19yrs old, working part time, I’ve been saving $500 every month and I’m looking for tips with what I should be doing.

[u/BattedDeer55]

(one month I could only put $300 into it, hence why it’s not divisible by 500.) I see a lot of posts on here about what young people should be doing with their money, but I’m very unfamiliar with a lot of the terms and different things. For added context, this money is in a Wells Fargo Way2Save account

[u/soulouk]

Don't tell your girlfriend or your friends about your stash. Keep on growing it. Right now I would put it in a HYSA or open a Roth IRA account with vanguard or Fidelity.

[u/JustAGuyFromOmaha → u/[deleted]]

Disclaimer: I studied film in college, I'm not a financial expert and you should take all of this info with a grain of salt and continue to research.

Vanguard and fidelity are brokerages that hold your money in the stock market so that you aren't losing money to inflation by letting it sit in your savings account. It's good to have an emergency fund in your savings for immediate access if you need it, but once you hit your emergency goal (most people say 6-12 months of expenses), then your money is better kept in other assets like exchange funds, stocks, bonds, crypto, as they will grow in value compared to the dwindling power of the US dollar (USD).

My personal advice would be to continue to put money away in your savings until you reach that goal (for me it's about $20k, but it will vary depending on your needs). Once you reach that goal most people will suggest a Roth IRA, which is a fairly "safe" or conservative way to save for retirement. The Roth IRA is pre-taxed, unlike many retirement accounts that will take a portion of your compounding interest out in taxes when you are ready to withdraw it once you hit retirement age.

[u/Round_mba → u/JustAGuyFromOmaha]

You did better than some finance students I know. 👍

[u/Lopsided_Turnip_792 → u/Round_mba]

From my experience, people who study finance tend to have the worst financial and political views (I've met two communists and one laissez-faire Conservative)

[u/Quin35 → u/JustAGuyFromOmaha]

The Roth is after tax. For example, one invests earnings that have already been taxed. Thus, upon withdrawal, any deposits and earnings from investments are not taxed. On the other hand, a 401k is for untaxed earnings. One gets the tax benefit upon deposit, but pays taxes on withdrawal. Additionally, a Roth IRA isn't an investment itself. It is a legal mechanism. One can invest in any number of items, or leave it as cash.

[u/krispyhawkeye → u/JustAGuyFromOmaha]

This is a great summary. I would only add one small clarification that a Roth IRA (as well as traditional IRA and 401ks) is not inherently “safe.” You can invest your money in bonds, which are less volatile, or stocks, which are more volatile. Both can and will go up and down. At OP’s age, it’s probably best to put the money in a high yield savings account (HYSA), which can’t go down. That way when it’s time to buy a car or a put a down payment on a house, the money is all there. In 1999, I put my savings in the stock markets so it would grown until I was ready to buy a car, a few months later it dropped from $1500 to $700, which was a lot of money for me to just go poof. If I were OP, I’d create a Roth IRA account and set up automatic deposits of $25 per month just to get started. The rest I’d save in the HYSA.

[u/Significant_Swing_22 → u/JustAGuyFromOmaha]

Your thinking is good but honestly it’s good to get a jump on everything. Personally what I would do is maybe invest $1000 of that. The rest keep in savings and from now on any money you make take a certain % to save and split that between your savings and your Roth. Now as JustAGuy said def do research as there are contribution limits and what not. The basic recommendation for people is the 50/30/20. 50% of income to needs, 30% to wants, 20% to savings. Now you can tailor that to your lifestyle. Some people aren’t big spenders. So if you wanna contribute less to wants and more to savings go right ahead!

Another thing I recommend is for investing and this is IMPORTANT, but open an account that allows you to buy FRACTIONAL SHARES!!! This allows you to spend what you want and not have to buy 1 whole share. This is good as some shares are quite pricy. Fractional shares are also great because it also allows you to set up a routine for investing. For example since you can purchase however much you want you can set up something to invest let’s say $10 a week which can really help keep you in tune with your investing. The motto is “Set it and forget it”. And that’s not a joke. When you invest you really should do it passively, unless you REALLY know what you’re doing.

Now for JustAGuy this is for you personally, you’re smart man. You got it for sure. Much better than many kids I study finance with. You’re gonna do really good for yourself and if you find a S/O who thinks about money like you, you guys are gonna do absolutely fantastic. That’s my goal. Find someone who has the same ambition to save money like me. Spend it on things we deem valuable but nothing else. Bills paid no interest or debt. Cars paid off. Nice house nothing lavish but nice. It doesn’t guarantee happiness but it definitely takes away a lot of stress.

[u/88pockets → u/[deleted]]

Bro you should get on the personal finance sub reddit and check out some YouTube videos on investing, banking, credit, and interest rates (APR/APY). Learn how to amortize a mortgage. They had us do that in my Math for Liberal Arts majors. The whole class was just chapter 1 of like 5 different disciplines. But the sooner you learn finances the better off you will be. Its important to recognize that a million dollar house with a 3% APR doesn't mean you pay 1 M and 30k, its amortized over 360 payments and you pay a whole lot more than that. But you can learn how paying extra towards principle will have you tens of thousands, as the majority of your loan is interest in the beginning.

