There will be a multitude of financial posts to follow, but since this is my first post, I’ll start at the basics.
My son is in high school currently (2015) and will likely be off to college and then join the workforce. This “Big People” finance I speak of is for those people who are just turning into “Big” people or joining the “real” world. Ok, fuck the quotes, I’ll cool it. You’ve got a job after high-school or college and it’s time to figure out what needs to be done AFTER bills for the month have been paid on time (always a first in case you needed a reminder).
Most folks I know want to retire as fast as they can from their main job. I prefer to think instead of retirement more as financial independence. The choice to do whatever the hell I want. To start a business, to work at the gas station just to see the weird of the world, you know…WHATEVER.
To become financially independent, you need a few basic things as a start:
- A tracking tool. I like Personal Capital as it’s free and auto-updates most of my accounts. You need to know where your moolah is going at all times.
- A goal of when you want to be FI (financially independent takes too long to type). This will help when sculpting your plan.
- An idea of how much you can set aside each month. Make this a stretch, just a bit uncomfortable, but not so much that you will say “screw this bozo!” after the first rough month.
- What tax-deferred or special tax accounts are available to you. What accounts am I speaking of? 401k’s (through work usually), HSA’s (for those with high deductible health insurance plans) IRA’s (Roth is after-tax $ but no taxes upon withdrawl & Traditional is simply tax deferred) These will be your best bets to let your money grow without tax burden.
These are basics, but these 4 steps can give you the foundational information you need to start making the decisions that will not only help you sleep better at night, but also increase your net worth and eventually give you financial independence (damnit! Did it again). I’ll go into more depth on each of these steps in later posts. – CD
Yeah, That's Nice 