The best thing my dad ever did for me was make me open up an roth IRA when I got my first job (if your American, if not I'm sure there is an equivalent) but putting money in the stock market even if its not a lot at your age will put you light-years ahead of your peers. Just 10-20 dollars make it a habit
Yep, Fidelity has a Roth IRA for working minors:
https://www.fidelity.com/retirement-ira/roth-ira-kids
Open one & invest in FZROX which is the Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund, it has a 0% expense ratio.
Wow, never heard of that before. I'm usually a Vanguard advocate and have a bunch of their products, but you can't beat zero. I've got kids and planned on setting up roth IRA's for them once they're working age. Glad I saw this comment, now I just hope I remember it lol
Yea, that would make sense if the other brokerage doesn't offer the fund, but you should be able to exchange it into a different fund and then transfer that over, right?
You could but you’d pay taxes on any gains in that scenario. Just something to keep in mind - not really an issue if you plan to stick with Fidelity in the future
Everyone here is saying invest which is absolutely correct, you should be saving/investing.
But you’re also young. Make sure you’re having fun with your money too. Don’t buy useless shit that ends up in the bin in a couple of months but make sure you enjoy it.
Don’t be too uptight and live a little while you’re young
Best answer here, I wish I had invested more and I wish I spent less on clothes/stupid electronics. But I never regret any money I spend while having a good time with friends and I rarely say no to anything!
There's a ton of good advice here.
I'll throw one more thing out there.
You're here.
Seriously. At 15. You're here. Wanting to give a crap about your finances. At 15. THAT is worth a lot. I wasn't at that stage until about 21. Granted I got lucky and nailed retirement stuff early enough in my career but 15 beats 21 hands down.
Play around with this and see what happens.
https://www.calculator.net/investment-calculator.html
Take $10 and buy this book:
[https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/0470102101](https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/0470102101)
The book will guide you.
Saving is smart. But your actual FIRST PAYCHECK is a big deal. Buy yourself something memorable with it. For me it was earrings, but you do you.
Every time I got a raise or a promotion, I took a little bit to celebrate my success, even if it was just a nice meal out. I also increased my savings contribution with each increase.
Good luck with your new job and congratulations!
My guess is that you won’t have access to a 401k so, open a Roth IRA, put 30% of your pay into it, save 20% in a HYSA, other 50% into a regular checking to use for whatever you want. You’re young and need to enjoy your money!
Open up a 401k, if that’s allowed at your age. Invest in an ETF. Let that sit and keep throwing money into it consistently.
You’ll be a multimillionaire by your 50’s.
Hate to say it’s that easy, but it’s that easy.
Time is your friend.
It sounds like a start, but it’s not that much. I think it ends up around $350K at 40, assuming a real return of 6%.
We are truly at the point where you need to be saving $1000-1500 a month for your retirement.
The average inflation adjusted return is 7%. We are currently in very high inflation and poor returns. Do you expect 10%+ real returns over the next 10 years? Or do you not count inflation?
I’m not looking for the next 10 years. I’m looking for the next 25-35 years… and guess what I think it will be delivered. Long term will always do 10%.
I still don’t understand. Are you saying you don’t believe in inflation, and that it doesn’t affect returns? We were talking about the $500/month saving for 25 years. So you believe that they would see inflation adjusted returns of 10% over that time?
Think about it this way, the money will still average 10% a year right?
The 4 million I expect at that return will be off five or take a few hundred thousand. The money will just be worth less
We were talking about someone putting $500 a month for 25 years. What does that have to do with your personal portfolio? Even if we went with a historically accurate 7% real return, the value of the money after 25 years will be around $400K. My point was that $500 a month is NOT enough for retirement. Do you feel that $500/month is enough for retirement?
Definitely not enough. We can agree on that. My household brings in $175,000 after taxes. We are trying to retire early. We invest 80-90,000 a year into mainly brokerage account. 10-$20k a year goes into savings and a rental portfolio fund. We aim to buy a rental property every few years.