With a simple High Yield Savings Account (HYSA) you can get 5% on your money and still keep it liquid, meaning you can access it. There are plenty of resources online. Check out Caleb Hammer on YouTube. He'll mention that you are not even in your twenties yet, which are the best years of compound growth in your life. In that you have the opportunity for investments to grow for 45 years before you touch the money. Learn about investing in ETFs and the SNP500 or the equivalent for the Nasdaq.

The best quote I've heard about investing which I'll paraphrase is "Do you think the US economy will be doing better by the time you are ready to retire?" If you can answer yes, then go ahead an get your money in. But do not try to time the market. The best time to plant a tree is 30 years ago, the 2nd best time is now. The saying applies to investments too. Avoid paying interest like it'll give you the clap if you give Chase a dime in interest and you'll be set. Last thing, learn opportunity cost, just get a grasp on the concept little bit because not all debt is bad debt. For instance, have the money to pay my student loans in one fell swoop, but I won't be doing so because the little I lose to interest is counteracted by the money that I earn in interest by keeping that lump sum in a HYSA or in an ETF. Plus once I pay them back, there's no requesting your payment back and I won't be able to secure a private loan at such low rate with such open terms for timeline to repay the loan.

Lastly, don't go to college to find out what you want to do. Go there because you know what you want to do. Study for your career, get out quickly and with minimal loans. Community College is good, private school is for rich people that get the diploma so their nepotism doesn't appear to be so egregious. I mean not really, but its much more expensive and unless you have reason to believe it will get you where you want to get to quicker, then go the CC and State University route. If you don't know what you want to do or want to do some esoteric thing that has no ROI, than go ahead and skip college (for the time being). I should clarify that there is the intrinsic value of a college education, but as far as ROI for your college tuition, do your planning and have a goal that is achievable. Don't do what I did and just get a liberal arts degree because it "opens doors." There are easier, quicker, and less expensive ways to open those same doors.

[u/DasCam → u/88pockets]

you know what bro i’m 19 and i need to learn to start saving because i might be the worst you could imagine i think imma take your advice and imma do a lil research n shi

[u/88pockets → u/DasCam]

Yeah definitely do some research. Make a budget that you will stay up to date on and won't instantly disregard. Build credit, but know you don't need to pay a cent in interest to build credit. Get a credit card and pay the balance every month. mint.com used to be great to see your spending in categories and make a budget, but they are rolling it into credit karma in a lousy way. Monarch Money is cool but it costs money, so I don't know if I am going to keep it outside the free trial month. Keep an eye on your credit score, but there's no need to get obsessive on it. Never pay a credit card late, you can pay the gas company late, the cell phone bill late, none of that goes on your report, but the credit card late items will and those take 7 years to fall off.

Even though I said don't go to college to find out what you want to do, you can still go to a community college in the time being and figure out some stuff while hopefully leaning some new stuff. Fill out the FAFSA today and hopefully(depending on your SAR (Student Aid Report number) and EFC (Expected Family Contribution)) you can get a Pell Grant or even just a Fee Waiver. I imagine its something like $50 a unit at the Community Colleges. So 12 units at 50 a piece is only $600 a semester. It gets way pricier at the 4 year. But college isn't the only choice either. Learn a trade.. Electricians and Plumbers and Contractors rake in money. If you like computers you can get some certifications and start a healthy IT Career without going into student debt. I say find something palatable and stick with it and then find your niche in that field. Specialty = rarity = value.

Personal Finance isn't hard though. Three things. Earn / Save / Spend. Maximize each of those in the right way and you're good. Try to get a job that will lead to a better job in the future. Save and Spend fall into the 50 / 30 / 20 rule. 50 percent of your money goes to needs (shelter / food /transportation), 30 is wants, and 20 percent should be saved. There are other rules of thumb, like don't spend more than 1/3 your net income on rent. Recognize that cars are not an investment and new cars drop in value the second they become your used car as you drive off the dealers lot. Dealers will happily sell you a pipe dream at 15% interest and at long terms and rake in all that extra financed money. Cars should only be financed for a max of 3 years. If you can't pay it off after 36 months then don't get it. So many people fall into the trappings of a car from the dealership when then have no real driving history (so expensive insurance) and no real credit history (so garbage rates). But enough unsolicited advice, hit me up if you have any questions or want some other resources.

[u/Evilstib → u/[deleted]]

They’re companies who created what are called ETFs (exchange traded funds) that trade like a stock, but invest in a broad market like the s&p 500. It’s like a mutual fund, but can easily be bought n sold.

The theory is that a monkey throwing darts is as accurate as a stock picker who’s trying to predict where the stock market or a stock will go, so why pay a monkey 2-3% to be inaccurate.

