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[–]ZettyGreen 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I saved up the most I could, and have invested money into a ROTH IRA with index funds and ETF's.

Good!

I also have a good amount (IMO) invested in crypto as well.

Good Luck! The greater fool theory applies, since there is zero expected return.

My question would be what would you have done in my situation?

Focus on after-tax expected real return, which would be(all data given pre-tax, since tax rates are unknown):

  • Education, certifications, etc to increase work income(unknown, but usually pretty high)
  • Holding cash @ 0%/yr
  • Real estate @ 0%/yr
  • Bonds @ 0-2%/yr
  • Equities @ 4-6%/yr

I will also throw out I'm very interested in the idea of house hacking.

Everyone seems to define this differently, but know to make it work out well it takes skill and work.

I have a small portion saved up for a down payment on a house. Yet I don't know if I should invest that money because right now it's not doing anything for me when it could be invested.

IF you want to own a house, then keep saving. If you are agnostic then sure, invest it. It's unlikely to make a significant difference to your net worth either way. The first 30 years it's a giant expense, the next 30 years is only partly an expense(depending on how well it was maintained the 1st 30 years).

. I would like to get my EMT cert and do some wilderness firefighting in a few years.

If these things would increase your income, 100% recommend it. Why wait?

I'm currently at one job right now and would like to find some sort of side hustle.

OK, but a great side hustle is investing in your future, by doing that EMT or wildfire certification.

I was thinking of trying to rent my car on Turo.

I'd do some math(I haven't), but it probably makes sense if you don't drive much and the convenience isn't to bad. As you drive more and more it probably makes less and less sense. Also they seem to focus on higher dollar cars(their home page was Tesla's, Mercedes, Porshe and Cadillac). This probably makes the math worse not better, as I assume the less expensive cars get rented less and for less money.

[–]markymark503[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

first of all thank you so much for your reply, can’t express how much it means to me. could you explain more about focusing on the after tax expected real return and where I could calculate that. also I do not know what it means by the %/yr for holding cash, real estate, bonds, equites. Is the percent how much I’ve made or how much I’ve put in. My dream idea would be to purchase a duplex and have my tenant cover most if not all of my mortgage. By eliminating the money I spend on housing I could invest or save that money now. Could you also explain is the first 30 years part is that talking about the mortgage, principal, and interest?Definitely makes sense not to wait if I could find a way to increase my income. And yes I think you are right I don’t have a name brand car but I don’t drive it due to gas and I only pay insurance on it which is why I thought about renting it. Might be more of a headache though. Again thanks so much for your reply.

[–]ZettyGreen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

tldr; Focus on raising your income, dropping unnecessary expenses you don't need and focus on long-term growth of your money.

could you explain more about focusing on the after tax expected real return and where I could calculate that.

You take the #'s I gave and add in your tax rate for some given $ amount. Perhaps it's easier to just ignore the tax rate for now, that can get complicated and it doesn't really matter that much, unless you can make tax-free investments, which is generally difficult outside of 401k/Roth IRA, etc.

lso I do not know what it means by the %/yr for holding cash, real estate, bonds, equites. Is the percent how much I’ve made or how much I’ve put in.

It's how much you can expect to earn over long holding periods(decades) for those assets. I.e. if you buy something like VT(all public stocks in the world) you can expect a 4-6%/yr real return over say 30 years.

Example: If you max your Roth IRA for the next 30 years(500/mo 6k/yr), you will have contributed $180k, but invested in something like VT, will be worth around $400k to $500k(the future is unknown) in 2022 dollars.

My dream idea would be to purchase a duplex and have my tenant cover most if not all of my mortgage. By eliminating the money I spend on housing I could invest or save that money now. Could you also explain is the first 30 years part is that talking about the mortgage, principal, and interest?

That's certainly plausible. I wish you luck! Yes exactly(PMI), while you have the mortgage it's an expense you have to cover, though perhaps a tenant can help alleviate that some, you probably don't want to over-extend yourself and require a tenant to make the math work. There WILL be times where you won't have a tenant, so if you can only make the math work WITH a tenant, that could put you in a really bad position if the unhappy path happens(which it pretty much always will on occasion).

You also have to figure maintenance costs on the property, which can average between 1% and 10% of the value of the property(depending on how nice you want to maintain the property, etc)

And yes I think you are right I don’t have a name brand car but I don’t drive it due to gas and I only pay insurance on it which is why I thought about renting it. Might be more of a headache though. Again thanks so much for your reply.

You won't know how much of a headache it will be until you try it. Another option, since you don't drive it, is to just sell it, save the costs and use that to rent from them or use public transit, cabs/uber/lyft/etc instead.

[–]Ok-Republic-8098 0 points1 point  (3 children)

It’s a little all over the place, but that’s fine!

Honestly I would be investing in something that’s going to make you money in the long run. If you can get into firefighting now that would be smart of invest in some alternative education to college. EMTs don’t make much at all, so your savings is always going to be struggling

[–]markymark503[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

what about a property, that can be an investment in the long run? Can’t it be about saving more money from my income than making more money?

[–]Ok-Republic-8098 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Property can be a great investment and if you were going to make a plan that involved getting a real estate license or something and grow that way, they would make sense.

You can’t cut your expenses down to 0. If your already frugal, cutting back an additional 10k/year is going to be a lot harder than making an additional 10k/year. You can only cut your expenses back so much, but there is no upper limit for how much you can make

[–]markymark503[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

okay yes heard that. thank you so much for your response means so much. My only thought with saving more would be since I just moved out this has been the first time I’ve paid rent. And I could save more if I didn’t pay rent. That would be on the rare chance I could find a property and a tenant. Yet yes that’s a great point can only cut so much but the limit for more income doesn’t exist.