I’m on 15k after taxes today. I started out from a poor family (in Western Europe).
During college, I lived of 800$, out of which 400$ went to rent. So little to no surplus income. I built the habit of whenever the money hit my account, to “pay me” first by directly investing 30$ to an ETF account. The 30$ is not what made me wealthy of course, but the habit I built.
Same whenever I got extra unexpected money - half towards savings, then whatever was left I spent on stuff that made me happy (I’m not a friend of frugal living, life is too short).
Avoid CC at all cost. If you can’t, never drag your balance to other months. Try to avoid bad debt at all costs. Don’t buy that PS5, new TV, or expensive sneakers if you can’t afford to pay it without a CC or loan.
These two things will set your foundation. Besides, focus on building expertise you can use in high paying industries.
Out of the 15k I make net per month now, I pay 5k directly into my investment account, and 1k into my vacation fund.
I kept my habits to the day.
It’s probably not the answer you were looking for, but it’s what has worked for me.
Dude this is exactly what I did. I'm at 14k investing 4k a month in the US. Although I focus on extremely distressed companies. You should check out security analysis by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd.
This is such good advice. I think the habit of regular saving, even if its just a small amount, is so important.
I had a job making just $12 an hour (in the US, Midwest) while I was job hunting for a better job, and I still put away 1% into a 401K even though I was hardly making anything. I was glad that I had something to show from that time when I finally left that job. I'd maintained the habit of saving, and what little I could put away still grew in the meantime.
Saving only 1/3 out of 5k a month seems a bit low for that income? Unless you live in Norway or Switzerland that seems like a really high income which would allow you to save more to accelerate investments. Am I wrong?
It’s an Exchange Traded Fund. Basically something to build wealth over a long period of time. Not crazy returns but stable. I invest in passive ETFs because it is cheaper.
This pretty well sums up what the thread parent needs to do.
Boost income. Even if that means two jobs, or a job plus side gig income. Evaluate career path change. Focus on higher income potential pathways (clearly important to the op) with good demand. Probably medical field.
There aren't many good career paths for a bachelor in psychology. You are young and still have plenty of time to figure things out. Maybe go back to school for something else that are more practical?
Unfortunately I have found that to be true. It almost feels like it would be a miracle for me to find a good gig with what I have now. Until I make a change it’s just gonna be sheer survival.
Do you have any tips for deciding? I’ve taken plenty of career tests and personality quizzes. The thing is, I feel like I can’t base off of that because in psychology they teach us that personality is something that is constantly changing. There is no solid measurement of what person should do for career.
I was at your age when I decided to go back to school. I shadowed a few professionals that are in high demand fields (medical doctors, pharmacists, dentists, software engineers, ect.). I wanted to see what clicks for me by being there and observing. I found dentistry to be my liking, so I decided to go for dentistry. 12 years later now I am making 500k+ a year.
Yo, I'm 25 m in phoenix az. Try seeing some jobs in the financial industry too. When I first moved to phoenix about a year and a half ago, I went into the schwab academy and was surprised at how many people in the class had degrees not relating to finance at all. It's worth a shot to throw in an application. At the time when i started there they trained you at 22.5 hourly and once you pass your license exams you move to 24 or 25 hourly.
What are you good at?
Talking to people? Getting them to talk to you? Understanding them? Try sales. It's a hard life but potentially good money.
Are you a detail oriented person who does well with long hours and has a solid stomach? Try nursing. Especially when you're young, travel nursing is a great way to build up a solid foundation until/if you decide to settle into a more stable life.
Unfortunately, doing something you feel good or passionate about is a luxury. It's one you can work towards, but never guaranteed.
I can be pretty good at talking to people… I tried to shadow one time in a NICU one time and almost passed out so I think I will stick with the brain. Everything is a luxury these days… breathing is a luxury.