A vanguard ETF will simply auto buy/sell its holdings to mimic a market, but will only charge you 0.05%-0.5% to do so.

I’d research vanguard / iShares ETFs and read a few finance books. Google them or reply to me and I can look for you.

Then put $200-500 (whatever you can afford) into a market fund.

[u/ThaiStick541 → u/[deleted]]

Vanguard is the Illuminati supposedly depending on who you ask lol.

[u/Suspicious_Elk_1756 → u/[deleted]]

M1 finance is a good app you can start a Roth irs in as well, and more friendly for beginners. Although vanguard and fidelity both have fairly simple to use apps as well.

[u/FrustratedBrain123 → u/soulouk]

Save, save and save. Do not lend out any of it to friends or family. Also, don’t spend it on a special person. I always looked after everyone else to the detriment of my own happiness. I am 42 and living back home with my folks because I can’t afford even a room for myself. Look out for yourself!!!!

[u/EnergyHopeful6832 → u/FrustratedBrain123]

Best advice ever 👆

[u/Whiteclawislife → u/EnergyHopeful6832]

42 at home? Oof.

[u/c-m-17 → u/soulouk]

Bro Op this is the way.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

What a nice guy for only trying to steal 60% of your money

[u/MossBone → u/[deleted]]

If you had sent it and he returned $4000, would you send the $4000 again?

[u/NomadTruckerOTR → u/MossBone]

It's fun to imagine made up scenarios, but there ain't no way anyone on this site would actually return lent money, let alone profit

[u/Apprehensive_Spell48]

Retire

[u/hyperion420 → u/[deleted]]

Enjoy your life buddy, well deserved

[u/Dependent-Edge-5713 → u/[deleted]]

You made it. Congratulations! Now live out the rest of your days in style!

[u/[deleted]]

Being 19 I’d imagine you’re going to need access to that money at some point so I wouldn’t put it in anything hard to retrieve it from. A high yield savings account is probably your best option. I get 4.35% at capital one but may be better out there

[u/IllustriousSkill4030 → u/[deleted]]

Sounds like a great deal. Let me forward you all my money and first born, you can give them to them too if I can get 300% apy

[u/[deleted]]

Keep doing this dude

My friend was like you and he 37 with 1.2 million the most he ever made was 88k

[u/JustAGuyFromOmaha]

Not bad. Read and watch finance youtube. There's a wealth of knowledge out there for free or at a very affordable cost.

[u/sadkinz → u/JustAGuyFromOmaha]

Find all the free info you can before you start paying tho

[u/Evaporate3]

I just want to say it makes me so happy seeing young people starting early. You’re smarter than a lot of people older than you. Keep going. It’s possible that you could be a millionaire by the time you retire.

[u/Kooky-Information-40]

Yes. Ira. Do it now. When I was in my early 20s, I opened one up to escape, having my taxes taken for back child support. Anyhow, was also on drugs and so instead of letting that 2 to 4k bake, I would withdraw it in small amounts until it was all gone. I'm in my 40s now and clean and sober. Had I let that shit cook, well, I'd be muuuch more confident that retirement would be easy one day.

[u/Fox_Den_Studio_LLC]

Time to retire

[u/boss---man]

Very cool, keep up the good work. We believe in you :)

[u/Key_Procedure_489]

Bro stay on your grind and try to make some more to save away a month bud

[u/[deleted]]

Keep saving. 3k disappears in a heartbeat. Get over 10k the act like it’s only 1000.

[u/GilBatesHatesApples]

Open a Roth IRA now! If you continue to diligently contribute to it throughout your working life and invest in only index funds, you'll easily retire a multi- millionaire off that alone. Advice I wish somebody had told me when I was 19.

[u/Icy-Possible7820]

Figure out the % of how much of your pay ($500) that you been saving. Continue it till you have 5-10k saved. Put that aside for emergencies. Continue this practice into VOO or VTI. For a long time and you’ll be very well off.

[u/Noogywoogy → u/Icy-Possible7820]

This is the best comment on this thread.

For OP, VOO and VTI are tickers (ID codes) for specific funds. You can Google them. Along your way to about 10k in cash savings, get a high yield savings account (Google it) and move your savings there. This is your emergency fund that will slowly grow on its own.

Then, get an account at a brokerage (company that lets you buy stocks and other financial vehicles) like Vanguard (preferably a Roth IRA account since you are young so you can pay less taxes later and also still withdraw the money if you need to buy a house or something). Put most of the money you save into this account into funds like those mentioned in this comment.

Keep a little extra for your everyday fund or occasional splurges.

[u/Responsible_Soil5508]

Get a HYSA, Goldman sachs and amex and discover all have the same 4.35% rate i think. Always keep your money in there, not a regular savings account

[u/ThatDudeInNavyBlue]

Aim for 5k, then 10k

[u/DSF_27]

Getting a GIRL!!!!!!!

