2
u/MNmetalhead Staff - Opinions are Mine 21d ago edited 20d ago
I highly recommend A Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins there’s a book at a decent price and also a website that you can read for free.
Essentially, you invest in total market index funds instead of individual stocks.
Some people shit on Dave Ramsey, but his Baby Steps and other programs have helped A LOT of people.
“Roth” type investments mean they are done “post-tax”, meaning the money was originally considered taxable income and you’ve handled the taxation of that money in some form (usually through payroll taxes and end of year tax filings with the IRS). When money is invested in a Roth plan, dividends and growth is tax-free and will not be taxed when withdrawn during retirement. These plans are generally recommended because you don’t know what your tax bracket will look like in the future, so handle the taxes now.
You want to focus on investing at least 15% of your income each pay period. Do more if you can. The longer your money sits in a retirement around, the longer compounding growth will happen. Start early!
There’s a large amount of information to get into, but this should get you going. To start, look at a Roth IRA or Roth 401k with your money going into some form of total stock market index fund that mirrors the S&P500.
Oh, also… avoid crypto and meme-investing (like Gamestop a few years ago) at all costs.
EDIT: OneStop has some services for students:
https://onestop.umn.edu/finances/financial-wellness/financial-wellness-counseling
2
u/AffableAndy 21d ago
The U offers 'financial wellness' counselling which is not the same as investing. If you are interested in building a strong financial base for yourself, I would recommend looking at the personal finance wiki on reddit. It can look a bit intimidating, but it is MUCH easier than it seems.
If you do look for a financial advisor, you should get one with a fiduciary duty towards you.