[USER]

Hey everyone! I am 23 years old with nothing currently saved for retirement and I am interested in investing to reach FIRE some day. I am a first gen college graduate and im starting my first “big girl” job soon.

I grew up in poverty and didn’t have great financial role models. Any tips? Do’s and Don’t’s ? I’m desperate for some direction.

my employer only offers a IRA not a 401k but they will match up to 3%. Any advice? Also for investing how do I start that?

I am curious about VOO

[David]

Simple Path to Wealth. Dave Ramsey too. Live below your means.

[Tom]

First of all congrats to you for taking charge a decade and a half before I did.

I’m Retired with double commas in investments so you’re gonna do great.

Keep it simple and just buy the S&P 500 or a total market index fund. Yes, it’s that simple.

[Bánh]

make sure you build your emergency fund first, then clear debt, and you can invest.

[Shainalee]

I come from the same boat as you, here’s what I have:
Track every single penny that comes in and out of your bank account. Really be honest with yourself about wants vs needs.

Accept that you’re going to be doing things differently than other people your age, and you might get treated as such.

Get every free penny that you can from a retirement match with your company.

When you start investing, there’s no harm in starting with a more hands-off approach and using apps like Betterment that will invest for you.

It takes a while to get a hang of what a good stock to buy is and focus on those things.

Own a home. You might be house poor in your 20’s, but having no mortgage in your 50’s is what will make FIRE easy.

Don’t waste money on a car. Cars are transportation, not hobbies, not a show of wealth. They are simply to get you to your destinations safely.

YouTube will save you thousands of dollars throughout your life.

Find out what things you can do on your own instead of paying other people (changing oil, replacing a sink in your house, etc.)

[John]

read key books like simple path to wealth and then bogleheads guide to investing. Get your advice there rather then from random people on the internet.

Watch Rob Berger on Youtube.

Honestly the 2nd book I mentioned is all you need.

I have read it many times-worked for me and many others

[Allison]

Recognizing your goal is the biggest step! Congrats! The money guys would be a recommendation I would give.

Their financial order of operations is pretty sound with FIRE goals, as well as general financial guidelines to navigate life

[Scott]

Awesome!!! Here’s a rough guideline. Never borrow money for something that goes down in value. (This most likely means you’ll never borrow for anything except a house.

Yes, that means your car as well, pay cash for the used car you can afford.

Always budget, always live at least 10% beneath your take home income. Make sure to have sinking funds for future cars, Xmas, vacations, etc.

Invest the difference. Here’s a rough investing guideline: contribute to a 401k to match. Then put the rest in a Roth IRA.

When choosing investments inside of the 401k choose a fund that tracks to the s&p 500, choose one that is an international fund.

Choose one that tracks tech like the nasdaq.

In your Roth just buy voo. That should get you going for a few years

[Aaron]

Just by you being here shows you’re on the right path. You’ll be very successful by starting now at your age.

Keep going and stay consistent

[Christine]

That’s my background. If your job has a 401k, contribute enough to get the employee match. More if you’re able. Open a brokerage account online with a company like Fidelity/Vanguard for your Roth IRA.

Max your Roth IRA every year (right now that’s $7k/year) so make sure you have money automatically being invested or saved each month fit that.

Each time you get a raise, increase your 401k contribution by that percentage or close. Read Simple path to Wealth for investment strategies and Die With Zero.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Being young, you can put your money into an etf like VTSAX that follows the SP500.

Leave it in there, don’t touch it. You’ll be able to retire if you do the above and stay out of debt. No CC debt ever.

Drive good, reliable, inexpensive cars. Be frugal when it comes to material things but also enjoy time with family and friends making memories (take the trip).

[Farre]

Now is a really good time to invest in stocks that are bottoming out and involve things people need regularly.

Compound interest is wonderful, so long-term bonds at your age give low-risk investments that can compound for a very long time.

[Author]

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