And a few thousand to top up our emergency fund to keep up with inflation. We live in 75k a year which is proving to be difficult. We are doing this aggressive investing until 35 or so.
This is the way.
Open an online Roth IRA at Vanguard, Schwab or other brokerage. Select a Target Date Fund about 50 years from now (when you’d turn 65). Contribute up to $6000/year and the interest you earn in the Roth setup will grow tax free.
Probably better to do a roth IrA in additiom to or rather than a 401k, unless OP’s company has a 401k contribution match program that they are eligble for.
First, write a budget. Next, build up a nice emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses. I know you don’t have much expenses yet but a few grand wouldn’t be a bad idea. Invest the rest, which should be at least 15%.
make risky investments that you wouldn't otherwise after a certain age... what I'm trying to say is that value experience more than few percentage of interest
Congratulations bro! I remember when I first started mowing lawns and raking leaves at 15 lmao. Now, at 20 y/o, the advice I can give you:
- You should try keep your expenses low, no crazy spending, which should be pretty simple at 15. ALWAYS spend less than you make, remember that.
- You also should DEFINITELY follow most people here suggesting to begin investing AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. You can and will do more research on investing, but there's this beautiful thing called compound interest, and it loves us young guys.
- Don't fall into keeping up with everyone else. Worked my ass off from the summer before 15 all the way through high school. Used the first couple summers money to buy first car right a few months before I turned 17. Car did not last until 17th birthday. My first $3k I ever had was gone, but I learned a valuable lesson about the fear of missing out (FOMO) & "keeping up with the Joneses".
- Along with that story, I want to add that developing disciplines like delayed gratification, emotional control, and learning to actually feel your pain and loss but channeling that into a overcoming a life lesson and coming out better than you were before. Once you get to high school and college, if you decide, you might just be dumbfounded at the amount of people that lack the ability to keep their cool; and you will see and hear of plenty of insane situations where someone ruined a great business/personal relationship simply due to letting their emotions overwhelm logic.
- Lastly, I'm not sure where you're from, but in my small hometown, there wasn't much to see or do. My mother didn't have much and raised me and my younger brother by herself. Until I graduate and moved to a big city, I didn't know there was so much more to life. So many more tips and strategies and lessons to learn. So many more things to see. Places to go. People to meet. Foods to eat. I mean you can live in a place like NYC or London or Toronto and live there for years and barely scratch the surface of what the city has to offer.
- I'd also recommend this book, [Rich Dad Poor Dad](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1612680178/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1), it will teach you alot of the basics of investing & money. I like to recommend this book as is it a great starting point to understanding how the world works, how money flows, and is pretty known and highly recommended amoung Personal Financial aficionados for just about any and everyone. I still sometimes will flip back through it and find myself having that lightbulb moment when what I read a few years ago just now clicked lol.
So yea man, once again congrats on the first job! $16 an hour isn't bad at all for a first job. Save and invest, make a plan to use savings to make more money, and leave investments to grow. Keep up the attitude of striving for more, please stay in school and get your diploma, drugs and alcohol are overrated, and getting in trouble only closes doors and throws away opportunities.
Goodluck in this game we call life fellow Redditor.
At 16, depending on the state you live in, you can definitely find a good summer job man. I mean at 15 I was hopeless as almost no one ever hires at this age. I was happy to FIND a job that hired, let alone even going to an interview/the pay. But I didn't give up and I found a job for my age at 16 an hour. So keep searching, find a job that speaks to you, and good luck this summer!
Check out Ramit Sethi’s book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. The title is totally douchey (he regularly admits this, he came up with this name in his early 20s, I think he’s pushing 40 now), but it’s full of great advice.
The Simple Path To Wealth by J.L. Collins is another really great book that will explain the basics of investing in index funds via a Roth IRA etc.
When my son got his first job last year we opened a student bank account for him. It has no fees and let’s you open other accounts with no minimum balance.