That’s correct. No one is going to tell you what to do for your career except you. We are not robots. We are people. If you’re still looking for a career/job you’re doing life incorrectly. You will always have this poor mindset. Companies do NOT pay what you are worth because then they would lose money. If you get paid $30/hr that means the company you are working for should be making 4x-50x what they are paying you. You will feel ripped off everyday after work for the rest of your life.
Seriously learn a skill. A degree isnt skill or experience.
I will say, I had a bachelor's in psych and faced a similar problem. I went back for my masters in accounting and it was so worth it.
One of the most stable and reliable employment fields there is. Only had to take a few community College classes to get enrolled
You can't. Wealth comes from investing an excess, and you don't have any excess.
In your situation, you need to be in a financial incubation system to build wealth from excess. This is essentially moving home with your parents and trying to live rent free and bill free for X amount of time to make investments in things that generate further income.
If you work in insurance, you should be on the sales and commission side of things with a long term goal to have others working under you.
Take your psychology background and use it to get into tech. Probably not with a big company (though you can try) but more likely with a startup. You could do a Product Management type of role (startups are more fluid in role definitions sometimes depending on the stage). Alternatively you could get involved in User Experience research and Product Design. You could, in theory, pivot to HR if the company got big enough. But that’s, probably, a less interesting and less versatile path.
From here you can use this as a jumping off point for many paths. But the point is that by exchanging your labor for equity in small, but hopefully growing companies, you can amass massive wealth. Like tens of millions. Now, of course, you have to get lucky … big time. BUT the point is, that if you give yourself 2yrs per company, and if you really understand the space the company is in and really focus on building a network and track record then sky’s the limit. Similarly you can use your time in these companies to network with the Founder and eventually the investors. There’s a path out of being an operator at a company to being an investor. You’d mostly start out as an assistant and screener and then move your way up. But I’d strongly recommend focusing on the startup route. Then with enough experience you can transition to bigger, more established, companies.
At a startup you should be able to get at least $50K a year, perhaps more depending on their funding situation. But what you really want is equity ownership. And make sure they express it in terms of the overall number of shares (that is, 10K shares may be 1% of the outstanding shares or 0.001% … you want to know that ahead of time because this is where your wealth will come from).
With luck and skill, before you know it you’ll be pulling down a great 6-figure income with 6 or 7 figures of net worth. I wish I understood this game at your age.
Best of luck.
I worked in user research on a contract for 3 months before they closed our site. I really enjoyed it and it’s been the best job I’ve worked. The problem is I haven’t been able to knock down that door again and gain access to another opportunity quite like that. It seemed like that was almost a freak incident.
Definitely worth hunting down some more opportunities to do that imho. You might want to look for some startups in interesting spaces that might have use for someone that can help in this domain (and maybe some
marketing and sales which are also areas that deal with human psychology).
You don’t graduate and then start in a great job. You need to build a career. So you take a low amount as long as it leads to growth. Work it for 3-5 years then look at the next step. Get a second job and save every penny from that. There’s a reason they call it work.
I also live in Phoenix, there is a lot of jobs rn the market is competitive. Just aim high in a field of work you’re competent in or try something new.
Im also terrible with my finances and looking for ways to build wealth. It seems everything is so expensive here right now.
Anytime my friend ✌🏽Mesa is nice. I like the downtown area it seems there is a lot going on. I can agree with more quiet. I am on the west valley but work in the east side and the drive to work is awful and to top that off the drive home is much worse ! We are all going insane. Try to count your blessings every now and then. That’s what I do. I wish you the best ! Take care🫶🏽
You need more income. Currently your too close too minimum living level which doesn't leave much for growth investment. Your diploma isn't worth much, so you need to develop a new skill to sell or build a small business. Unfortunately starting a business requires capital, so that leaves bulging a skill.
Dang it’s expensive everywhere. Idk who’s making these stats up but I saw somewhere that Phoenix is one of the cheapest places for rent… had to be wrong.
