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Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

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11–20 of 26 posts

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#11
Auto deposit part of paycheck into savings account that I absolutely never every touch besides moving that money to betterment (or some other managed investment vehicle). Has never failed me. I haven’t withdrawn from that account in 15 years.

Also I get all my groceries from ethnic stores so I save at least 50% there. I also own my house outright so I don’t waste money on mortgage interest.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#12
post #5

After paying off existing debt the next best thing once you have an emergency fund covered is stocks and maybe a little crypto if you're feel like future proofing yourself. The yield on government bonds is really low at the moment and p2p loans can be finicky at best (I've lost more money than I've made from Mintos...). Stocks have been giving great returns over the last few years and while there's almost certainly g…

I don't have the necessary financial knowledge to learn how to trade efficiently. I know it's now just buy low, sell high. The problem is when and what to buy.

The only thing that I could do regarding this is use a platform like etoro and their copy feature.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#13
post #5

After paying off existing debt the next best thing once you have an emergency fund covered is stocks and maybe a little crypto if you're feel like future proofing yourself. The yield on government bonds is really low at the moment and p2p loans can be finicky at best (I've lost more money than I've made from Mintos...). Stocks have been giving great returns over the last few years and while there's almost certainly g…

crypto...I wanted to buy btc when it was 16k, then thanked myself I didn't (it crashed to 8k) and now it traded for 25k+...same with XRP

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#14
post #12
post #5

After paying off existing debt the next best thing once you have an emergency fund covered is stocks and maybe a little crypto if you're feel like future proofing yourself. The yield on government bonds is really low at the moment and p2p loans can be finicky at best (I've lost more money than I've made from Mintos...). Stocks have been giving great returns over the last few years and while there's almost certainly g…

I don't have the necessary financial knowledge to learn how to trade efficiently. I know it's now just buy low, sell high. The problem is when and what to buy. The only thing that I could do regarding this is use a platform like etoro and their copy feature.

Thats the great thing about Exchange Traded funds which track an index - there's no thinking to do just invest in the fund for example this is a popular one: Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

And when you buy this you are effectively buying, Apple, Amazon, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble Co, NVIDIA etc because the fund will go ahead and buy all the largest 500 US companies weighted by market cap.

The S&P500 has returned an average of 12% a year for the last 10 years.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#15
I never really budget to be honest. I simply spent as little money as possible. To me, it’s like people that want to lose weight. You can stick to a diet or simply choose to eat less at all times. Every time I spent, I figure out what is on discount and whether it’s a ‘want’ or a ‘need’. I will indulge once in a while on late night food though.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#17
My suggestion: Don't overthink or plan too much. The most important thing is to ensure that you don't live paycheck to paycheck i.e. spend everything you earn. Keep this formula simple: Cashflow IN > Cashflow OUT and you will start seeing results early on. I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey's baby steps if that works for you.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#18
post #13
post #5

After paying off existing debt the next best thing once you have an emergency fund covered is stocks and maybe a little crypto if you're feel like future proofing yourself. The yield on government bonds is really low at the moment and p2p loans can be finicky at best (I've lost more money than I've made from Mintos...). Stocks have been giving great returns over the last few years and while there's almost certainly g…

crypto...I wanted to buy btc when it was 16k, then thanked myself I didn't (it crashed to 8k) and now it traded for 25k+...same with XRP

If you want to dabble you could buy a little bit each month over a few years. Whatever you can afford to lose. You’ll the buy the dips as well. With bitcoin no one knows the “true value” and it’s hard to assess like a stock.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#19
Use personalcapital.com to track everything.

Put all charges onto a sold rewards card, Costco Visa in my case.

Pay off credit card every paycheck and put the rest into Ally Invest account.

Buy Etfs to maintain the balance of a solid portfolio.

Examine monthly budget from personalcapital.com and finds ways to trim expenses.

Re: Ask HN: How do you manage and budget your monthly income

#20
my bank automatically sorts all of my expenses and I review them and update miss characterizations. It has done through a phone app, it is effectively zero work

I keep all large expenses small my rent has never been more than $800 a month. I do this by living with people.

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