3 ms·

Holy heck lots of boring adult advice in these comments on how to be sensible. Get wild, just don’t make permanent mistakes like taking hard drugs or getting k

Holy heck lots of boring adult advice in these comments on how to be sensible. Get wild, just don’t make permanent mistakes like taking hard drugs or getting killed in a car accident. Apart from that, break all the rules kiddo.

dougmwne 5y ago
Yeah, all this damn investing advice. Don't suffocate your youth with frugality. You will have decades to chase money and career and the money will come much easier later. Spend it, but aim it on improving yourself or opening new doors in your life, not on vanity. Invest in yourself now, the index funds can wait a few years.
- viraptor 5y ago
  It's not about frugality. Just getting in the habit of thinking about finances can help a lot. It's not like throwing a $100 (adjust for your location, habits, etc. it can be $10) into a fund every month will take a lot of time or is likely to displace some other activity in your life. You can review it once a year and add some piece of information each time - how to max your retirement fund, how to switch bills around to save fees, etc. But if you start late, you may need to learn everything at once and realise you have minimal savings, no buffer for an unlucky event, and catching up will take thousands a month now. Doing the minimum on financial habits will not stop you from improving, opening new doors, or doing other things.
  - than3 5y ago
    I agree with the sentiment, but this whole area is filled with a huge amount of misinformation, especially when it comes to what affects credit score. I've known many people that believe constantly carrying a balance (percentage of max) on their credit cart improves their overall credit score which is a good thing, and that's wrong. It may improve credit utilization score but you are paying 30+% interest each month in fees which compounds against you. Reviewing finances only once a year won't provide enough time to correct course if there are important changes in trends, it needs to be done monthly or quarterly. I'd say the majority of investing advice out there is solid advice only some of the time often with circumstances that prove it to be bad advice some of the time. If you don't understand the fundamentals (which aren't taught in school) then you are more likely to lose money than anything else and have had your time you spent earning that money wasted.
mbrodersen 5y ago
Nothing stops you from being smart long term (by investing) while having fun short term.

dougmwne 5y ago

Yeah, all this damn investing advice. Don't suffocate your youth with frugality. You will have decades to chase money and career and the money will come much easier later. Spend it, but aim it on improving yourself or opening new doors in your life, not on vanity. Invest in yourself now, the index funds can wait a few years.

viraptor 5y ago
It's not about frugality. Just getting in the habit of thinking about finances can help a lot. It's not like throwing a $100 (adjust for your location, habits, etc. it can be $10) into a fund every month will take a lot of time or is likely to displace some other activity in your life. You can review it once a year and add some piece of information each time - how to max your retirement fund, how to switch bills around to save fees, etc. But if you start late, you may need to learn everything at once and realise you have minimal savings, no buffer for an unlucky event, and catching up will take thousands a month now. Doing the minimum on financial habits will not stop you from improving, opening new doors, or doing other things.
- than3 5y ago
  I agree with the sentiment, but this whole area is filled with a huge amount of misinformation, especially when it comes to what affects credit score. I've known many people that believe constantly carrying a balance (percentage of max) on their credit cart improves their overall credit score which is a good thing, and that's wrong. It may improve credit utilization score but you are paying 30+% interest each month in fees which compounds against you. Reviewing finances only once a year won't provide enough time to correct course if there are important changes in trends, it needs to be done monthly or quarterly. I'd say the majority of investing advice out there is solid advice only some of the time often with circumstances that prove it to be bad advice some of the time. If you don't understand the fundamentals (which aren't taught in school) then you are more likely to lose money than anything else and have had your time you spent earning that money wasted.

mbrodersen 5y ago

Nothing stops you from being smart long term (by investing) while having fun short term.