Seeking Financial advice

Racer15, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2017

I always put $250 into savings every payday automatically. I never missed the money because I never had it to spend in the first place.

Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2017

Congratulations on being able to have a high income with relatively low monthly bill commitment. A couple of months ago I stumbled upon a "Finances in your 20's for Dummies" book and found it to be a good/quick read with helpful information about how to manage your money.

-General things are to invest your money in diverse stock

-Enroll in a company sponsored retirement account (403b/401k)

-set-up an emergency fund (ideally it you be able to live off of it for 6 months)

Best of luck!

HalfBoiled, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2017

Thank you! I know my financial responsibilities will increase in the foreseeable future. I also, plan to get married. I just want to initiate a budget and start up my savings by the time I hit 25.

Party_of_five, BSN · Jun 23, 2017

Check out Dave Ramsey! He gives amazing financial advice. You are in a great place to really start making a plan, setting goals and saving.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jun 23, 2017

The book Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey is a great guide to budgeting, saving and all things financial. Highly recommended.

And congrats for going against the expectation of blowing your first year's earnings. Establish good habits now and reap the rewards in the future.

Ruas61, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2017

A fun way to penny save is put away all your change daily in a jar.

I also put away dollar bills left over daily from my purse in a separate jar.

The big thing is you do not touch the money. This is a small way to build a fund for incidental things, donations, fun times, etc...

It may sound silly but when you haul in that bottle yearly for the count up and it is $800 bucks, or the dollar count out is $550 from the first bucket ...no one is laughing...

We have a kind of fun thing in my house now as I started doing the 'dime challenge' where you put saved dimes in a 2 liter pop bottle. DH leaves dimes on the night stand for me. It is kind of sweet that he does it with me.

I know you were asking for 'big advice' but these little practices have brought in some extra money that may have been just spent instead of saved.

Big and little together add up!

JKL33 · Jun 23, 2017

Goal: To build up my savings hopefully to the 5-digit range by the holiday season

Hi there,

You say "holiday season", as opposed to...."end of this year". A great goal, unless you plan to spend a lot during the holiday season!

You are young and it sounds like you have minimal financial obligations at this point - I think you are in a great position to check out the crowd aiming to "FIRE" - become Financially Independent and Retire Early.

The principles are useful at all income brackets. This is such a broad topic, but you likely can find a niche (or glean information) that meets your personal needs/lifetyle within the general community of those who wish to become financially independent. Very generally-speaking, you will learn about wise/limited spending, various methods of maximizing earnings, how to save/invest and concepts about being very wise/careful with debt. Some people go extreme with it, some don't. But it will make you aware how our spending and saving habits can nearly imprison us, or can lead to freedom in more ways than just financial.

The concept of "Keeping up with the Joneses" and all bad financial practices remotely related to The Joneses, needs to go away. Tons of holiday gifts, homes people can't afford, new vehicles all the time, paying others to do things we can easily do or learn to do for ourselves, over-spending on dining/entertainment/vacations, etc., etc., All of these and more are significant contributing factors to becoming entrapped. Think about that. Imagine what better (much more fulfilling) choices a person could make in life if s/he didn't have to take (or stay in) any old abusive job, for instance. It is now officially "cool" to be frugal, both "pound-wise" and "penny-wise". Take advantage of that!

The goal is not to become "rich", but to comfortably have enough, and enough to help others.

By the way, along with other areas of compatibility - I would kindly suggest not getting married until you have undertaken a serious discussion about finances and assessed your financial compatibility, in addition to the other ways that relationships are evaluated.

Anyway, just a few thoughts. Check out the FI/RE concept.

Best wishes!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Jun 23, 2017

One of the first things my parents taught me when I had income was "pay yourself first." That, and if you can't afford something, save up for it. If you still can't afford it, you can't afford it.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 23, 2017

Check with your organization about a 401(k) or a 403(b) program to take out money pre-tax. you dont miss it. I have 10% put in a fund. Some organizations with match. Take advantage of that and you flex spending account for incidentals related to health care (like co-pays, dental, etc). That is usually pre-tax too. Saves you money too .

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 23, 2017

What are your longer-term goals? Do you hope to go to graduate school? Do you want to buy a house? Do you want to build up a large retirement fund? etc.

What do you plan to do what the 5-digit savings account?

In your position, I would:

1. Start saving for retirement in a big way through my employer's retirement program. Be sure to get all matching funds they offer at the very least -- but you should probably be contributing even more than that.

2. Open a Roth-IRA and contribute additional retirement money to that account (allows tax-free savings while also allows you to withdraw your contributions prior to retirement age.)

3. Find a good financial adviser -- a Certified Financial Planner. Ask you family and friends for local recommendations.

4. With the numbers you gave in your OP, there is no reason you should be saving $2000 - $2500 per month.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 23, 2017

You live in Cali but your monthly expenses are only 600/month? How does that work out?

Anyway, I would be maxing out all retirement funds, building up a sweet emergency fund and using the rest to do some serious travel.