Young Kids starting out in their Careers.

[DoWhat]

Helpful hints
* Always contribute to meet the match of a 401K (if available), if not open an IRA (ROTH)
* You are young, take high risk
* Buy a used car and pay cash (no car payments)
* Purchase property when you save up enough money, to not have to purchase PMI

Help me out you old Farts
Lets give our younger generation some helpful advice.

Go

 

[NextJen]

Always contribute to meet the match of a 401K (if available), if not open an IRA (ROTH)

Whenever you get a raise, increase the amount you are contributing.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Bump up your 401k contribution each time you get a raise.

If available have money put into a separate account that has a fairly high yield and forget about it, never touch it. Twenty years later I got $150k in mine.

Investigate a high deductible health plan with an HSA, you can have a ton of money in there by the time you'll ever need any if you're young and healthy.

Don't waste $1k on a phone every year. Buying cheaper phones outright is always cheaper.

 

[vraiblonde]

An oldie but still true: no matter what your talent, someone out there will pay you to do it.

Don't be afraid to leave crappy jobs and take a chance on a better offer.

Talk to EVERYONE and listen to what they say. Your dream career might be something you didn't even know existed.

 

[UglyBear]

Not an old fart yet, but I have some tips:
Have a high-limit credit card, but pay it off to the cent every month — this builds up credit history and self-discipline.
Forget “fancy” — you did not deserve luxury yet.

Being poor does not mean suffering — that’s a state of mind. Buying things does not bring joy. As long as you are poor anyway, learn to find happiness in free things, and appreciate them. Find friends and relationships who hold the same view.

This is something I wish I did — if you have a job, even a good one, and someone offers you a new job in a different field, or in a different place, take it. You are still young, you have time to build a career, but this is the time to explore.

 

[HemiHauler]

Contribute not only to your employer's match, but also work up to contributing the IRS maximum (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plan...re-eligible-for-more-than-one-retirement-plan). Be careful to not over-contribute as that invokes IRS penalties.

After that, max out ROTH contributions. And after that, open a regular taxable brokerage account. You want a blend of deferred income and post-tax contributions for your retirement nest egg. Chances are good that you will stay in the same relative tax bracket in retirement, though your marginal rate may go up or down slightly at our politicians' whims. Having both pre-tax and post-tax money saved gives you options to ride out those uncertainties.

Don't underestimate the value of insurance - whole life, long-term care, and personal liability umbrella (PLUP). These are designed to protect one's income stream for your surviving spouse/family in case something happens to the breadwinner, or other situations that PLUP will cover. Term life can be useful if used correctly, but the whole "buy term and invest the difference" (BTID) crap that was popular for a while is often not a good way to go for most households -- especially if your employer provides whole life policies.

 

[glhs837]

An oldie but still true: no matter what your talent, someone out there will pay you to do it.

Don't be afraid to leave crappy jobs and take a chance on a better offer.

Talk to EVERYONE and listen to what they say. Your dream career might be something you didn't even know existed.

This is something I wish I did — if you have a job, even a good one, and someone offers you a new job in a different field, or in a different place, take it. You are still young, you have time to build a career, but this is the time to explore.

These things here. Both crappy and good jobs can be left for different ones. Even if its not a pay raise, it can be an experience builder. And as you add variety to your resume, it opens up more doors. You can become a unicorn with a skill set that it either rare or impossible to find, and the synergy you can generate from brining different work experiences can be invaluable to an employer.

I think generally those happiest with their jobs are those who continually sought out new jobs that broadened their experience. Being the IT guy who understands enough about operations to know better what that group needs, or even the server who understands the flow in the kitchen or back office where they plan purchases. Just knowing more about "adjacent" things to your job help you do it better and stand out.

 

[SamSpade]

I'm probably going to be a bit of a wet blanket here - but don't undervalue the job you have. Almost every job will be boring from time to time, if not a lot. Any good job will be challenging, and you'll have moments where you're not sure you can pull it off. You'll have a boss or two who is obnoxious or rude or maybe just doesn't care. I believe time wounds all heels - I had a boss who was often about the worst boss you can imagine - and he was eventually FIRED from the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - for sexual harassment.

Don't toss a stable, good paying job because you think the grass is greener - THAT job will also have something you're not keen on.

This has happened to me three times in my career - I threw away a good paying, somewhat dull job for what turned out to be a short term thrill and later, disaster. There are risks, and there's a reason they're called risks - because you can lose as easily as you can win. Make sure what you're risking is something worth risking.

I have an old college friend who did something with his family I admit, I wish I had done or could do - MASSIVELY downsized his entire life, taking his family into a house the size of my first starter home. And paid it off - before they were even done with school. With the money that DIDN'T go into a house - he took his family on yearly vacations and travel that I can pull off maybe once or twice. Admittedly, he went further than a lot of us would - they spend almost no time online, and they don't watch TV or streaming.

 

[vraiblonde]

Probably the most valuable advice I was given as a young person:

"When opportunity knocks, answer the ****ing door. "

But honestly, different people want different lives. You get someone who wants to be at the same job in the same house with the same spouse and the same friends their whole life; then there are people like me; then there's everyone in between. Neither is wrong or right, it's just the life that suits the individual. So advice I give wouldn't be appropriate to someone who values consistency and conformity.

