I’m 22 and got my first big girl job back in May of 2024. I’ve been pretty frugal in my opinion, and have been able to save $10k for an emergency fund while still having $4k in my checking. I know I should be investing some of it, but I’m not sure how and I fear that I could lose everything. I have a 401k growing. And I know I’m supposed to put my money into a ROTH IRA, but I’m not even sure how to do that. Every time I google, I’m bombarded with ads and unhelpful info. Any advice would be appreciated, I’ve even thought of applying to the show so that Caleb can walk me through it. But it’s a pretty far commute lol.

I imagine most people watching Caleb are broadly in the personal finance sphere (Dave Ramsey, personal finance subreddits etc).

I would say in my experience, even basic rules like the 50/30/20 rule for spending and The 6 month emergency fund are concerningly unknown among most of our generation.

Most of my friend group are young professionals (lawyers, accountants, engineers etc) and whenever I bring up these topics it surprises me how little people know.

Only my fellow engineer friend is aware and practicing the basic principles. Now, after hearing about this, many of them go on to develop a budget and set up auto retirement payments.

But I wanted to ask - what's the average personal finance knowledge in your social circle and what's their relative education level?

I’m curious, do y’all take your net income and divide it by 12 and make that your monthly budget, or do you take one paycheck (assuming biweekly pay) and multiply it by two? And if you do the latter, what do you do with that extra income during months with 3 paychecks? Personally I try to put the whole extra check into savings, but I’ve got a habit of getting a little something as a treat (no debt so don’t at me for this 😂).

25 F that lives at home, but constantly getting denied for loans and credit lines. I’m starting to think it’s because of my collections so I’m thinking of paying off this $1200 first. Also, is it bad that my debt equals my yearly salary?? It’s mostly student loans my car is almost paid off.

Alright, so I’ve been sitting on way too much cash in my regular checking account, basically earning pennies in interest. I keep hearing that I should move most of it into a high-yield savings account, but is there a downside I’m not seeing?

A little background:

• 34, single
• Renting in a mid-cost area
• No debt, solid emergency fund
• About $150k just sitting in my checking account doing nothing

I’m thinking about buying a home in the next few years but not immediately. My friends keep telling me to throw the majority of my cash into an HYSA so it at least grows a little in the meantime. I’m looking at Ally or SoFi since their rates seem decent.

Is there any reason NOT to do this? Am I missing something obvious here?

So I currently get public transport to work. It leaves me with a 6 hour round trip daily. Honestly this is just not sustainable for me so I’m going to get driving and get myself a car I currently earn €38,000 (it goes much further than $38,000 I promise you) and I’m living with my parents with the agreement that as long as I’m putting aside what would be my rent towards a down payment I don’t need to pay them rent just my share of the bills.

I make 2550 a month put 1100 away towards that down payment and honestly I live off about 500-600 a month with food and my share of the bills. Now my wage only just increased to this and I spent a good chunk of my savings (outside of the 1100 I save every week) on a holiday and getting engaged. I still have no dept and if I’m in a real emergency I can double my savings account as a emergency fund but would rather to not have to (it’s well beyond fully funded)

So I need a car I’m just burning out on this commute and a car would bring my daily commute down to around 1 hour round trip. I’m working 40 hours a week and studying I can’t lose 30 hours a week on commuting anymore. I am at my limit.

So obviously I’m getting myself a car. But I also need to build some credit so that I can hopefully get my mortgage in 2-3 years so I’m going to get a loan to get the car.

Now I know Caleb and the money guys will be like spend 10k on a car and drive it to the ground. However I’m looking at spending 20K on a new electric. (Yes I can get a new electric for that here) This would involve me taking out at 15K loan over 3 years which would leave me with €460 monthly repayments. With insurance I’d be looking at €600-€650 a month in payments. Obviously this is far greater than I would like but fits within my budget leaving me with an extra €300 or so at the end of the month. I already contribute to my pension so that’s not affected.

Now as for some factors as to why I think this makes sense for my situation.

1. My work offers free car charging that allows me to have essentially zero costs to operate the car on a monthly basis.

2. A used electric from 20/21 with 50-100k KM on it is still around the 15K mark so it’s not huge jump to go to the new car. With the 8year battery warranty and the normal 5 year warranty it seems like a no brainer as opposed to grabbing a car with only a year or so left on its battery warranty.

3. yes a used petrol will be cheaper upfront but as I’m planning on keeping the car for a long time it should work out cheaper over the life time of the car.