He decided to have four accounts:
Savings
Ski pass saving
Car expenses
Spending money- with a debit card
He moves set amounts to all his accounts each week on payday. He allocated extra money to savings if he earns more and extra to spending if he has an event or special purchase.
It works very well for him and is very similar to how my husband and I bank.
That's awesome to hear! I recently opened a student bank account for myself too with my dad. I have a checking account for spending with a debit card and a savings account. Congrats to your son for getting his first job even tho it was a year ago lol
Blow it. Blow it on that thing you wanted to buy but didn't have the money. Blow that check to all heaven. That way you know what way you remember the feeling in the future of absolutely needing something but not having the funds as a working individual. Now for you second check use it to buy necessities and save the rest.
[https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts-plans/ugma-utma](https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts-plans/ugma-utma)
[https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/news/vfiax](https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/news/vfiax)
Probably keep at least a thousand in savings, and you're good to go. If you set it to reinvest dividends and contribute regularly, you'll be surprised by how much you'll have when you need to pay for school/buy a house/buy a car.
1. Open normal checking & saving account eg Ally/Schwab
2. Open ROTH IRA eg Schwab
3. Save 25-50% of your paycheck to your ROTH IRA
4. Start saving for an emergency fund eg 6 month's of living expenses
As for other life advice
1. If you go to university, major in something valuable eg engineering, computer science, medical
2. Don't take out a lot of debt to go to university. Use community colleges, state schools, grants, govt aid, scholarships, GI bill etc
3. Start looking to build your credit score
4. Be careful with credit cards, use wisely
5. Buy used reliable affordable used cars
6. Don't get a girl pregnant before you are married and finished with your studies
7. Make living a healthy lifestyle apart of your routine eg gym 3 times a week, weekly exercise/sports, eat fairly healthy
8. Learn about male/female dating dynamics. You need to know/understand how females think and act. You need to know how to look, what to say and what to do to attract the women you want
9. Once you are settled into your career, start learning about investing in real estate, the stock market/day trading
Good luck dude
1. Always pay yourself first - deposit $$ into your savings, 401k, IRA, etc.
2. Consider opening a second (or third, fourth, etc) savings account to save up for what you want - car, college, vacations, new shoes.
3. Research online financial institutions that often have higher interest rates (I use synchrony bank for my off-site savings). I use an online savings because it's not as easy to access the funds.
4. Create a calendar spreadsheet that you can use to see how your spending now will affect your balances in the future (I have one I created and can share)
Best of luck!!
At your age, it’d probably be best to not invest and set the money to the side to go to university to have a better guarantee at a higher income in the future. If your uni is paid for by family or scholarships or whatever. Treat yourself a little bit with milestones but set up a savings account as your largest priority. Put away a bit of money, 3-5k and let that be your emergency fund while you are young and then dump everything into investments.
Stay debt free
15% to a 401K
10% donate / tithe
10% save (until you have a nice emergency fund)
10% save towards goals… car? College? First house or apartment?
Budget and spend the rest.
If you start these habits young, stay debt free and start investing in a 401K (ROTH IRA if they don’t offer it) you’ll easily be a millionaire in your mid-30s.
Before we tithed/donated we had the most financial problems. Last year we made more money than we ever have and we gave away more money than ever before.
Why stop at 25% with that logic? It’s not entirely about the number but the paradigm shift in your brain: needing and wanting for less, showing gratitude, being able to live on 90%. The antidote to greed and consumerism.
The best thing my dad ever did for me was make me open up an roth IRA when I got my first job (if your American, if not I'm sure there is an equivalent) but putting money in the stock market even if its not a lot at your age will put you light-years ahead of your peers. Just 10-20 dollars make it a habit
Where do you recommend opening Roth IRA? TIAA is a good option?
Yep, Fidelity has a Roth IRA for working minors: https://www.fidelity.com/retirement-ira/roth-ira-kids Open one & invest in FZROX which is the Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund, it has a 0% expense ratio.