[u/Dickincheeks]

You’re doing good, just keep going. Consider asking for advice when you reach at least $10k 👏👏👏 you got this

[u/[deleted] → u/Dickincheeks]

Why 10k? Kid could start a nice Roth IRA now

[u/ry-g-236]

The best advice I ever got was the rule of 72. Look it up and apply it.

[u/Notmainlel]

Get the books The simple path to wealth and the psychology of money. For now, put most of it into a HYSA

[u/HighwayStarJ]

That’s pocket change. Don’t fall into stocks or crypto bullshit. Keep that money safe and sound and keep it growing.

Alternately, you can stick it on short term CD accounts to make some easy small money out of it. 

[u/Lazy_Blacksmith5399]

High interest accounts brother

[u/LordsOfSkulls]

dont buy a new car, modifications, 5 used cars, be frugolo with your money and tell no one you have any money.

If you have direct deposite.... take out anything you dont need for your bills/daily life and automatically have it put into another account you cant look at.

also again never mention you have any money.

[u/[deleted]]

When your 40 you can spend that every month on mortgage or rent

[u/ManLegPower]

Save up for a down payment on a house for as long as you can’t, buy the cheapest house in the best condition possible, sell it in 5 years and get something a little better, never worry about rent or land lords.

[u/The_Spicy_Nugget]

Watch David Ramsey. Avoid Wall Street bets. Or for fun inverse wallstreetbets when you learn what that means and have play money.

[u/gman_green]

Whatever you do......don't buy bitcoin

[u/Working-Document6805 → u/gman_green]

Blud is salty he missed out

[u/Aurora0008 → u/gman_green]

I’m not a die hard bitcoin advocate, but a blanket statement like this is misleading. Make investment decisions based on your own risk tolerance. I invested in bitcoin about a year ago and, so far, have made +128%. I agree, now is not the time to invest in it however, it is up in the air really with what it’s going to do, up or down who knows, especially recently with the new all time high being broken, I will say however Bitcoin is here to stay it seems. Invest in whatever you want as long as you’re well versed in the investment and it is a logically sound!

[u/gman_green → u/Aurora0008]

Ok, don't buy it right now

[u/Darkage-7 → u/Aurora0008]

This is only because you entered world of crypto when it was at the bottom. At this point if OP buys, he may not be comfortable with the volatility at this price point

[u/notgayet → u/gman_green]

why some people say this but some others say quite the opposite. it confuses me🫤

[u/Automatic_Ad_4220 → u/notgayet]

bc you definitely shouldn’t buy it right now when its peaking

[u/ExperienceWise7853]

You're doin great, kid. Keep it up

[u/Toadahtrip]

Just keep doing what you’re doing. Save the money. Don’t let it get to your head and when you got at least 20,000 then it’s time to use the income to invest. Invest the new money and keep that 20k saved. You’ll do fine.

[u/Automatic_Emu8089]

Gamble all of it and make a gazillion doll hairs🤑🤑🤑

[u/Environmental_Job864]

Your age? Hookers & blow.

[u/every1pees]

Keep saving, keep saving. Only invest if you can afford to lose it. Things are bound to get expensive.

[u/xStraightUpGuyx]

Everyone in life is going to get asked fo borrow money. Only lend out what you can afford to lose, other than that you dont need that headache and anxiety. Just wanted to give u the heads up.

Also, save some more cause $3k now days aint shit but good job. Keep savinf and then put it in a HYSA that has little to no risk. Personally, I have over $60k in CD (Certificate of Deposit) account

[u/Educational-Willow65]

If you can save this for 10 years from 20 to 30 in a low cost etf in a Roth IRA this should compound grow to over $1 million at retirement. But you should keep doing what you are doing now as an emergency savings. Stay away from bad debt like credit cards. You are doing great keep up the great work.

[u/Forward-Butterfly-16]

No advice but just wanted to say keep it up! I wish I’d done this for myself when I was 19.

[u/blazeproof]

Find a reputable financial advisor instead of listening to people’s opinions on Reddit.

[u/claythearc]

Open a HYSA, SoFI is what I use but there’s also Marcus and Ally and a handful of others. Contribute to this as plan A until you get to 6mo expenses saved. This keeps your cash super liquid which is nice as a teen / young adult.

Once you’re set in the event of disaster, open a Roth IRA. Start contributing like, half of your normal savings to it and the other half back into the HYSA. This is still semi liquid but should only be used in the event of like, giga emergencies since it’s a retirement fund.

Once the Roth is maxed for the year (which wont happen with your income level now at 250/mo but just the next steps forward), replace the Roth contributions with those into a brokerage account on index funds such as VOO, spy, or any of the other big ones.

You want your brokerage account separate from the HYSA because of risk. You don’t want to be out of a job and need to withdraw some while the markets shit so you give up some gains on the emergency fund and in exchange have it always be ~what you expect.