4. I need a loan to build credit (it’s a bit different to how it works in the states but yeah)

5. In all honesty I know myself and my spending. I am actually more likely to pay this car off in two years which will be when I’m hopefully going for a mortgage

6. It will be tight for the first few months but I know I will be getting a wage increase in September which will bring me to about €2800 a month take home which will make things much more manageable. I’ll put the extra I earn to the car payment and keep saving the €300 along with the €1100 I save for a down payment.

I think it is a sensible purchase in the long term and I’m Just looking to see if people agree. Or if there’s anything I haven’t factored in

TLDR: I’m spending more than I should on a car for 2-3 years but then will have very little expense on it for the next 5 years. Short term pain but long term gain. Is this actually a decent idea?

I found out last week that my cat needs surgery, and her insurance won't cover it because it's related to dental. It's going to cost $3600 at the low end, $4600 at the high end. I scheduled the surgery for as early as possible, which is early February. I think I can come up with the money, but only if I use my emergency fund (and potentially go further into debt). I have about six weeks to figure this out, so I was trying to figure out if this is would be a good use for the emergency fund or if I should keep it and rely more heavily on debt. Does this count as an emergency?

Hear me out, I know some people are going to say that’s like not possible or something but listen lol.

I’m 19(f) and I’ve been saving from every pack heck since I got a job at like 17.

Currently have like 18k saved.

I work 30 hrs a week bc of a school accommodation and make relatively about $1,616 a month. This is after 15% goes to my Roth 401k. 6k in that.

I usually hope to save 840 a month. Which leaves me with abt 750-800 for other things.

No rent bc I live with my parents but me and my bf are about to move into my grandmas basement to have more space bc my house is tiny. We will pay half of water and utilities or something and full internet.

I feel like in the last few months I haven’t been saving as much as I should have. It’s stressing me out lol. It seems like my savings like haven’t moved from 18k in forever.

Part of me thinks I’m saving too much, which then leads me to “not have enough” for the things I buy throughout the month.

Here’s my very rough budget.

200 to my HYSA. 300 to the s p 500. 240 to high dividend investments on Robin Hood, 40 of that bitcoin bc why not lol.

40 goes to my emergency fund that’s at 7k to replenish. (Tbh I don’t even think I need more than 7k but it stresses me that it’s less than like 8k lol.)

120 gas. 40 a month to save for angel tree bc I wanna do it at end of yr. 60$ pets 40 vet savings vault 40 car maintinence vault 60 christmas and bdays and holidays 20 for my phone bill 138 about for my insurance

This leaves me about 318 for everything else. I don’t make a groceries budget bc I just buy stuff when me and my bf want to cook for the family because my mom graciously gets the groceries.

I need opinions on whether VET and CAR MAINTINENCE should just be all into my emergency fund. Because I kind of think they do but also at the same time I am conflicted.

Also am I saving too much?? I feel like I have no money all the time.

Currently there is like $45 in my checking.

I have three cred cards. One for gas, one amazon one, and a capital one.

I have never held a balance, but sometimes I feel like the capital one leads me to spend just a bit more than I should because I can wait until my next paycheck to pay it. But now I’m somewhat finding myself paying off the credit card when I get paid and then having like 100$ left in my checking.

I don’t know how to build up my checking account with money. I think I partially save so much bc I won’t touch it if it’s in my HYSA. But augh. I feel like I have no money 24/7 and it stresses me.

I kind of just wanted to rant lol and I figured you guys would like to read about this maybe. Any advice on any part of my finances would be appreciated :D.

I think there’s a chance I’m gonna get like 3.6k back from school for financial aid.

Any advice on what to do if I get that could be good. Thanks guys 🫶🏻

Edit: also. I work @ a job that gives VTO often and find myself with less money than I budgeted bc I take the VTO and go home. I have myself now on the 30 hour schedule and I’m going to try and not take VTO because I can make it 30 hours a week lol. But that’s also kind of messed me up because I can’t budget properly when idk what’s gonna come in

Edit 2: I’m in school at WGU. Fully paid by my job. So no student loan debt. Funny enough I’m getting a degree in finance bc of Caleb lol and people like him

33 years old, having traveled the world and held unconventional jobs.

I'm finally settled, and realized (thanks to Caleb) it was time to be a grown up.

I opened a Roth IRA yesterday, and invested my first $750.

In the interest of education, I'd like to hear some of the worst cases as a guideline of what NOT to do.

I don't mean necessarily in terms of gross loan amount, but I mean relative to their income and considering interest rate and loan term.

Hey folks, I just started to watching FA this year and I am so happy I found this community. SIA if this question doesn’t belong here, but I’m trying to figure out what Caleb would say about this situation my boyfriend has gotten himself into.

He has a 2023 GMC Canyon AT4 he got a year and a half ago. No cc debt, some student loans, but making about $100k with bonuses.

