years you don't do it, you halve what you end up with.
Do it now, even if it is just a bit.
You'll probably not notice it anyway.
Don't overdo it, or you'll end up dipping into it.
Make sure you shop around though, and get solid advice as to how to do it.

Good deal. Keep it up.

Well, if you go wild and don't save anything you'll enjoy it for the next 35 years or so. You'll also probably be miserable for next 20 or so after that. So really it depends on which you want more, enjoying your youth or being comfortable in your old age. They've both got their merits.

Just have a plan to use it at some point because either way you're dead inside the century and a corpse can't do anything with it at all.

I didn't start saving for my future until I was 30. I spent a lot longer in school than I had expected, so I'm more or less the opposite situation: I have $90k in student loans, and only five years of savings in my IRA and TSP (federal employee 401k). Now, my schooling has lead to a higher income, so it's been worth it, but the sheer pain of cutting that $717 dollar check every month gets to you.

The earlier the better...don't jump on the "you deserve it because you work hard!" bandwagon because the truth is, you don't really know what you're worth until you land an actual job in your career of choice (i.e., if you deserve it).

Maybe "saving" is the wrong word for it, but you should be addressing your debt as soon as possible. If you graduate with poor savings, but no debt, you're in good shape.

You did college right if you only have 0-5000$ in loans to show for your troubles...

Sounds like your first goals should be Shelter, Transportation and stable income. Like you said... You probably need a car, somewhere to live and getting a job costs money in the form of computers, new clothes and time unemployed, so all of that will cost money. To have seed money to get a car without needing a payment, or covering rent/clothes for interviews is a good thing to have.

General rule is 6 months living expenses in the bank. I think that is a good cushion to have at all times. Once you have your cushion, you can piss away money on 'being young' a little.

I do wish I had traveled more when I was in my early 20s, but I also know those years working my ass off lead to my extremely comfortable lifestyle I have now and will make my retirement much happier. So it is hard to tell what is right for everyone. I have a friend who busted her hump at law school and had a job as a bartender at the beach during school, when she graduated she was like 'Maybe I will do this for a year or two'. 10 years later, she is still doing it. She loves it, spends all summer at the beach, all 'off season' traveling and makes plenty of money to live and enjoy herself. Who am I to say 'she is doing it wrong'?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 NuggzTheNinja wrote:


Maybe "saving" is the wrong word for it, but you should be addressing your debt as soon as possible. If you graduate with poor savings, but no debt, you're in good shape.

Yeah, having a positive net worth is always a good place to be. Once you have positive net worth, you can use credit to leverage more money, but as long as you have a negative net worth, debt builds more debt.

earlier you plant the seeds, the earlier you can reap the rewards. its better to be a tight wad and put money away now and let it grow...don't end up like the typical american who thinks they will never get old or sick and that their next bill payment is just a new credit card application away...

It's never too early to save up for later. We started to set money aside for our daughter even before she was born.

 Sasori wrote:

 sebster wrote:

 Sasori wrote:
Investing in something like a Roth IRA as soon as you can, is one of the best things you can do to set it up. Just make sure the money you are investing, you don't need later. You never want to pull out money from it.

Be really careful about given advice this specific advice, because whether the plan works for individuals depends on their specific circumstances.

You should also defiantly pay off any student loans you have. They are the worst kind of debt to have.

What? They cost 4-5% pa. You can pay double that on a car loan, and four times as much on a credit card.

Though I do like the idea of defiantly paying. It’s like regular repayment of debt, but with more attitude.

The issue with Student loans, at least in the US, is that they will follow you to your grave. There is no way to ever drop them.

Sure, it's nearly impossible to discharge student loans - no argument there. But most people do not declare bankruptcy, yes? So that specific element isn't often going to come into play. In normal, non-bankruptcy situations, then really no loans are more dischargeable than others.

To be clear, I'm not trying to engage in needless pedantry, but I feel like in a thread full of financial advice, the maxim that "student loans are the worst kind of debt to have" should be challenged.