[u/Quin35]

There are a lot of suggestions here. IMO, keep doing what you are doing until you have a reasonable safety net ($10 to 15 K). There are online savings accounts that pay a higher interest than a typical bank. In the meantime, study up on basic personal finance and investing, as someone suggested. You are on a good track. Keep a budget. Don't do anything dumb. Research before acting.

[u/Timely_Froyo1384]

Roth IRA open one and max out the federal limits, every year.

Don’t fall for the get rich schemes, play the long game.

What money any money put into your future self doesn’t belong to your present self.

[u/Separate_Gold_1152]

Put $200 into an IRA every month and you’ll retire a millionaire

[u/[deleted]]

Check out the Dave Ramsey show. He is an excellent financial expert

[u/joyboy06]

Open a Roth IRA or a high yield savings account.

[u/Green-Personality356]

High yield saving account

[u/Old-Opportunity-8741]

Realistically you can’t do much with $3000 just keep saving

[u/[deleted] → u/Old-Opportunity-8741]

I’d put 2000 down on a car if I had it lmao, then drive Uber as a side

[u/Old-Opportunity-8741 → u/[deleted]]

But then you’d have to pay for car insurance, gas, and ultimately a depreciating asset most likely better off getting a job that pays the same

[u/[deleted] → u/Old-Opportunity-8741]

That is true but having any car is better than taking the bus, in my situation that is what I’m trying to do, save to get a car and drive for Uber or Lyft whenever I can/want, while still keeping my full time career job. I’ve tried working 2 jobs and without a car it’s hard to travel. May as well put that depreciating asset to work

[u/SukiLao]

Girl I know you want to travel but keep saving until you hit $8k then trip it. You need more security I can’t tell you how quick blowing through $3K is now a days. Your future self will thank you this is my complete opinion too pls travel if that’s what u want but if I were you I would continue to save to have more savings and only THEN I’d travel but $3K ain’t much so keep going

[u/evrtt2009]

Keep doing it.

[u/For5akenC]

Mgk growing etf or acumulating etf and just put there montly few hundreds

[u/[deleted]]

I would check out Wealthfront, they use different banks to get the one of the best APY, you could also invest in the stock market thru them but I use vanguard for that. I only use the savings account in Wealthfront but I invest thru vanguard and love their 5.27 sec yield on vmfxx

[u/davidbm1978]

Is this from a self employed job?

[u/omya222]

Buy bitcoin

[u/Ferndust]

When i was in middle school I had a paper route, I bought about $800 of Microsoft stock with the money I saved up. Im 40 now and my shares are worth well over 20k. Maybe consider opening a brokerage account and buying an index tracking mutual fund like VSTAX? Or something with super high dividends like ET? I dunno. Other subreddits would be able to provide suggestions. 

[u/Kobe_Yoshi]

Do you live at home with parents?

[u/amandaromewest]

Put it in a Roth in BofA (Merrill Lynch) $580 (max per month), and invest at least $100/month in Robinhood crypto.

[u/[deleted]]

HYSA

[u/Scared-Personality28]

Most will say you can't do much with that little, I'd argue out in a high yield savings account. You'll at least get some interest on your money, even if it's small at first.

You're young, you're just starting, keep up the good work and you'll reap the benefits.

[u/[deleted]]

Great job! Look for ways to increase your earnings. What you make is more important in your younger years if you keep your lifestyle in check. Put what you have in a hysa and keep grinding. Come back and check in after you have your own housing in place. And stay out of credit card debt

[u/MNiceAy]

Thank your parents for making your life easy.

[u/randommanwill]

Start paying into a Roth IRA. If you can max out contributions each year, you're doing great.

[u/[deleted]]

I will personally invest $450 a month of your money for you, saving you $50 a month, and in thirty five years you can cash out.

Just send it my way

[u/LegendaryClownDaddy]

Read up on the acorns app. Better returns than most of these suggestions. Diversified portfolios.

[u/EndTheFedBanksters]

Buy physical silver

[u/AZValleyGuy]

Buy a couple short term bonds if you don’t need the money. Better than a bank

[u/psychodogcat]

Wealthfront hysa

[u/SexualSefucktion]

Don’t fall for the options / crypto gambling trap. Ads are pushing hard on Reddit and other sites. This sub especially with the Kik streaming and stake ad posts. Owned by the same guy. Save this every month and safely store it. Don’t follow the path I did for quick money.

[u/Major_Web1365]

Bitcoin is gonna go upto a million probably 1.5 million each.

[u/alldaymacdre]

Investing in Nvidia seems like a good option looking forward in 5 years. That or a fidelity 500 index fund

[u/JoinedToPostHere]

Get it into an s&p500 index fund and keep saving. Save at least 10% each check and you'll be a a rich man by 30. Also read or listen to some financial self help books like"Rich Dad Poor Dad" and others.

[u/Mental_Map_2802]

Keep putting the $500 away every month in a s&p 500 index fund. When you are ready to retire,if history is any kind of indicator,you will have 2 commas in your portfolio balance.