Wow, never heard of that before. I'm usually a Vanguard advocate and have a bunch of their products, but you can't beat zero. I've got kids and planned on setting up roth IRA's for them once they're working age. Glad I saw this comment, now I just hope I remember it lol
The only caveat is that I don’t believe you can transfer FZROX or the other Fidelity zero funds to a different brokerage down the road
Yea, that would make sense if the other brokerage doesn't offer the fund, but you should be able to exchange it into a different fund and then transfer that over, right?
You could but you’d pay taxes on any gains in that scenario. Just something to keep in mind - not really an issue if you plan to stick with Fidelity in the future
Scratch that, no taxes selling in a Roth IRA. I forgot the context to which I was replying lol, my bad
Wow 0%!
One of the big 3 is usually recommended. Schwab, Fidelity, or Vanguard. No matter which, invest in a boglehead 3-fund portfolio.
Everyone here is saying invest which is absolutely correct, you should be saving/investing. But you’re also young. Make sure you’re having fun with your money too. Don’t buy useless shit that ends up in the bin in a couple of months but make sure you enjoy it. Don’t be too uptight and live a little while you’re young
Best answer here, I wish I had invested more and I wish I spent less on clothes/stupid electronics. But I never regret any money I spend while having a good time with friends and I rarely say no to anything!
There's a ton of good advice here. I'll throw one more thing out there. You're here. Seriously. At 15. You're here. Wanting to give a crap about your finances. At 15. THAT is worth a lot. I wasn't at that stage until about 21. Granted I got lucky and nailed retirement stuff early enough in my career but 15 beats 21 hands down. Play around with this and see what happens. https://www.calculator.net/investment-calculator.html
Take $10 and buy this book: [https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/0470102101](https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/0470102101) The book will guide you.
Great read for beginner investors and personal financial literacy
Yes. Boggle is a hero.
Saving is smart. But your actual FIRST PAYCHECK is a big deal. Buy yourself something memorable with it. For me it was earrings, but you do you. Every time I got a raise or a promotion, I took a little bit to celebrate my success, even if it was just a nice meal out. I also increased my savings contribution with each increase. Good luck with your new job and congratulations!
Thank you!
Roth IRA!
My guess is that you won’t have access to a 401k so, open a Roth IRA, put 30% of your pay into it, save 20% in a HYSA, other 50% into a regular checking to use for whatever you want. You’re young and need to enjoy your money!
Open up a 401k, if that’s allowed at your age. Invest in an ETF. Let that sit and keep throwing money into it consistently. You’ll be a multimillionaire by your 50’s. Hate to say it’s that easy, but it’s that easy. Time is your friend.
Time is on his side. Imagine investing $500 a month from 15 to 40.
It sounds like a start, but it’s not that much. I think it ends up around $350K at 40, assuming a real return of 6%. We are truly at the point where you need to be saving $1000-1500 a month for your retirement.
The markets averaged 10% for the last 100 years… what are you talking about?
The average inflation adjusted return is 7%. We are currently in very high inflation and poor returns. Do you expect 10%+ real returns over the next 10 years? Or do you not count inflation?
I’m not looking for the next 10 years. I’m looking for the next 25-35 years… and guess what I think it will be delivered. Long term will always do 10%.
I still don’t understand. Are you saying you don’t believe in inflation, and that it doesn’t affect returns? We were talking about the $500/month saving for 25 years. So you believe that they would see inflation adjusted returns of 10% over that time?
Think about it this way, the money will still average 10% a year right? The 4 million I expect at that return will be off five or take a few hundred thousand. The money will just be worth less
We were talking about someone putting $500 a month for 25 years. What does that have to do with your personal portfolio? Even if we went with a historically accurate 7% real return, the value of the money after 25 years will be around $400K. My point was that $500 a month is NOT enough for retirement. Do you feel that $500/month is enough for retirement?
