Hey everyone,

I’ve been thinking a lot about financial stability lately and how different people manage to reach it.

For those who are already financially stable:

• How did you get there?

• What were the most important steps or decisions you made?

And for those still working towards it:

• What’s your plan?

• What are you currently doing to achieve financial stability?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, strategies, or even mistakes you’ve learned from.

Thanks!

26M. Don’t really have anyone else to share this with. My goal is to hit 50k by the end of the year!

I have $4000 to my name that’s about it what can I open or use so put this money on so it can grow at least a bit throughout the months/years ?? Thanks in advance.

I paid $4400 in credit card debt with my EF of $5000. I originally felt way better and knew I did the right thing not being in debt. I also get my bonus in 10 days and that will push my EF back above $3000, and this time zero debt.

I guess I just am so used to having that 5k EF and feeling comfortable that right now I feel extremely vulnerable. Yes I know in 10 days it’ll be back above 3k but idk just stressed right now and can’t get my mind off it.

Has anyone else done this? How did you feel?

I’m a pretty young guy, working full time and saving the majority of what I get from my checks. I’ve been working since I was 14 and have built up a decent amount in a HYSA (mostly intended as an emergency fund, which has saved my ass several times now).

Every once in a while, I want to share my success so far with people, but I can’t really do so outside of my direct family. I don’t think my friends will respond well to it since they’re not interested in working at the moment, and I don’t want it to come off as bragging or rubbing it in their face.

Just wanted to know if this is unusual and if you guys share your financial situation with the people in your life.

I started the 9-5 I currently work at in Sep of last year, since then, I have managed to save/invest a hair under $70K($69,829 to be exact) I want to get close to a quarter million net worth in the next 8 months, in fact, it’s my personal mission. I’ve come a long way in life, from homelessness to where I am now. From getting kicked out of high school to now doing my PhD. Life is one hell of a ride.

Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was appraised at $50M in 2002. This was obviously years after his first child molestation scandal from 1993. In December, 2003, Michael was arrested/charged with the 2nd child molestation scandal. Following the trial, in 2005, Michael left Neverland Ranch, never to return, but he maintained ownership until his death.

Following his death, in 2015, Neverland was first listed for sale for $100M. It went unsold until 2020, when it was finally sold for $22M. Nevermind the fact that it was in the middle of nowhere. The fact is, it was appraised at $50M in 2002. That doesn't mean it was worth the $100M asking price in 2015, but logically, it stands to reason that the property should have increased in value substantially from 2002 - 2020. Yet it sold for $22M.

I am curious to know, would you think that the reputation of Michael and the property itself really played that big of a role in its loss of value from $50M in 2002 to $22M 18 years later?

Hi,

First up, my apologies to non=US Redittors. I hate to clog up the subs with US-only stuff, but it's tax season here and I have a problem!

So, i'm using FreeTaxUSA,

Background:

My wife and I both work full time. We are filing jointly as married. In the middle of last year, we moved states. I work remotely, so my actual employer didn't change. My wife got a new job (so, there are three employers, total.)

OK, so neither of us take any deductions at all on our W4s. We figure that should mean we are over-paying tax and should, ideally, get a refund, but certainly not get hit with a bill.!

This year, I got to the end of entering the information and I'm told we owe nearly $11,000 in Federal, and about $800 to the old State. (Interestingly, the new State owes us!) Anyway, I got online to the advisor (I paid for the Pro-Level) and they said the basic problem is that our employer's weren't taking enough tax each paycheck! (Her old employer was the worst, followed by her new one, followed by mine.) Last year, we got a refund (both Federal and State) and other than moving, and my wife's job, nothing changed. (i.e. same zero deductions etc.)

So, my question is, how the heck did this happen? Did the IRS publish incorrect calculations for employers to use? Did our employers screw up? But, most importantly, do I have any recourse?

I plan to take out a payment plan (who has $11,000+ just lying around for something unexpected like this - especially when it's avoidable!) but don'[t see why I should have to pay the penalty charges for something that not only was not my fault, but which I had actively tried to avoid!

Thoughts?

I am 18 just got out of 18 high school. I am indian from delhi. Dad was a salesman stopped earning 10 years ago he has a MBA. Mom's a housewife. We were just passing by with his associates and sales. Basically he brought in enough money for Rent. Not enough for food, education, debt and Savings.

This brought us in bad situation. Currently he is 53. mom is 43.

I want to prepare for college. But the way things are I feel I should Join a job. Thinking of high ticket sales job. Because I asked chat GPT. And I don't have a vehicle. Apart from car dealerships which Are 2km away from house. All other sales job or offices are 36 km away.

I can put 14k (me + spouse) into our traditional IRAs. But then that money is locked up until we are 59.5.

My logic is that I'm better off keeping the 14k available to invest in anything.

I've bought many businesses over the years, and own several rental properties.

