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Werewolfdad t1_j6leann wrote

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics

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NannerPanda OP t1_j6lfnos wrote

Ah yes this is a great resource except:

  1. I don't have an employer matching fund. I might have one in the future, but not right now. As my position does not offer this.
  2. My only debt is my student loan (4.65% interest rate). Which in the United States may or may not be cancelled and there is also some debate in the air about if you'll get a refund if you make payments and then it gets cancelled. I don't want to lose my money to that nonsense.

Which puts me at a loss of what to do.. I mean Roth IRA sounds like that's where I should start but even then I'm still at a loss of what to do.

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Werewolfdad t1_j6lfpz7 wrote

> but even then I'm still at a loss of what to do.

Why?

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NannerPanda OP t1_j6lg7tc wrote

Frankly I just don't know much about... investing in general and if it's even worth it despite having so little.

I know there's a max yearly contribution of $6k. I know the earnings won't be taxed. I know with some lurking on Reddit I can find what index funds to put the money in the IRA to.

I can barely grasp the idea of what an index fund is. I don't know if what I am considering doing is feasible (a small portion of what I usually put into savings into the IRA). And even if I manage to open IRA, I don't really know what to do. Do I constantly have to buy index funds? Can I just throw money into it regularly and forget about it? I genuinely don't know anything other than "I can open a Roth IRA with Fidelity and it's an investment... thing."

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Werewolfdad t1_j6lgfby wrote

> I can barely grasp the idea of what an index fund is

A bunch of stocks. Often, all the stocks.

(effectively anyway. If you buy VTSAX or FZROX or VTI, you own a basket of all the US stocks)

> I don't know if what I am considering doing is feasible

Saving some is better than saving none.

>And even if I manage to open IRA, I don't really know what to do.

buy index funds and wait 40 years

>. Do I constantly have to buy index funds?

Only when you contribute new money

>Can I just throw money into it regularly and forget about it?

Yes

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_investing

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_retirement_accounts

Should explain it

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NannerPanda OP t1_j6lh489 wrote

Should I even be looking into an IRA if I don't have a retirement fund? Granted, I don't particularly care about being alive that long. If I'm old and my senses start going, just pull the plug :P

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Werewolfdad t1_j6lh786 wrote

> Should I even be looking into an IRA if I don't have a retirement fund?

An IRA is a retirement fund

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NannerPanda OP t1_j6lhtnq wrote

See this is why I'm so lost. I appreciate your patience very much ;_; thank you

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czarnar t1_j6llt7v wrote

You're not lost, you're here! You made it. Step 1, complete!

The next step, step 2, is a bigger step. Education. We are all learning, because all of our lives and situations are all different and always changing. The terms you are seeing here and in the link above, look them up and start to learn how the different elements map to your situation. A big thing you'll hear is making a budget and outlining your goals. Both will help you here too.

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NannerPanda OP t1_j6loje1 wrote

I appreciate this thank you. I've been diving into the wiki that was linked earlier. Mainly looking at Roth IRA and I-Bonds and thinking about how much money I have. I already keep track of my expenses on a spreadsheet so I know if I'm wasting money, if I have enough room to spend money, etc. Not exactly budgeting but it's something.

Thinking about...
- Savings for expenses under a year (emergency fund, or if something comes up)
- I-bonds for expenses past a year (down payments on a new living situation, battery for my car, potential trips, etc.)
- IRA for retirement

Man, money things are so complicated. ;_;

EDIT: Thinking of brokerage accounts with low cost index funds too but the tax stuff scares me. I don't want to invest and then suddenly have to pay a whole bunch of taxes ;_;

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czarnar t1_j6mt0k2 wrote

If I were in your shoes, I would start with a more detailed budget then and I would absolutely include the student debt into the budget. Even though you aren't paying it atm pretend you are and really get to the bottom of how much money you have in excess each month.

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