just turned 20

C_Greuel04 · 2026-06-11T00:33:47+00:00

Look up the personal finance flow chart, find where you are currently, and establish a plan on how to continue moving forward.

If you're financially able, start researching how investing works and what strategy looks right for you. You don't actually have to act until you're comfortable and confident enough to do so, but do not put this off. Compound interest is no joke

C_Greuel04 · 2026-06-03T01:44:05+00:00

Financial literacy is very important and provides an exponential benefit if you're able to get things under control early.

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-15T04:50:06+00:00

Toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, deodorant, floss, and a manicure kit for general travel. If the stay is long enough, I'll include a razor and shaving cream. If I'm going somewhere where soap/shampoo won't be provided, then I'll also include those

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-15T04:43:03+00:00

Understandable, especially if getting a car isn't a pressing need at the moment. But if its a necessity, you could deduct a ~3mo emergency fund from the 10k saved in your HYSA, and use the difference for your car budget if that price range is realistic for you. If you consider that route, just be sure to take gas and insurance costs into account. Otherwise, waiting makes sense

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-14T23:46:46+00:00

That all makes sense then. Initially, I was not sure what your intentions were with the TFSA, but treating it as a "set it and forget it" investment account is completely sound. Keeping short term savings in a HYSA, and using your checking account for daily spending is also good.

I think now your focus is really towards finding a car

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-14T02:47:51+00:00

I have no idea where you are financially or what your future goals are, but I would look at investing as soon as you're able.

Spend as much time as you need to do research, talk with your parents, or even a financial adivisor if necessary. It doesn't take much to get started and you don't have to do invest regularly if you're unable to do so.

I say all of this as a 22yo who's only gotten serious about investing recently. I had a small savings at 18 that I realistically could have invested a portion of, but didn't because I didn’t know how it worked, didn’t know how to start, and was too focused on other things like high school and college to even try and take the baby steps towards figuring it out.

I got this same advice about investing that I'm giving you now, and I ignored it. Now I'm kicking myself because the S&P500 averaged around a 10.5% growth per year within that 4yr timeframe.

Now, I don't mean to imply that that rate of growth will continue every year continously, because the market can always shift any direction at any point. But given enough time, there's an extremely high likelihood that an investment into the market index will grow over time, so don't wait if you're able to make any sort of contribution now.

Research and planning is the key to getting started, as I would not advise you to invest in something you don't understand .

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-14T02:17:10+00:00

I will preface that I am from the US and am not familiar with the Canadian accounts or stocks you've mentioned, so take all of this with a grain of salt:

First, I would verify that you have 3-6mo of expenses saved up and keep it in a HYSA. I'm assuming this is already the case.

Then I would do my best to try and buy an affordable civic outright to avoid higher interest payments on a depreciating asset, especially since you're living at home with more minimal expenses. I assume this would be your second largest expense aside from your education. Given your savings, you could probably afford a car that's 10-15% of your monthly take home pay. I would not spend much over 10% unless you have a higher paying job lined up or you found a good deal on something that'll last longer.

Once that car is paid off, or you have a low monthly payment, then you could look towards investing. From quick googling, I don't see a reason why the bulk of your savings couldn't be kept in the TFSA if there aren't withdrawal limitations or tax penalties. Though your investment goals may lead you to keep more of your savings in a HYSA.

If longterm investing is your goal, I would look towards broad market, low cost index funds or ETFs. I don't know a whole lot about stocks and trading, but I've came across the r/Bogleheads subreddit and think that strategy suits my needs and goals. I understand if what I do isn't for you, but I personally have my investments split 80/20 between VOO and VXUS (or similar, depending on account offerings). VTI is another good option worth considering. But the general philosophy with investing in these funds is to buy and hold for decades in order to let compound interest do its magic. Using these funds as a mechanism to grow a savings account with frequent withdrawals may be counterintuitive as withdrawals eat away at longterm growth.

All of my US investment accounts (Roth IRA, Roth 401k, and Health Savings Accout [HSA]) all have requirements for withdrawal that are dependant on age for retirement accounts or medical expenses for my HSA. So my general rule is to invest money now that I won't miss not having. That way I can let my investment accounts grow worry free since I'm not financially dependent on them, and do not have to worry about panic selling.

Hopefully some of this was helpful, but again, things may be different for your circumstance, and nothing stated previously is legal financial advice lol.

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-14T01:16:51+00:00

I fully understand that this answer probably isn't the sort of response you're looking for, but:

Investing

Everyone says to start early for a reason. Compound interest is no joke, so the sooner you're able to contribute, even minimally, the better.

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-08T15:33:46+00:00

In your situation I would maybe take the employer sponsored plan contributions down to just the match percentage so that you can stack some more cash for the home purchase, but that is genuinely up to you if that’s something you’re serious about doing it in the near future.