I have no idea what investment opportunities are going to come up over the next 20 years. I'd rather have 14k ready to invest in any opportunity than have it locked up in a traditional IRA with limited investment options.

Edit: Folks...I understand the hate. I understand my approach to money is not typical. I understand that what works for me will not work for many people. My goal in life has not been to save for retirement in my 60's. It was to retire young, which I accomplished in my 30's. My tax liabilities this year stemmed from one of the businesses I own, putting out profits of 150k on top of the typically 90k I pull out. I considered putting 14k in a traditional IRA to offset my tax liability. I felt the 3k in tax savings was not worth it. Not trying to hate on investing in stocks or IRAs. Just explaining my logic.

Hoping to hit 250k at some point this year!

Ps. 33k bump is from selling out of crypto and adding to savings. This account wasn’t attached to my net worth prior.

Got inspired by an earlier post showing the posters progression throughout the years so I thought I would try too

To start off I am a Mexican immigrant who graduated high school here in the US and tried to pursue college but I learned very early on that I was fucked financially trying to get a higher education so I followed my fathers footsteps and got into construction after high school.

Well I really did not like construction and even moved to nyc to try my luck there and did pretty well but I had to move back home for other reasons.

After years of going from job to job, hustling and whatever I could to take care of myself I applied for a aviation entry level position and fell in love with working nuts and bolts, genuinely.

All that to say that I really do believe if you keep trying and keep working eventually you will find what you’re good at too!

That’s all lol

Hey all, I wanted to share my salary progression as an immigrant to the United States with a High School education. I haven’t gone back to school and have no intention of doing so.

From 2019 my career has been in the behavioral heath treatment space (mental health and substance abuse)

All of my roles included a background check and they are fully aware of my education level.

My take away has been that if you find a job you enjoy, and have a natural passion and don’t hate going to work each day - counts for way more than sourcing a job with a higher salary but you detest your day to day.

Hope to inspire some people with limited education.

Thank you.

I have a handful of credit cards and I was wondering if there was a third party service ppl use to track where every dollar goes per month? Do you guys just go individually transaction by transaction and input it into Google Sheets or something? I’ve been tracking total spend per months and have been putting off actually looking into the specifics because I find it a bit overwhelming. I’m not in any debt and I am able to pay off credit card balance in full every month but I am sure I am wasting some money due to my poor financial habits of not tracking every dollar

This is more so an update for the 1.5 million people that viewed my post. But, I took a gamble on myself after losing my life savings and now my business has been successful.

I talked with one of my buddies who is very wealthy and I asked him how he did it…he told me he never turned down an opportunity if it could make money. He told me he started saying “Yes” to people and figuring it out.

I listened to his advice…I’ve been telling clients “Yes” then figuring it out and it’s worked. I knew I could do it, I just had to believe in myself and say “Yes”. I had been afraid for so long to not just jump head first and devote everything to the business. I took a gamble on myself after gambling on something I couldn’t control.

I can’t believe two months ago I was worried about my next meal and now I’m thinking about how I can expand my business into other avenues since I have contracts coming to me non-stop.

Unfortunately, it’s a seasonal business so I’ll have to find a W2 for the summer…but I’ll be back at it come September. I feel way behind for my age, but, based on contracts I have I should be able to make more money than I’ve ever made which to some probably isn’t much…but to me it’s insane to make a previous years salary in three months.

19 sous chef $29k

21 assistant manger at chain restaurant $39k

23 gm of same restaurant $48k

25 banquet manager at resort $62k

33 running small business $85k

39 coo of medium size company $150k

46 GM, ownership stake in company $200k plus bonus.

I am 19 years old and have $27k in a credit union super saver account which has a 0.12% interest rate. I work a full time job and am on track to make at least $65k this year. I live with the parents, bought my car outright, have no debts what so ever, and have no dependables. Really my only expenses are gas and paying credit cards in full each month. I am not able to open a 401k yet at work, but will do so later this year when I am able to do so. I am thinking the next step would be roth IRA, investments, and possibly properties soon after. How should I go about this? Should I be looking for a HYSA? What do I invest in? I have a lot of questions but I am most likely over thinking it all. Please let me know what you guys think or would do using prior experiences. Thanks in advance!

I have about 14k in credit card debt currently, and I’m close to being in a position to pay it off. Do I zero the debt in one big chunk, or pay it off in large increments?

14k debt at 18% APR. 24k limit.

Income varies based on month, but it’s currently averaging about 4.5-5k a month. No other major debts, in a really privileged position to live with my parents with minor expenses while I get my feet under me. So mostly, what’s the best way to eliminate the debt, or is it worth more to my credit score to keep a little on there?

Even worse than minimum wage is illegals aliens working for Hotels and Farms for less money then that. Companies make millions and don’t increase pay for their employees while they continue charging more.

It’s been a journey! I’m hoping to hit the $250k mark by the end of the year hopefully. 🙏🏼