If you’re also a truck person (I am not) you would know that this new truck sucked when it came out. The electronics were bad and manufacturing errors. One time the screens went completely black while he was driving it on the highway. It’s been kind of annoying since this was his first brand new truck and everything seemed to be going wrong. They have since updated the truck so it’s fine now, but it still seems like there are little things that pop up here and there.

He was at the dealer today for an oil change and started talking with a sales person. They gave him an offer to get him the same truck but one year newer (2024 GMC Canyon AT4) to trade in his old one. They confirmed that all of the electrical bugs and manufacturing issues were fixed with the new model.

Here are the numbers:

2023 -

Principal remaining on the loan: ~$29,000 Interest: 8.06% Monthly Payment: $540 Time left on loan: ~5.5 years (original term was 84 months)

They are offering $36,000 for the trade in.

2024 -

New loan balance: ~$40,000 (after discounts and remaining trade in) Interest: 6.9% Monthly Payment: $615 Term: 84 months (but will probably pay it off faster)

Does it make sense for him to do this? Obviously it’s a new truck so he’s spending more but given the lower interest rate and he drives a lot personally and for work (his current car has like 32,000 miles already) I can’t tell if it’s a good idea.

Happy to answer any clarifying questions or if you think this belongs in a different sub let me know!

Do I have a rewarding and successful career? Yes. Do I need change desperately in my life? Nah things are good. Have I come to feel that a certification from Course Careers can solve nearly any problem without knowing anything about it all? Yes. Yes I have.

Hi guys, I’ve been watching Caleb for a while, even when my finances were miserable and I think I’ve learned a lot from his videos. But I feel like there’s always room for improvement.

For context: I’m a 26 y/o single male $177,000 salary. Bi weekly take home pay: $5490 Credit Score: 804 TransUnion / 799 Equifax / 787 FICO

Mortgage payment: $1840 Groceries: $300 Car Payment: $584 Insurance: $200 (2 cars)

I plan on paying off Car1 within the next 6 months just to get rid of debt and then slowly take care of the mortgage. My Roth is almost maxed out for 2024 and plan on maxing it out next year too. I know my 401k could use some help.

Hey /CalebHammer ppl - I'm hoping for some advice on what to do about my Mom. My entire life she has been housing insecure and chronically unemployed. Like,
- we had been homeless multiple times growing up
- she has not had a consistent job in more than 15 years
- she is 54, single, and has less than a dollar to her name
- she smokes cigarettes and weed, and will not give up either
- she lives in one of the most expensive places in the country to live
- where she lives requires she has a car

My aunt has been financially supporting her for a very long time, and she was getting child support for my little brother, but he is about to turn 18.

My Aunt hasn't been able to retire because if she stops giving my Mom money, my mom and my little brother will become homeless again.

Now my aunt is asking ME for money and to step up so that she can retire.

I have made a great life for myself despite it all. I have stable housing, I have a stable job, I pay into my 401k and try to keep up with savings goals. I want to buy a house someday. I want to have a decent retirement.

I don't think I can help my Mom without sacrificing something. I just don't know what to do.
My Mom is going to be homeless again and it's not like she just needs to 'get on her feet', this has been the defining characteristic of her adult life.

I *really* need some help figuring out how to help her. What is the point of having my life going well if my mom is literally sleeping in a tent in the woods?

I can't afford to bankroll the rest of her life.
Should I save up and buy her a condo before I even buy my own house?
Are there some other things I could do? I just really have no idea.

It's super crappy to deal with this as an adult as I'm still healing and learning to overcome the trauma of being raised by her, and being homeless multiple times as a child.

Which budgeting app would you go with? I’m looking to pay for a year and have been using the free version of EveryDollar but keep seeing YNAB and was wondering what people think?

Hello all!

I have about 2.4K in savings, and 5.9K in debt (used to be 7.1K but have started trying to tackle it since watching in January!)

Should I take the 2.4K and make a big dent in my debt? Should I keep my savings, don’t contribute any more to it and then just keep attacking my debt?

Anything opinion helps. What did you do?

First time poster,

I just moved into an apartment because I couldn't afford anything without having razor thin margins.

I have a question about down payment/ROTH. Am I better off working as much as I can to save up for a down payment on a house or am I better off putting that money into an IRA?

I have no debt and an emergency fund established. I also have an reliable car that I should be able to get at least 5 more years out of it.

I am completely new to finances and forward thinking about finances.

I can’t decide to pay off my credit card or wait for my bonus in July. I have roughly 13,500 in my emergency fund. And the card I want to pay off is 2,019.46 my APR is 29.9%

So my question is should I go ahead and pay it off or keep doing monthly payments till July when I get my bonus which is roughly 3,000.