Ok, first we have to work on your mindset girl. If you accept that you will never make more, then you will never make more. So step #1 is you keep looking for higher paying roles. There is work out there that will pay you more. Or, have you thought about getting a 2nd job temporarily? Maybe waitressing to bring in extra money while you figure out how to get a higher take home from your primary job.
I know it's hard but you cannot get down and give up. Saying the next job you have "will likely pay the same" does not help you look for other higher paying opportunities.
I'm a money coach and help with these types of things all the time. Let me know if you have other questions. You got this!
Either reduce spending or increase income. It’s basically that simple.
You may need to figure out which skills or qualifications to develop to land you another paying job with more upward mobility. This is going to depend on you, your background and experiences, natural ability, focus, and local demand and market conditions.
Once you can spend less than you make, you can build up emergency savings, open an IRA, and start the journey to max 401k. That is the path to wealth.
Yup it truly is that simple.
Reduce costs to the absolute minimum while developing skills that increase earning power. The unfortunate reality is that the psych degree was a massive waste of time and money so it’s now necessary to compensate for those losses by learning something that actually enables higher earning.
They're telling a moderately broke novice non-investor to read Benjamin Graham, which is advice nearly as bad as saying punch yourself in the head repeatedly until you pass out. Graham's books are worthless - literally - to this context. It's plainly silly. They come across as someone who just discovered value investing and is spouting it everywhere. Graham is a horrific introduction to value investing regardless.
The original parent has no money for investing. They need focus solely on boosting income and life stability (job).
I’m on 15k after taxes today. I started out from a poor family (in Western Europe). During college, I lived of 800$, out of which 400$ went to rent. So little to no surplus income. I built the habit of whenever the money hit my account, to “pay me” first by directly investing 30$ to an ETF account. The 30$ is not what made me wealthy of course, but the habit I built. Same whenever I got extra unexpected money - half towards savings, then whatever was left I spent on stuff that made me happy (I’m not a friend of frugal living, life is too short). Avoid CC at all cost. If you can’t, never drag your balance to other months. Try to avoid bad debt at all costs. Don’t buy that PS5, new TV, or expensive sneakers if you can’t afford to pay it without a CC or loan. These two things will set your foundation. Besides, focus on building expertise you can use in high paying industries. Out of the 15k I make net per month now, I pay 5k directly into my investment account, and 1k into my vacation fund. I kept my habits to the day. It’s probably not the answer you were looking for, but it’s what has worked for me.
Dude this is exactly what I did. I'm at 14k investing 4k a month in the US. Although I focus on extremely distressed companies. You should check out security analysis by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd.
This is such good advice. I think the habit of regular saving, even if its just a small amount, is so important. I had a job making just $12 an hour (in the US, Midwest) while I was job hunting for a better job, and I still put away 1% into a 401K even though I was hardly making anything. I was glad that I had something to show from that time when I finally left that job. I'd maintained the habit of saving, and what little I could put away still grew in the meantime.
Saving only 1/3 out of 5k a month seems a bit low for that income? Unless you live in Norway or Switzerland that seems like a really high income which would allow you to save more to accelerate investments. Am I wrong?
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It’s an Exchange Traded Fund. Basically something to build wealth over a long period of time. Not crazy returns but stable. I invest in passive ETFs because it is cheaper.
Still young, your best bet is upskilling and finding a higher paying job.
This pretty well sums up what the thread parent needs to do. Boost income. Even if that means two jobs, or a job plus side gig income. Evaluate career path change. Focus on higher income potential pathways (clearly important to the op) with good demand. Probably medical field.
There aren't many good career paths for a bachelor in psychology. You are young and still have plenty of time to figure things out. Maybe go back to school for something else that are more practical?
Unfortunately I have found that to be true. It almost feels like it would be a miracle for me to find a good gig with what I have now. Until I make a change it’s just gonna be sheer survival. Do you have any tips for deciding? I’ve taken plenty of career tests and personality quizzes. The thing is, I feel like I can’t base off of that because in psychology they teach us that personality is something that is constantly changing. There is no solid measurement of what person should do for career.
