I am sharing this for informational purposes only. I am providing this information in the hopes that it will be helpful and reliable information, but sometimes there may be inadvertently inaccurate information. I do not guarantee the accuracy of any materials provided. The content and resources should not be considered legal or financial advice. I am not, nor do I claim to be, a financial advisor or lawyer.
Getting started working towards financial security:
(1) Start by tracking your spending for a month.
(2) Examine your spending, break it down into categories, and make a preliminary budget that you believe will have you living within your means and saving if at all possible.
(3) Treat yo self! Setting attainable goals and rewarding yourself when you meet incremental victories during the process is important, and will help you to continue on your path. Also, understand that progress is not linear. You will likely have setbacks, try not to become discouraged, keep going on your path.
(4) It is difficult to make a good budget in just one pass. Adjust your budget.
(6) Save up $1000 as an emergency fund in an online high yield savings account. This fund will help as a cushion to stop the accumulation of any new debt. Grow it beyond $1000 to a couple months living expenses if you have a lot of debt to pay down.
(7) If you have any debt, pay down whatever has the highest APY interest rate first. If you have a lot of debt, it could be beneficial to try to refinance or consolidate the debt. Any non-consolidation loans apart from home or auto loans should only be used for short term cash needs, not long-term financial goals, and many can be avoided with the use of an emergency fund.
(8) Do another budget. Try to increase your earnings if you have any way to do so. In many jobs you can apply to similar positions within your area or beyond if you are willing to move. If you get a good offer you can take it or use it to leverage a raise; even if you can't find something better, it still doesn't hurt to ask for a raise, the worst they can do is say no. If you have full or partial ownership of a newer four door car with lower miles and have free time some evenings, especially if you are in or near a college campus or large city. Uber and Lyft Driving Guide
(9) Do another budget. Try to decrease your spendings wherever possible without overly impeding quality of life. TV subscription services like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Go are less expensive than cable. Walmart, Amazon, or eBay tend to be the cheapest places to get stuff. The less you buy the more you save.
(10) Stick to the budgets and keep adjusting them, do the best you can. If you have no debt, max your 401k to the match offered if that is an option, start investing and diversify your savings. Do your own research, but I would suggest putting a portion in a high yield savings account, some in SP500 from Charles Schwab with reinvested dividends, put a small portion in physical precious metals from APMEX or Provident Metals, Robinhood Referral is good for buying individual stocks or fractional bitcoin because there are no trading fees and if you sign up with the referral code we both get a free stock, but honestly that is pretty much gambling in my opinion so this really should be only a small portion of your savings in Robinhood.
(11) Invest in yourself: additional education, gym membership, travel, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Audible, still live within your means. If you have substantial savings make a budget/investment plan for a rental property. Donate to campaigns of candidates that will make the world better and to organizations that advocate for ideals that you believe in.
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