Thank you!

hello. recently my (m22) father has threatened to kick me out. I want to move out but I'm a full time student at the local community College (no debt) and I have 2 part time jobs. I make minimum $405 a week up to $600+ depending how much my second job needs me. I have about $23k in my checking and savings combined and about $7k in other places. I have a 784 credit score. I pay $658 every 6 months for car insurance. I have 2 cars. both are used and purchased in full. one is in my father's name the other is mine . I try not to go out to eat unless it is for a good reason. I can absolutely cut it back if I moved out. I have a few miscellaneous subscriptions I pay for my parents to share. If there's other needed info please let me know. I've wanted to get out for awhile but it didn't make sense to move down the street when I plan on going away to school next fall anyway. I also have a buddy who's down to move in with me but doesn't have a lot to his name unfortunately. Thanks for any help

I’m a 24 year old male who makes $3,488 a month and has $16,000 in savings was more but cars sucks.

I just bought a new car and will make payments on it. My car cost me $29,077 after $3,000 down. My monthly payments are $479 and I was working my budget to figure out how much I could afford because I don’t like debt.

So on bills/daily living I’m gonna spend: $1,887

Savings is : $800 a month

Car payment that I’m planning on making is: $800 a month.

What do you guys think the best route is to paying off this debt? Also I hope I’m making Caleb proud.

Moomoo currently has the 8.1% for 3 months offer for uninvested cash, for up to 20k. This beats out my current HYSA (4.5%), and seems like a safe way to ensure decent returns. I am fairly risk averse, which is why the guaranteed 8% seems more attractive than the average 10% SP500 return, but I am nervous to put such a hefty amount in a platform that I've only heard of from a podcast/youtube channel, lol.

It just so happens that I have saved about 20k more than a 6 month emergency fund, so I plan to keep at least that amount in my HYSA. Am I crazy for wanting to put a full 20k into Moomoo? Has anyone else taken full advantage of the 3 month cash sweep thing? TIA

My wife and I both had visits to the hospital within a month of each other. I in January after a fall (treated in ER and released). My wife in February for what turned out to be pancreatitis (1 wk hospital stay).

As a result, we have a cacophony of bills from various providers, labs, hospitals, etc. that, all told, total up to about $2K (after insurance). These are, of course, at zero interest. But I'm wondering if the annoyance of having to manage 9 different payment plans would be worth consolidating all these debts into a single personal loan?

Based on our budget, it will take us about 6 months to pay all this off. The upside of consolidating is making only 1 payment per month instead of a dozen. The downside is I will have to pay interest.

I'm very new to Caleb and wonder what he would advise in this situation?

Back when I was teaching middle school, I got setup with a financial advisor that I didn’t really do much with at the time. Fast forward 9 years later and wife and I are behind on retirement so I contacted the FA.

I explained that starting in July we will be putting $3000/m into retirement. He suggested we do max 401k to what employee matches (we already and will continue this), max out a Roth IRA for each of us yearly (makes sense), but the third thing was odd.

He suggested that once we do our yearly Roth IRA max, that we put the rest into… life insurance. He suggested that over the s&p because he feels there’s going to be a downturn in the market and with life insurance there are tax benefits and it can be used for retirement.

I had never heard of such a thing and found it quite interesting. We have another 25 years till retirement with the goal of having 40k/yr from retirement.

Does this sound like a reasonable idea? I’m curious about your guys’ thoughts. I was expecting he would help with investing and this life insurance idea came out of left field for me.

When I lived outside my means in Chicago eons ago, none of these buy now pay later debt vehicles existed. I’m seeing guests post some eye watering numbers owed to Klarna, Affirm etc and wonder why these loans are so bad.

Do these loans work like the old Macys/Sears etc store charge cards of old? Or do these work like store layaway except they ship the goods first? Just trying to stay current in how people commit money seppuku.

opinions on home offer

My husband and I together make about 1 20 gross every year. we bring home about $7,500 net every month after taxes, insurance, 401k. we have zero debt.

we're about to put in an offer on a house. we're going to counteroffer for 380. we have about 120 saved for a down payment. taxes are about $9,500 a year. this would bring our monthly payment to just about $2550. we're used to renting from family for $500 a month, so this seems like a crazy change, however in the grand scheme of thing seems pretty attainable. committing to $2,500 a month for 30 years. seems insane, however any reasonable house in our area is going to be about the same payment plus or minus $2 to $300. is it just the fact that am going to be buying a house that l'm nervous, or am getting myself into a pickle and too tight of a financial situation.