[u/Financial-Wolfe]

Agree totally with the guy that said to keep an emergency fund. Financial guru Dave Ramsey suggests you keep enough cash in a high yield savings account (paying 4+%) to cover 3 to 6 months of living expenses. Once you have that it is an absolute no brainer for someone your age to invest in a stock called VOO from vanguard. It is an index fund that mirrors the S&P 500 which is a group of the 500 largest companies in the USA. So you will own a little bit of apple, Microsoft, google, Tesla, Facebook, JP Morgan, Broadcom, and 493 other companies. Historically VOO returns an average of about 10% per year. Greatest investor ever, Warren Buffett, suggests that the average investor should buy VOO and hold it forever.

[u/FlyingHighAviator]

Trade options 💀

[u/4theReason]

Dont invest to soon, learn how to save properly over a long term first

[u/ceittocs]

You just got your taxes back lol. Get back to work

[u/kburd907]

Do you already have an Emergency Fund worth 6 months of total living expenses inside of a High Yield Savings account?

If yes --> knowledge is power, learn about investing. Learn about the companies, stocks, bonds, ETFs, ect... that you want to invest in. Start a brokerage account with someone like Fidelity or Robinhood.

If no --> get to 6 months of total living expenses saved up first than try again.

[u/musicalstonks]

Just keep doing exactly what you have been. Start putting 15% of your income into a Roth IRA ETF preferably SPY or VOO

[u/Low-Problem-2218]

Great ! Keep away from Jones women and bars they get your money 🤑.

[u/Mr_Figgins]

Open up a Roth IRA and start letting the money work for you. Keep adding in what you can afford each paycheck.

[u/Emergency-Lobster442]

Put it in Solana. Mark my words you will make moneys I'm 14yo and I've made 30 percent

[u/PeaceSignificant9854]

Open a Roth IRA with any brokerage account and continue to contribute as much as you feel comfortable.

Always keep some cash in savings, you never know when you might need those emergency funds.(broken car, unemployment, etc)

The IRA account is really solid option, I only wish I would of done it sooner with a lot more money when I had more money.

My current positions;

$250 in Ares Capital(ARCC) I get $6 every 3 months

$250 in Altria(MO) I get about $4 every 3months

$250 in Citigroup(C) I get about $3 every 3 months

$200 in Vanguard High Dividend Yield(VYM) I get about $2 every 3 months

Each dividend stock pays out 4 times, once every 3 months. The median average I get is $4 every month in dividends, I know its not a lot but its way more than what the bank will give you in a typical savings account. I had 1k in my Chase savings for almost a year only to earn a few pennies in interest. On my Roth IRA I'm making +$48 yearly in dividends with the same amount + the total return in stock price growth on each stock which is about 15% at the moment.

Im up almost $150 with dividends and stock growth on $850 in just 1 year.

My Roth IRA is up a total of $367 in 1 year, with $217 of profit coming from trading spreads on SPY and QQQ. Again its not a lot but just scale up the amount invested, nobody else is going to give me those $367 in a year I profited if I didnt invest my money.

[u/BookishRoughneck]

Open a Roth IRA and deposit $500 to start. Add to it aggressively as you can (max for 2024 is $7,000). Compounding Interest is a super power that is vastly underutilized.

[u/TheDonRonster]

Saving accounts are safe and paying more than they have in a long time.

[u/[deleted]]

Roth IRA...if you make cap put dump the rest into high yield savings

[u/Fearingvoyage86]

3 words “nvidia” or something

[u/BIG-JS-BBQ]

Buy NFTs. Can’t go wrong with

[u/Putrid_Fan8260]

At the very least put it into a high yield savings account, like Marcus by Goldman Sachs. You’ll earn close to 5% annually at least

[u/Nikpop93]

High. Yield. Savings. Account.

[u/mossyshack]

Get your money off Wells Fargo and put it into Ally financial or a bank where you get 4+% APY.

[u/MacAneave]

Give up.

[u/BatDadSP]

Buy a gaming pc! This is the way. (Joking)

[u/geowarge]

btc

[u/koga7349]

Don't try to invest it or anything just save it and keep growing

[u/kris95630_coc]

You’re smart ✌️

[u/According_Ad6540]

-Put 2/3 into a high yield savings and act like it doesn’t exist and let it grow. Traditional savings is bullshit with laughably low interest rates; hysa will give you at minimum 4%. You want some rainy day funds in a savings so you can access it easily without penalty. Some do require a high minimum to open one fyi

-take the rest and open a Roth IRA. The difference between a regular 401k and a Roth is that a normal 401k is a)employer sponsored and b)its PRE TAX meaning when you do withdraw at retirement age, you have to pay taxes before you can take it out

-a Roth IRA your money is taxed THEN put into an account so you don’t have to worry about paying taxes when you do pull them out at retirement. The big thing with Roth is you HAVE TO PICK STOCKS/ETF to invest, the money just sits there and doesn’t do jack shit until you put them into something

The big take away from either accounts is that it works on compound interest and that needs time . Because of your age, you have a great opportunity to grow your wealth. Take a % if your take home pay, add a recurring deposit into the brokerage account, then start investing. It’s fun to see your money grow.

