Ask Lemmy

27281 readers

1836 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

6) No US Politics.

Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected] or [email protected]

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

115

How are you doing financially? (lemm.ee)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

133 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I read that half of Americans couldn’t cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. This sounds crazy to me. I understand that poverty exists, but the idea that an adult with a job doesn’t even have that amount saved up seems really strange.

What’s your relationship or philosophy with money? What do you credit for your financial success, or alternatively, what do you blame for your failures?

For the extra brave ones: how much savings do you have, and what are you planning to do with them?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

First, I chose a college degree that would lead to a career which would pay well out of college. I picked a more expensive college than I should have, but it was worth it and they gave me some scholarships.

Second, I lived under my means for the first few years. I made it a goal to build up at least three months' salary as backup in savings. I've rented, but only in places with rent control, so my rent doesn't increase drastically per year.

Third, after having a growing nest egg, I starting putting money towards my non-federal student debt to get rid of that payment, especially when I was working additional hours at work. I was able to pay off my 30 year loans in 10 years. After I paid that off, all the money I used for student debt went into my 401(k) and other investments.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Pretty traditional route, but it's traditional because it works.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Yeah. I think one thing I need to note is that I used debt as a tool.

There has only been a handful of times I paid interest on a credit card as I've treated it like spending cash.

I had college debt, but that's because I had a plan for college going into it and kept the plan. The increase in wages paid for the debt payments.

I've bought new cars, but I buy cars way under my means and with the near zero interest rates that manufacturers use to get sales. Then, after I pay off the car, the payment goes into savings until I need a new car.

Debt requires self control, but it can be a good tool when used well.