If I hypothetically owe on a student loan - $10,000 at 5.5% interest; and I also have $10,000 in credit card debt at 24% interest - which should I be concentrating on paying off first, assuming I'm not planning on declaring bankruptcy? Because I think this situation is a lot more common.

Ouze wrote:

 Sasori wrote:

 sebster wrote:

 Sasori wrote:
Investing in something like a Roth IRA as soon as you can, is one of the best things you can do to set it up. Just make sure the money you are investing, you don't need later. You never want to pull out money from it.

Be really careful about given advice this specific advice, because whether the plan works for individuals depends on their specific circumstances.

You should also defiantly pay off any student loans you have. They are the worst kind of debt to have.

What? They cost 4-5% pa. You can pay double that on a car loan, and four times as much on a credit card.

Though I do like the idea of defiantly paying. It’s like regular repayment of debt, but with more attitude.

The issue with Student loans, at least in the US, is that they will follow you to your grave. There is no way to ever drop them.

Sure, it's nearly impossible to discharge student loans - no argument there. But most people do not declare bankruptcy, yes? So that specific element isn't often going to come into play. In normal, non-bankruptcy situations, then really no loans are more dischargeable than others.

To be clear, I'm not trying to engage in needless pedantry, but I feel like in a thread full of financial advice, the maxim that "student loans are the worst kind of debt to have" should be challenged.

If I hypothetically owe on a student loan - $10,000 at 5.5% interest; and I also have $10,000 in credit card debt at 24% interest - which should I be concentrating on paying off first, assuming I'm not planning on declaring bankruptcy? Because I think this situation is a lot more common.

Ouze is correct. I'm wrapping up my chapter 13 bankruptcy soon (5 yr pmt plan) and the only loans that are untouched are my school loans.

Having school loans isn't necessarily a "bad" thing... as, most creditors/loan officiers don't really use it for determining whether or not they should extend the credit/load to you. Except, maybe, to include it in determining the debt-to-income ratio. (ie, they want to ensure that you can make the min pmt on the new loan/credit in addition to the school loans).

To OP: Yes, when all possible, start saving now. Even if it's just $20 per pay period, it's truly better than nothing.

In addition, if your job offers 401k plans, immediately allocate a fixed number (ie, 10%) to contribute to the plan. That way, you're not used to a higher take home pay.

Student loans aren't also crippling to your credit score or ability to secure further loans. Student loans are "good" debt, especially if you have an income consistent with your loans.

I racked up $98k in loans for law school, but I make a government lawyer's salary, which while on the low side for the law, is nicely in the range. If had $98k in loans and was a shift manager at Starbucks, my debt is less good.

Blow the lot on beer and strippers.

Nah you're doing the right thing. I worked and saved when I was young too. I work in an office now with many people in their 50's and 60's and I'm surprised to find out that I'm in better financial condition than a lot of these people and I'm only 27.

 Sasori wrote:
The issue with Student loans, at least in the US, is that they will follow you to your grave. There is no way to ever drop them.

That's only relevant if bankruptcy is part of your financial plans. Long term financial planning that involves anything other than repayment of the debt is terrible, terrible advice.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 whembly wrote:
Having school loans isn't necessarily a "bad" thing... as, most creditors/loan officiers don't really use it for determining whether or not they should extend the credit/load to you. Except, maybe, to include it in determining the debt-to-income ratio. (ie, they want to ensure that you can make the min pmt on the new loan/credit in addition to the school loans).

Sure, and that's a factor. But the primary negative for any debt is that you have to pay it back, and so the worst loans are the ones with higher interest rates as they leave you paying more back. There's a million other factors but they're all pretty minor compared to that one basic one - how much more money is this debt costing me each year?

In addition, if your job offers 401k plans, immediately allocate a fixed number (ie, 10%) to contribute to the plan. That way, you're not used to a higher take home pay.

This is excellent advice.