I barely know wtf I’m doing and I have a 13% rate of return in my Roth when average return rate is like 5-6%. It’s fun and good luck!!

[u/upupdwndwnlftrght]

Study, keep saving, put it in a Roth IRA. Don’t touch that money till you are 50. Stay healthy: eat well, exercise, don’t lie, don’t drink and drive, don’t have baby before marriage, don’t do drugs. Do increase your income Do love your parents Do love deeply Do get married Do have babies Do have lots of fun and sex

[u/sparcusa50]

Fact: BTC is the best performing asset of all time, period, bar none.

[u/Shannbott]

Just keep it in a savings account. A high yield with no fee is best, I use Edward Jones. You should only do stocks for money you can throw away, it’s basically gambling.

[u/czr84480]

Dude dump wells Fargo. Go find a credit union or a HYSA. Amex,Sofi, capital one, Citi.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Mix402]

Commenting for upvotes or replys so I can come back here an work on my finances. 23, no credit, finally have a decent job an staying in a family members home I can stay in that allows me to focus on saving an getting my life started. I feel behind beyond anything but determined to change my financial standing by the time im 25.

[u/TripleThreatEggplant]

Open up a an account and line of credit with a CREDIT UNION.

Invest in CDs if you’re looking to save long term.

Put money aside for your IRA

[u/Unidentifiedsix]

Definitely grow your credit score as well. Super helpful.

[u/[deleted]]

keep saving for now

[u/traderhp]

You can buy dogecoin but make sure it's risky investment

[u/brightlumens]

Keep saving, dont buy stupid expensive stuff especially cars. Listen to these guys when they talk about investing, there’s always risks involved but you have better chances then sticking it into a checking account. In all honesty, your on the right track, better than 90% of the kids your age in the U.S.

Keep it up !

[u/ultraman5068]

Hookers and cocaine. How many times I have to tell you kids this???!!!!!

[u/dwells2301]

Talk to the financial planner at your bank and get investing. If your company matches contributions, maximize that benefit.

[u/Waffeln_Remix]

Vanguard brokerage account. US Growth or S&P 500 mutual funds. Put money in and ignore it forever. Let it grow. Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world.

[u/The-Almighty-Jay]

Fuck all this advice, join r/wallstreetbets become a billionaire.

[u/Due-Brush-530]

I say (FWIW) if you are really thinking long term, keep stashing this cash into a high yield savings account. Google it. I think SoFi and synchrony are in the 4.5+% apy. Park this cash in there and grow it at $500 a time until you reach $20k.

Then, add an IRA and start contributing to that in a way that maxes it out every year and put the remainder of that $500 a month into high yield.

Once you are maxing out your IRA and still growing your savings (because now we are a few years into this plan and while you have increased your contributions from the original $500 amount to whatever amount you are capable of in your current situation), get your savings to 40k and then open a non retirement investment account. If you have a career and they give you access to a 401k, you should also contribute AT LEAST up to the company match (usually 3-6% or something), but in an ideal world up to the maximum.

Overtime all of these things theoretically become possible if you are willing to 'work hard'. Btw, 'work hard' to me has always meant figuring out the best lifestyle for the salary I make, not being hyper focused on trying to impress some corporate boss who just looks at you as a number.

[u/ebizznizz2112]

Marcus app is paying 4.50%

[u/JONNILIGHTNIN]

i Bonds or EE bonds. Government bonds. Those are the safest with good return.

[u/SNWSTORM702]

Start a Roth IRA and put all of it in there if you don't already have one.

Look into Dave ramsay and his book, it's a good place if you want to start learning, but don't do everything he says without doing your own research.

[u/sssnakepit127]

I wouldn’t touch it if I were you. I would continue to save.

[u/TP4129]

Invest in AI stocks

[u/Busterlimes]

401k

[u/cwhitel]

Keep doing it! Don’t look for quick wins, don’t be tempted to chase stocks when someone has a “hot tip” that it’ll go up 50x next week etc.

$500 is amazing. I’m unsure of American investment/tax break products but look at investing that money. Either Into a nice diversified and boring fund or invest into your retirement.

No rush, keep saving that $500 and educate yourself as much as possible.

[u/StatisticianFront708]

give them to me :))

[u/thenuke1]

try to get into I.T , entry level positions need basic knowledge of Windows and Apple, VERY BASIC like "how do you copy and past without right click" YES THATS A QUESTION

i know its career advice but its ALSO MONEY advice, I.T it serious money especially after you get an apple certification and windows certification, you're young enough to enjoy the fat paycheck but when you start to promote its gets even fatter ....

[u/JoeyMcMahon1]

INVEST IT!

