Over the past year, I’ve spent my first year in Chicago and I’ve learned a lot about how to live here on a budget. I’ve been mindful of where I spend which has helped me get smart about things that are worth splurging on and things that I can cut corners on.
Some people dream of self-employment and the perks that come with it. Who doesn’t want to set their own schedule, doing something they love, and foster the growth of something they built themselves? While I, too, partake in these self-employment dreams, I also don’t discount the enormous benefits that my 9-5 brings me every day.
As a 23-year-old just starting out in the workforce, I’ve had to think long and hard about how I’m using my money. My strategy has been to intentionally give every dollar a purpose so that I can prioritize saving and investing while also allowing myself to spend on things that are important to me.
First of all, credit cards can be a force for good if you use them correctly or else, they become your worst enemy. This article… Read More »How to Get Your First Credit Card and What to Do Once You Have It
Let’s be real, after graduating college, a lot of us aren’t starting out with the traditional 9-5. The current economy makes things worse with employers… Read More »Budgeting with Inconsistent Income
Today, I introduce to you the sinking fund. This handy little personal finance technique is designed to lower that anxiety around big bills and make you much more confident in splurging for things like big vacations or new phones! Keep reading to see how easy it is to start a sinking fund (or two or three!).
The last step to opening a Roth IRA is picking and funding your investments. Today, I will walk you through the steps I took to pick my investments and choose how much money to put into each one.
The first step in my process to opening my Roth IRA was to pick a method of investing. There were three types of methods I was interested in because they are all commonly recommended by other personal finance creators and the finance world in general. They are investing with a robo-advisor, investing in a target-date fund, and DIY investing.
About a week ago, I decided it was time to open a Roth IRA. For context, I am a 22-year-old who graduated college in May 2020. My full-time employment has been delayed until January 2021. I have been filling my time with various side hustles and have actually started to make some money. I’ve decided that the postponement of my employment should not preclude me from starting to invest for retirement.
It is really important to structure how and when you allocate each paycheck. By flipping the conventional “save what’s leftover each month” mentality, you will find that “paying yourself first”, or putting money into savings right when you get paid, will allow you to save much more than you would have with the former mindset.