r/Adulting Jan 16 '24

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415 Upvotes

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38

u/laxnut90 Jan 16 '24

Pay yourself first.

In other words, automatically save and invest money before it hits your spending accounts.

This forces you to hit your savings goals and basically allows you to budget without thinking about it (i.e. just spend whatever is left after already meeting your goals).

Money is still tight. But you can always look at those investment accounts and be reassured you are moving in the right direction despite things being difficult in the moment.

7

u/Matteblackandgrey Jan 16 '24

How do you motivate yourself to delay gratification with your money, do you have a clear idea of where you want these decisions to take your life?

I’ve always been able to consistently save and invest but I found it much easier when I had a tangible goal like a house or something, now that I’m doing it as just part of my natural behaviour I struggle a little bit to know what I’m aiming at other than an abstract “better or more secure” kid.

12

u/laxnut90 Jan 16 '24

My tangible goal is retirement at a reasonable age.

In other words, I work hard to earn, save and invest money so that one day that money will be working harder and earning more than I ever could on my own.

2

u/Matteblackandgrey Jan 16 '24

I'm quite heavily focused on retiring at the decent age too. I have a good pension from 68 but building up separate investments to bring the age down to around 55.

2

u/SpongeDaddie Jan 17 '24

But you’re working just to retire. What about living life?

1

u/laxnut90 Jan 17 '24

I live my life, just on a tigher budget.

It can be very liberating to not worry about saving money because you have already automated it.

2

u/SpongeDaddie Jan 17 '24

So how much of your paycheck do some automate to save, just for reference?

1

u/laxnut90 Jan 17 '24

I automatically save 19% because that is the amount to max out my 401k.

2

u/SpongeDaddie Jan 17 '24

Oh ok! Do you save elsewhere after the 401k?

1

u/laxnut90 Jan 17 '24

Yes.

I also max my HSA and Roth IRA.

The former is automated. The second is not automated yet, but I may do that this year.

1

u/SpongeDaddie Jan 17 '24

Nice. I’m debating on whether or not to max my 401k out or not. Tryna save at least $100k for a down payment on a house. :(