Figure out how you're gonna build your money
It's easy to put money in a bank account. It's hard to make it really work for you.
Connect with a financial advisor
What's nice about banking with a big-name bank is that they'll often have some resource to help you really get your money up. It's in their best interest to see you get your money up because that means you become a customer of theirs. I have "a guy" (financial advisor) at the bank now and I've known him for almost a decade from when I'm writing this. He's gotten me through the roller-coaster of life as my income started to become "real" after college.
If you have a guy at the bank who can bring you into the fold, you're much more likely to connect with people who are also getting their money up. A friend of mine I played online video games with for years is now someone I also occasionally talk to seriously about what the market looks like and get advice from.
Know where you stand
It's not enough to have a vague idea in your head about your money from when you last checked your bank account. Grab pen and paper and document everything so you know what you've got. Write down:
- your income
- any credit cards you have
- any outstanding debts unrelated to credit cards
- what you have in savings
- what your monthly expenses are
When you connect with your guy at the bank, they'll help you make sense of all this information.
Define short and long term goals
Short term monetary goals are things that happen over days, weeks, or months. Examples:
- Didn't spend that $2 on a big disposable water bottle
- Put $50 in savings every Friday
- Pay down that loan every month
Having a "rainy day" or emergency fund is a great short term goal for everyone.
Long term goals are things that happen over months, years, or even decades:
- Invest in a company that looks like it will perform well in the next 5 years given the market
- Figure out what you'd need to make to squeeze a mortgage payment into your life for the next decade
- Calculate a deposit cadence to ensure your retirement account will exceed $3 million in 40 years