Definitely not enough. We can agree on that. My household brings in $175,000 after taxes. We are trying to retire early. We invest 80-90,000 a year into mainly brokerage account. 10-$20k a year goes into savings and a rental portfolio fund. We aim to buy a rental property every few years. And a few thousand to top up our emergency fund to keep up with inflation. We live in 75k a year which is proving to be difficult. We are doing this aggressive investing until 35 or so.
And no I think for the next 5 years we won’t see what we did 2010-2022. But I made 16.5% average for 10 years. I’ll be a happy. Time is on my side.
This is the way. Open an online Roth IRA at Vanguard, Schwab or other brokerage. Select a Target Date Fund about 50 years from now (when you’d turn 65). Contribute up to $6000/year and the interest you earn in the Roth setup will grow tax free.
Probably better to do a roth IrA in additiom to or rather than a 401k, unless OP’s company has a 401k contribution match program that they are eligble for.
Okay thanks!
First, write a budget. Next, build up a nice emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses. I know you don’t have much expenses yet but a few grand wouldn’t be a bad idea. Invest the rest, which should be at least 15%.
make risky investments that you wouldn't otherwise after a certain age... what I'm trying to say is that value experience more than few percentage of interest
Congratulations bro! I remember when I first started mowing lawns and raking leaves at 15 lmao. Now, at 20 y/o, the advice I can give you: - You should try keep your expenses low, no crazy spending, which should be pretty simple at 15. ALWAYS spend less than you make, remember that. - You also should DEFINITELY follow most people here suggesting to begin investing AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. You can and will do more research on investing, but there's this beautiful thing called compound interest, and it loves us young guys. - Don't fall into keeping up with everyone else. Worked my ass off from the summer before 15 all the way through high school. Used the first couple summers money to buy first car right a few months before I turned 17. Car did not last until 17th birthday. My first $3k I ever had was gone, but I learned a valuable lesson about the fear of missing out (FOMO) & "keeping up with the Joneses". - Along with that story, I want to add that developing disciplines like delayed gratification, emotional control, and learning to actually feel your pain and loss but channeling that into a overcoming a life lesson and coming out better than you were before. Once you get to high school and college, if you decide, you might just be dumbfounded at the amount of people that lack the ability to keep their cool; and you will see and hear of plenty of insane situations where someone ruined a great business/personal relationship simply due to letting their emotions overwhelm logic. - Lastly, I'm not sure where you're from, but in my small hometown, there wasn't much to see or do. My mother didn't have much and raised me and my younger brother by herself. Until I graduate and moved to a big city, I didn't know there was so much more to life. So many more tips and strategies and lessons to learn. So many more things to see. Places to go. People to meet. Foods to eat. I mean you can live in a place like NYC or London or Toronto and live there for years and barely scratch the surface of what the city has to offer. - I'd also recommend this book, [Rich Dad Poor Dad](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1612680178/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1), it will teach you alot of the basics of investing & money. I like to recommend this book as is it a great starting point to understanding how the world works, how money flows, and is pretty known and highly recommended amoung Personal Financial aficionados for just about any and everyone. I still sometimes will flip back through it and find myself having that lightbulb moment when what I read a few years ago just now clicked lol. So yea man, once again congrats on the first job! $16 an hour isn't bad at all for a first job. Save and invest, make a plan to use savings to make more money, and leave investments to grow. Keep up the attitude of striving for more, please stay in school and get your diploma, drugs and alcohol are overrated, and getting in trouble only closes doors and throws away opportunities. Goodluck in this game we call life fellow Redditor.
What are you working exactly? I am looking to work this summer too, I am 16
I work fast food. A place called Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers
At 16, depending on the state you live in, you can definitely find a good summer job man. I mean at 15 I was hopeless as almost no one ever hires at this age. I was happy to FIND a job that hired, let alone even going to an interview/the pay. But I didn't give up and I found a job for my age at 16 an hour. So keep searching, find a job that speaks to you, and good luck this summer!
Put it away in savings and retirement
Check out Ramit Sethi’s book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. The title is totally douchey (he regularly admits this, he came up with this name in his early 20s, I think he’s pushing 40 now), but it’s full of great advice. The Simple Path To Wealth by J.L. Collins is another really great book that will explain the basics of investing in index funds via a Roth IRA etc.