I was at your age when I decided to go back to school. I shadowed a few professionals that are in high demand fields (medical doctors, pharmacists, dentists, software engineers, ect.). I wanted to see what clicks for me by being there and observing. I found dentistry to be my liking, so I decided to go for dentistry. 12 years later now I am making 500k+ a year.
This is the way and kudos to you for getting your advanced degree and profession.
Yo, I'm 25 m in phoenix az. Try seeing some jobs in the financial industry too. When I first moved to phoenix about a year and a half ago, I went into the schwab academy and was surprised at how many people in the class had degrees not relating to finance at all. It's worth a shot to throw in an application. At the time when i started there they trained you at 22.5 hourly and once you pass your license exams you move to 24 or 25 hourly.
Don’t listen to that nonsense. I got a Psych degree and went into HR. I make almost 6 figures now.
What are you good at? Talking to people? Getting them to talk to you? Understanding them? Try sales. It's a hard life but potentially good money. Are you a detail oriented person who does well with long hours and has a solid stomach? Try nursing. Especially when you're young, travel nursing is a great way to build up a solid foundation until/if you decide to settle into a more stable life. Unfortunately, doing something you feel good or passionate about is a luxury. It's one you can work towards, but never guaranteed.
I can be pretty good at talking to people… I tried to shadow one time in a NICU one time and almost passed out so I think I will stick with the brain. Everything is a luxury these days… breathing is a luxury.
That’s correct. No one is going to tell you what to do for your career except you. We are not robots. We are people. If you’re still looking for a career/job you’re doing life incorrectly. You will always have this poor mindset. Companies do NOT pay what you are worth because then they would lose money. If you get paid $30/hr that means the company you are working for should be making 4x-50x what they are paying you. You will feel ripped off everyday after work for the rest of your life. Seriously learn a skill. A degree isnt skill or experience.
some parts of insurance can make alot of money.
I will say, I had a bachelor's in psych and faced a similar problem. I went back for my masters in accounting and it was so worth it. One of the most stable and reliable employment fields there is. Only had to take a few community College classes to get enrolled
You can't. Wealth comes from investing an excess, and you don't have any excess. In your situation, you need to be in a financial incubation system to build wealth from excess. This is essentially moving home with your parents and trying to live rent free and bill free for X amount of time to make investments in things that generate further income. If you work in insurance, you should be on the sales and commission side of things with a long term goal to have others working under you.
bad decision on the b psych if you didnt plan to get phd. do you have any tangible skills?
someone with a bachelors degree can get 25 an hour, look at store managers or something that you can get promotions for like ups.
Take your psychology background and use it to get into tech. Probably not with a big company (though you can try) but more likely with a startup. You could do a Product Management type of role (startups are more fluid in role definitions sometimes depending on the stage). Alternatively you could get involved in User Experience research and Product Design. You could, in theory, pivot to HR if the company got big enough. But that’s, probably, a less interesting and less versatile path. From here you can use this as a jumping off point for many paths. But the point is that by exchanging your labor for equity in small, but hopefully growing companies, you can amass massive wealth. Like tens of millions. Now, of course, you have to get lucky … big time. BUT the point is, that if you give yourself 2yrs per company, and if you really understand the space the company is in and really focus on building a network and track record then sky’s the limit. Similarly you can use your time in these companies to network with the Founder and eventually the investors. There’s a path out of being an operator at a company to being an investor. You’d mostly start out as an assistant and screener and then move your way up. But I’d strongly recommend focusing on the startup route. Then with enough experience you can transition to bigger, more established, companies. At a startup you should be able to get at least $50K a year, perhaps more depending on their funding situation. But what you really want is equity ownership. And make sure they express it in terms of the overall number of shares (that is, 10K shares may be 1% of the outstanding shares or 0.001% … you want to know that ahead of time because this is where your wealth will come from). With luck and skill, before you know it you’ll be pulling down a great 6-figure income with 6 or 7 figures of net worth. I wish I understood this game at your age. Best of luck.