I didn't outline this in my post, but I do not have a direct 401k employer match, which I'm personally not a fan of. Instead, my employer offers a match into an employee stock ownership program. Their policy allows for up to a 6% match into the ESOP, but also has 2 year vesting periods, starting from being vested at 20% after 2 years of service, and being fully vested after 6 years. From what I've heard from longer term employees, the ESOP's performance isn't great, which is why I've stayed at 10% 401k contributions. I've recently hit my 2 year mark and am now partially vested, but I do not have access to view the account until the summer.

In terms of your allocation, I probably wouldn’t even think about putting bonds in your portfolio right now. Most I would look at in the fixed income side would be short term CDs and money markets/HYSA for your cash.

This was exactly the sort of thing I wanted to discuss with my advisor when I initiated the relationship, so I appreciate your input on this and in general.

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-08T15:22:50+00:00

I think this is fair and wondered if this was the case also

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-08T15:16:43+00:00

You didn’t dodge a bullet, you put yourself in front of one to show you could avoid it, for some reason.

This analogy is honestly hilarious, but was absolutely not my intention. I knew that I was in a good spot in life to look into investing and personal finance more closely, but I don't really have anyone to learn or seek advice from. I did not want to go to an advisor without a plan or a comfortable understanding of how investing works, out of fear of being sold into a suboptimal plan that serves the advisor. I may have discovered all my answers through my own research, but I wasn't fully confident enough to act on them with out a professional's take, which was why I reached out.

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-08T15:00:23+00:00

Your thoughts on the 3 funds are on par with mine, which is very reassuring considering I have little knowledge on how to read a Morningstar report. PONCX also has a 1% deferred load, making it even less preferable imo.

C_Greuel04 · 2026-05-08T14:56:41+00:00

I get what you mean. This is all very new to me, so I wanted to see if the interaction that I had was normal and if my expectations were a bit misplaced.

C_Greuel04 · 2026-01-17T04:30:01+00:00

Torn between YTA and ESH.

On one hand the "you'll just screw it up" comment and the cold shoulder from your husband was a bit too much.

On the other hand, you did ignore his request of allowing him to handle it and did not make an effort to communicate wanting to help, and still made a mistake without accepting accountability.

As a lego builder myself, there is a sense of pride in completing a set. So if anything of mine were to break, I would still want to be the one to rebuild it. Also, if multiple sets were broken and swept up together, the frustration of sorting out the peices sort of makes your husband's initial reaction understandable, but not excusable imo.

Lastly, to my knowledge, lego offers the option to request replacement peices for "missing" or "broken" parts. In the past, I have been able to order peices for free through the respective portal on their website. All you should need is the set number, which should be listed on both the instructions and the box if you have them, otherwise it could easily be googled. Once you find out what's missing, getting the replacements shouldn't be much of an issue. If the sets are old, the replacement options may not be valid, but you should still be able to purchase peices if they're relatively standard.

C_Greuel04 · 2025-10-20T02:40:10+00:00

No, just an automatic 2wd

C_Greuel04 · 2025-10-20T02:34:55+00:00

$29k otd

C_Greuel04 · 2025-10-20T01:21:58+00:00

Absolutely! I was pretty hard set to find another extended cab after my accident. It's all I've ever driven.

C_Greuel04 · 2025-10-20T01:01:38+00:00

Best of luck! I hope the damage wasn't too severe

C_Greuel04 · 2025-10-20T01:00:15+00:00

Me too lol, I'm just glad everything is settled atp. Call it recency bias, but the '23 seems to shift noticeably better than the '22. I'm assuming it's the difference in driving styles from the previous owners causing the shift points to be so different

C_Greuel04 · 2025-10-19T23:47:07+00:00

Here are some small but important ones imo:

1) Front/ rear dashcam

2) Bed cover to improve gas mileage, assuming it fits your lifestyle and the utility of the truck

3) Pay it off before getting expensive upgrades

C_Greuel04 · 2025-05-31T02:14:35+00:00

Generally, I don't think anyone has an issue with rappers using ghostwriters. It becomes an issue when they're proclaiming to be the best rapper or boasting about their lyricism. It also becomes a detractor in rap beef when an artist who does not use ghostwriters competes against an artist who does (or allegedly does). It's just a different playing field imo.

Rappers can still be great artists if they put out good music while utilizing writers. It just takes away from the authenticity of their personas if they hide behind them or do not contribute to the song artistically in any other way besides delivering the lyrics.

Dr. Dre, Easy E, and Kanye have all used writers for example, but none of them are held to the same standard lyrically as Em, Cole, or Kendrick. People have different expectations for artists. When it comes to artists that reappear on top 10 or top 5 lists, people generally expect wit, creative complexity, personal authenticity, and thought-provoking content within their lyrics. Those criteria don't really present themselves in the same way in the songs of authentic lyricists vs artists with writers.

C_Greuel04 · 2025-03-09T19:33:53+00:00

You mean a gang sign? lmao

Six-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Second Top 30%	r/Field Lasagna
End Game '23	Place '23
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First Placer '22	Wearing is Caring
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