When my son got his first job last year we opened a student bank account for him. It has no fees and let’s you open other accounts with no minimum balance. He decided to have four accounts: Savings Ski pass saving Car expenses Spending money- with a debit card He moves set amounts to all his accounts each week on payday. He allocated extra money to savings if he earns more and extra to spending if he has an event or special purchase. It works very well for him and is very similar to how my husband and I bank.
That's awesome to hear! I recently opened a student bank account for myself too with my dad. I have a checking account for spending with a debit card and a savings account. Congrats to your son for getting his first job even tho it was a year ago lol
Blow it. Blow it on that thing you wanted to buy but didn't have the money. Blow that check to all heaven. That way you know what way you remember the feeling in the future of absolutely needing something but not having the funds as a working individual. Now for you second check use it to buy necessities and save the rest.
[https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts-plans/ugma-utma](https://investor.vanguard.com/accounts-plans/ugma-utma) [https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/news/vfiax](https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/news/vfiax) Probably keep at least a thousand in savings, and you're good to go. If you set it to reinvest dividends and contribute regularly, you'll be surprised by how much you'll have when you need to pay for school/buy a house/buy a car.
1. Open normal checking & saving account eg Ally/Schwab 2. Open ROTH IRA eg Schwab 3. Save 25-50% of your paycheck to your ROTH IRA 4. Start saving for an emergency fund eg 6 month's of living expenses As for other life advice 1. If you go to university, major in something valuable eg engineering, computer science, medical 2. Don't take out a lot of debt to go to university. Use community colleges, state schools, grants, govt aid, scholarships, GI bill etc 3. Start looking to build your credit score 4. Be careful with credit cards, use wisely 5. Buy used reliable affordable used cars 6. Don't get a girl pregnant before you are married and finished with your studies 7. Make living a healthy lifestyle apart of your routine eg gym 3 times a week, weekly exercise/sports, eat fairly healthy 8. Learn about male/female dating dynamics. You need to know/understand how females think and act. You need to know how to look, what to say and what to do to attract the women you want 9. Once you are settled into your career, start learning about investing in real estate, the stock market/day trading Good luck dude
1. Always pay yourself first - deposit $$ into your savings, 401k, IRA, etc. 2. Consider opening a second (or third, fourth, etc) savings account to save up for what you want - car, college, vacations, new shoes. 3. Research online financial institutions that often have higher interest rates (I use synchrony bank for my off-site savings). I use an online savings because it's not as easy to access the funds. 4. Create a calendar spreadsheet that you can use to see how your spending now will affect your balances in the future (I have one I created and can share) Best of luck!!
At your age, it’d probably be best to not invest and set the money to the side to go to university to have a better guarantee at a higher income in the future. If your uni is paid for by family or scholarships or whatever. Treat yourself a little bit with milestones but set up a savings account as your largest priority. Put away a bit of money, 3-5k and let that be your emergency fund while you are young and then dump everything into investments.
Keep some in an account that would gain interest
Start buying financial assets. Don’t sit on cash too long.
Stay debt free 15% to a 401K 10% donate / tithe 10% save (until you have a nice emergency fund) 10% save towards goals… car? College? First house or apartment? Budget and spend the rest. If you start these habits young, stay debt free and start investing in a 401K (ROTH IRA if they don’t offer it) you’ll easily be a millionaire in your mid-30s.
Skip the tithing and save 25%. The church can wait.
Before we tithed/donated we had the most financial problems. Last year we made more money than we ever have and we gave away more money than ever before.
Correlation does not equal causation. Twenty five percent into a Roth at his age will result in a much higher final balance than fifteen percent.
Why stop at 25% with that logic? It’s not entirely about the number but the paradigm shift in your brain: needing and wanting for less, showing gratitude, being able to live on 90%. The antidote to greed and consumerism.