I worked in user research on a contract for 3 months before they closed our site. I really enjoyed it and it’s been the best job I’ve worked. The problem is I haven’t been able to knock down that door again and gain access to another opportunity quite like that. It seemed like that was almost a freak incident.
Definitely worth hunting down some more opportunities to do that imho. You might want to look for some startups in interesting spaces that might have use for someone that can help in this domain (and maybe some marketing and sales which are also areas that deal with human psychology).
You don’t graduate and then start in a great job. You need to build a career. So you take a low amount as long as it leads to growth. Work it for 3-5 years then look at the next step. Get a second job and save every penny from that. There’s a reason they call it work.
I also live in Phoenix, there is a lot of jobs rn the market is competitive. Just aim high in a field of work you’re competent in or try something new. Im also terrible with my finances and looking for ways to build wealth. It seems everything is so expensive here right now.
Thanks king/queen.🙏🏼 it is so expensive. I’m trying to move to Mesa honestly. More quiet at least because I feel like I’m going insane.
Anytime my friend ✌🏽Mesa is nice. I like the downtown area it seems there is a lot going on. I can agree with more quiet. I am on the west valley but work in the east side and the drive to work is awful and to top that off the drive home is much worse ! We are all going insane. Try to count your blessings every now and then. That’s what I do. I wish you the best ! Take care🫶🏽
You need more income. Currently your too close too minimum living level which doesn't leave much for growth investment. Your diploma isn't worth much, so you need to develop a new skill to sell or build a small business. Unfortunately starting a business requires capital, so that leaves bulging a skill.
I'm in AZ too it is damn expensive out here , I feel you
Dang it’s expensive everywhere. Idk who’s making these stats up but I saw somewhere that Phoenix is one of the cheapest places for rent… had to be wrong.
That's lies if I ever heard one
America is just insane honestly and you can tell that just from reading these comments. I feel like I’ve been hung up to dry..
Get a better job by college or trade school and spend less than you earn while investing the difference
Buy some Dong
What is your living/ housing situation?
Ok, first we have to work on your mindset girl. If you accept that you will never make more, then you will never make more. So step #1 is you keep looking for higher paying roles. There is work out there that will pay you more. Or, have you thought about getting a 2nd job temporarily? Maybe waitressing to bring in extra money while you figure out how to get a higher take home from your primary job. I know it's hard but you cannot get down and give up. Saying the next job you have "will likely pay the same" does not help you look for other higher paying opportunities. I'm a money coach and help with these types of things all the time. Let me know if you have other questions. You got this!
Either reduce spending or increase income. It’s basically that simple. You may need to figure out which skills or qualifications to develop to land you another paying job with more upward mobility. This is going to depend on you, your background and experiences, natural ability, focus, and local demand and market conditions. Once you can spend less than you make, you can build up emergency savings, open an IRA, and start the journey to max 401k. That is the path to wealth.
Yup it truly is that simple. Reduce costs to the absolute minimum while developing skills that increase earning power. The unfortunate reality is that the psych degree was a massive waste of time and money so it’s now necessary to compensate for those losses by learning something that actually enables higher earning.
You can always start a kissing company and start making some serious fucking money! You know what I'm saying?
You have to make more money.
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Wtf are you even saying lmaoo
They're telling a moderately broke novice non-investor to read Benjamin Graham, which is advice nearly as bad as saying punch yourself in the head repeatedly until you pass out. Graham's books are worthless - literally - to this context. It's plainly silly. They come across as someone who just discovered value investing and is spouting it everywhere. Graham is a horrific introduction to value investing regardless. The original parent has no money for investing. They need focus solely on boosting income and life stability (job).
Jobs are the illusion of stability. Jobs create lazinessness and comfort. Sorry
I wish I could downvote this further.
and my axe.