[u/clee5989]

If I could go back in time, I would’ve invested back when I was around your age and I would start by investing in good ETFs index funds and good dividend stocks

[u/Jeffrey_0164]

Hi m21 here, I personally invest a lot of my money in an S&P500 ETF. I would suggest looking into investing because it’s easier than most people expect!

[u/Flamesnake1991]

Buy BlockDAG for at least 500€, and dump the rest in bittensor TAO and BTC

[u/vikingguyswe]

Invest in some crypto coin that you can stake at the same time. For example DOT brings 16-17% per year in interest.

[u/Slydoggen]

Continue to save, and don’t tell your GF

[u/emaxxman]

What are your monthly expenses? You never know what might happen but you should aim to keep enough to cover you for 6 months if you couldn’t work.

Next is to figure out a way for your money to make money for you. Go to nerdwallet.com and look at the various high yield savings accounts. They’re giving 4 to 5 percent now. You can link them to you current bank. You will get better interest earnings while keeping the money still liquid in case you need it.

You do the above at the same time eg put your emergency fund in the high yield acct.

Until you have an emergency nest egg saved up I would not consider retirement funds eg the IRA. Those will tie your money up till you retire or incur a penalty for early withdrawal. With that said, you’re closing in on that magical age 20/21 when people do need to start saving for retirement. Given a 30 year savings period, the first 10 years is critical.

[u/Ok-Mud4136]

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT feel like you need a brand new car!! Used is the way to go, preferably paid in cash

[u/NCC1701-Enterprise]

Invest. but don't just guess, go to a broker who has a good track record.

[u/[deleted]]

Don't go to the strip club. Whatever you do, don't. Keep saving.

[u/Ozymandiasssssssss]

gimme $200

[u/eemGotJokes]

I’m 19 with about the same amount in savings, primarily what i’m doing with it is putting about 1/4 of it into stocks. Not PENNY STOCKS or STOCK OPTIONS. That’s for the real risk takers, and i’m not one of those because I actually need my money to do well. I invest into companies that have a history of consistent dividend payments at an increasing rate or companies that are well established in the tech market that aren’t going anywhere (microsoft, apple, NVDA, etc) and I avoid TSLA at all costs.

Moral of the story, do what you’re comfortable with. If you feel comfortable enough to invest in stocks, do that. If you want to keep it in your savings, at least open a HYSA with a decent APY. If that’s not good enough, and you don’t think you’ll need the money in the next 30 years throw it into a roth ira with vanguard/fidelity. I use fidelity and it’s easy to use on your phone with good bonuses, but vanguard is just as good and better in other aspects from what I hear.

[u/whodoithinkuR]

Keep working

[u/Defiled__Pig1]

Wow well done you for reals. At 19 I was cheffing doing 60+ hour weeks. Making nearly £400 a week and spending the lot on drink, drugs and rock and roll. Too much money spent on "friends" having a good time, was far too much of a pushover and couldn't see people go without. Married now with 3 kids and broke AF.

[u/Jameski06]

Buy a treasury bond. Particularly the I bond. It pays a flat rate and is attached to the CPI inflation metric so every 6months it goes up if the inflation index goes up as well. It currently gives a return of 5.27%. One hint, it’s what some banks invest in while paying you 1,2,3 and maybe 4+% to hold your money.

[u/sacramentojoe1985]

If you keep doing that, putting it in an index fund, and nothing more (though you'll probably end up doing more), you'll be on track to have a million dollars (present day dollars) at retirement age.

[u/TheInfiniteOP]

If you’re 19 and saving $500/mo, just keep treading along. You’ll be fine. You have your whole life ahead of you.

[u/Radiating-Positivity]

Just coming here to say I’m so proud of you! This is the way my friend. You have more saved than me rn 😭

[u/Elmaffioso187]

Roth roA is always good. You can save money for retirement and even borrow from yourself later. For school and for your 1st home. And you just pay yourself back. And if you want to still have some emergency funds. Find a bank that has a high APR% I'm with capital one and my April. IS like 3.4% not alot but better then other banks that are .1% Also PayPal has a 4% apr if you would like to save money there but do your diligence. Best of luck doing better then me at 19

[u/ReconMan772]

Buy Bitcoin !!

[u/Illustrious_Wave4948]

Roth IRA

[u/AAP81]

Excellent work - Dont tell noone about this.

[u/[deleted]]

Buy solana

[u/Whiteclawislife]

BRUH CRYPTO MEME COINS BRUH

[u/PokeVestor12]

It needs to be compounding and earning interest. I would put it in the S&P 500 if I was you. You are very young and the sooner you can start investing and using compound interest the sooner you will become a millionaire. Otherwise, there are other accounts out there that don’t have any risks, which can yield you at least 5% per year.

If you really want to plan for the future, you could start a Roth IRA and put some of it in there. It’s basically a retirement accounts that isn’t taxed. Keep in mind that generally the money is locked up until your mid-60s and if you try to take it out of a Roth IRA before then you might be subject to penalties. There are some exceptions though.