 

[SamSpade]

Probably the most valuable advice I was given as a young person:

"When opportunity knocks, answer the ****ing door. "

But honestly, different people want different lives. You get someone who wants to be at the same job in the same house with the same spouse and the same friends their whole life; then there are people like me; then there's everyone in between. Neither is wrong or right, it's just the life that suits the individual. So advice I give wouldn't be appropriate to someone who values consistency and conformity.

Agreed. I grew up bouncing around, moving constantly, having to be the "new kid" almost every year and no more than every other year. I went to eight schools, K-12. And different neighborhoods. I so envied people that had friends they'd known all their lives - and I had none like that. I learned to make new friends, but it never got easier. My cousins, mostly, have not moved from the area they grew up in - and I rarely EVER saw them.

So I decided - whatever happens, my kids will have stability. They will stay in an area where they can have friends for years, grow up where they can build those deep bonds, interact with a community where those people will overlap. They will have a place they BELONG.

Friendships are dependent on time spent - lose it, and you do grow apart. A pastor I knew compared it to sinking wells - you can dig a few wells deeply, or have lots of shallow ones - but your limit is time. You only have so much time to "dig". It depends on what you want.

 

[Monello]

College students should do a tourist seasonal job during their summers off from school. Not the best paying jobs but it's the experience. 2-3 months in an awesome place with room & board provided. The kids just have to show up and work.

My nephew did that 9 years ago. He did 4 months in Yellowstone National Park. He has a real job now and can't head off for the summer. But he often reminds me how his summer as a yellowstoner was the best summer of his life.

 

[DoWhat]

The kids just have to show up and work.

That could be a problem.

 

[DoWhat]

I would love to get a neighborhood kid around here to help me out with basic yard work.
Nope.

 

[UglyBear]

I'm probably going to be a bit of a wet blanket here - but don't undervalue the job you have. Almost every job will be boring from time to time, if not a lot. Any good job will be challenging, and you'll have moments where you're not sure you can pull it off. You'll have a boss or two who is obnoxious or rude or maybe just doesn't care. I believe time wounds all heels - I had a boss who was often about the worst boss you can imagine - and he was eventually FIRED from the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT - for sexual harassment.

Don't toss a stable, good paying job because you think the grass is greener - THAT job will also have something you're not keen on.

This has happened to me three times in my career - I threw away a good paying, somewhat dull job for what turned out to be a short term thrill and later, disaster. There are risks, and there's a reason they're called risks - because you can lose as easily as you can win. Make sure what you're risking is something worth risking.

I have an old college friend who did something with his family I admit, I wish I had done or could do - MASSIVELY downsized his entire life, taking his family into a house the size of my first starter home. And paid it off - before they were even done with school. With the money that DIDN'T go into a house - he took his family on yearly vacations and travel that I can pull off maybe once or twice. Admittedly, he went further than a lot of us would - they spend almost no time online, and they don't watch TV or streaming.

We are not saying different things.
Stability and career is good when one has family and dependents — maybe starting in one’s early 30’s. That’s a time to dig in.
When one is young and still looking for that path that is deserving of spending a big chunk in f your life in, it’s good to look around and take any opportunity that presents itself.

 

[stgislander]

College students should do a tourist seasonal job during their summers off from school. Not the best paying jobs but it's the experience. 2-3 months in an awesome place with room & board provided. The kids just have to show up and work.

My nephew did that 9 years ago. He did 4 months in Yellowstone National Park. He has a real job now and can't head off for the summer. But he often reminds me how his summer as a yellowstoner was the best summer of his life.

Not so much my age group, but I remember the kids 6-10 years older going to Ocean City to work the summers of their Jr and Sr years.

 

[Merlin99]

The military is a good option if you don’t have money or the desire for college. It’ll cover most of the cost if it’s a financial issue, it’ll teach you a skill if it’s a desire issue.

 

[Grumpy]

My nephew did that 9 years ago. He did 4 months in Yellowstone National Park. He has a real job now and can't head off for the summer. But he often reminds me how his summer as a yellowstoner was the best summer of his life.

A older guy I worked with did that in the 50s at Yellowstone, said it was the best years of his life. I didn't really get it (and still don't) since he was worth 20mil at the time and was only working because he tried retirement and didn't like it..Said he HAD to be involved in something.

 

[Monello]

Not so much my age group, but I remember the kids 6-10 years older going to Ocean City to work the summers of their Jr and Sr years.

Those summer jobs require you to provide your own lodging. Rents in tourist areas are usually sky high. At the remote places, everyone gets a room.

 

[Monello]

A older guy I worked with did that in the 50s at Yellowstone, said it was the best years of his life. I didn't really get it (and still don't) since he was worth 20mil at the time and was only working because he tried retirement and didn't like it..Said he HAD to be involved in something.

In the 1950s or he was in his 50s?

 

[Grumpy]

In the 1950s or he was in his 50s?

Sorry, in the 1950s, he graduated from Villanova in 1960, worked over summers in the previous 3 years at Yellowstone.