What should people do at 25 to set themselves up for life? This would be very helpful!
Hi!
I know the usual saying...live below your means and save your money as much as possible, but what else can 25-year-olds do to set themselves up for life going forward? I grew up lower class and never had much, I want to make money and making money isn't really a problem. The problem is I want money to grow when I sleep. How does one accomplish that? I don't know what the fuck I am doing honestly. I know I should max out my retirement account with the highest contribution every year. Other than that, I've been studying the stock market and I don't know what the fuck to buy. Index funds, ETF's, individual stocks base on research? I want something to grow over time and it doesn't even have to grow a lot every year. If I can get like 5 to 6% return a year, I’m solid.
I don't want to live like my parents who busted their ass, and they got no retirement accounts, thankfully they got cash. That's all they fucking know, and it is cash. They don't invest nothing.
I am not with that. I need to grow my money! Anyone willing to share some general advice would be much appreciated! I started from the bottom and I’m trying to make it! For real, it's a struggle growing up the way I did. It's contradicting to say it but growing up broke and lower class is expensive. I have to learn every little shit by myself, and I got to literally scrap tooth and nail just to try and pull through. Thanks for hearing me out. A lot has been on my mind lately. I got tons of questions, but really no one to lean on for answers. So far, I have been loving the WSO community. Tons of great advice and posts on here! Wish I came across this in high school!
So I'm not 25 (22) but got a shit ton of money saved up from internships (35k) and even though investing sucks right now here's some options:
Stable coins: think of this as high yield saving accounts. If you put 1k it won't appreciate to 10k but does get an annual yield that's between 8-12% (ex blockfi or totalhodlnauts). It's safe and liquid. If you ever need your money you can sell it and transfer to your bank account.
Crypto: chasing those incredible returns without absolutely screwing yourself? Go into bitcoin and etherum. They are your safest options and have so much potential to grow. However, if you're emotional and check your investment worth everyday and cant handle down days, stay the hell away from this. It's a new and incredible field, but volitile.
Stocks: VGT, QQQ, VOO, SPY, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and maybe semiconductors is all you need to know for investing.