What to do with your money?

I am a university student and until a couple of weeks ago I completely lived off the money I get from a scholarship. I was fine with that, I live in a dormitory room so rent is not that much, I don't need a lot of stuff apart from that and like to cook myself so in summary, I can comfortably live with little money. Obviously we don't have to pay student loans here. Now I got a little job, because it is in a cool company and the work is actually interesting. I get quite a bit of money for that (for me at least, it is still a student job so compared to the guys with a degree who work there I'm of course paid really bad but that's okay) and now I don't really know what to do with that, funnily enough. I mean, sure I could get stuff like a new laptop or go to bars multiple times a week, but that just feels like a huge waste. My old thinkpad works flawlessly and if it breaks I'll get another cheap one that does the job. And I don't want to spend a lot of money on drinks, that's just not enjoyable to me when I know I could get 20x the amount of that cocktail for the same cost by mixing it myself. Somehow I just don't get that dopamine rush from consuming product, since for me buying something is usually a long and conplicated process because I want to make the perfect choice. I consider saving up to do some traveling, but during covid that is like kicking dead whales down the beach as well and to be honest, camping is the best kind of traveling if you ask me. I don't feel like donating either, I'm by no means rich (compared to people surrounding mr) and apart from that I think that I should be able to find a better cause to donate to whenever I consider that. Maybe I will get my parents a present, that would make me as well as them happy, but I have no ideas yet. So, what do you do with your money, lainon? If you are already older now, where do you wish you would have put your money when you were younger? Please don't answer "investing", this is of course a valid idea but 1.) I don't think the time I would need to put in to learn this properly would be justified and 2.) once I've got a real job, the amount I have been investing now will look like nothing, the money is worth more to present me than future me.

> once I've got a real job, the amount I have been investing now will look like nothing, the learning experience takes time too. If you learned investing a year ago you could've 5x your money on the gme case this year. You dont want to be not ready when a golden opportunity shows up. Playing with small amounts on your phone also wont hurt that much. And its easier to get high return at low amounts because you have a tax exempt limit.

>>29317 The thing is, I value time more than money, and I wouldn't enjoy learning about investing. It is just not something I care about enough to do as a hobby. >If you learned investing a year ago you could've 5x your money on the gme case this year. Wow, I could have even made millions with the lottery! But the problem is, you pay for the rewards by taking a risk, investing doesn't give you "free money", after all it is still a gamble

>>29318 I wrote 5x cause that was a pretty save bet. If you played perfectly and joined really early exiting at peak you could've done 80x . So i wasn't insinuating "if only you did everything right". Personally the 5x was my own experience cause i got notified by a friend when it started, he made more cause he went in earlier. Sure we could get burned but on the other side is earning more in a week than you would from working a student job all year. Anyway if you hate gambling or get emotional over money gains/losses don't do it but otherwise i think in the current rat race meta its the best option to get enough to get out of the race.

>>29314 A good balance of blue chip ETFs is usually what I recommend, nothing too risky. Don't plan to get rich over the next year, plan to get rich over 10 years. If you want short term wealth, focus of a good job.

>>29319 >>29320 Well thanks, I am still sure that I won't invest my money in stocks, crypto or anything else and instead want to spend it on something (you may call it investment in character or skills, but calling it consumption is probably more honest). If you want to continue discussion of investment I don't mind if you do in this thread, just know that this is a little off topic and does not directly answer my question. I respect all the people who are good with finance and economics, but it has never been something I have personally been really interested in and I won't take the time to learn it just for potentially increasing my account balance a bit over the years.

>>29323 there is no real good advice to give because "what should i buy" requires knowledge of your specific situation. Gym is a good general choice but you can get it free from your university (at least was like that for me) and otherwise you could at best improve your work enviroment. A cheap little thing i really liked in hindsight was getting a office plant. Spider plant for example can filter air against ink printers. There was a list from nasa with plants and what they filter against and there is more general research on using plants to improve health in office. Its not a huge deal but a statistically significant improvement. Personally i just like having some green in the room and its really cheap to do.

I'm in a situation similar to you OP. I have thousands of dollars saved up and I make more than I spend, but I still live like I'm a broke student. You might try moving? That is the main thing I'd like to do, if I could get a nicer apartment for $100 more a month I'd take it. I just don't have time to look for a new one and I'd still need flatmates. Also consider getting in to cooking. In most places the really good fresh ingredients are going to be more expensive than the crap you can live off when you're broke, and it pays off pretty directly.

>>29327 If you like cooking get a kitchen aid. Best thing i ever did. Makes everything much less painful which ensures you do a lot more cooking.

Buy lots of expensive drugs

>>29325 >>29328 Thanks, I know that this heavily depends on who I am, but after all most lainons have some stuff in common so I thought you may have some ideas. Gym for example is a great idea, as many of us struggle with confidence issues and social anxiety and working out and getting strong helps a lot with that. I did pay for a gym membership for a year but now I have some equipment at home (pullup bar and kettlebells) because I prefer that. I think I should invest in some adjustable dumbbells though. Moving does not make sense, as I live in a dorm room I would have to pay about twice the amount to get a comparable apartment in a worse location and a lot more to get something better than my current one. A kitchen aid is interesting but I always thought it would be just for baking? I don't have a lot of room for it but I'll look into it. At the moment I buy quality ingredients and use them to cook simple stuff. >>29348 Why? And what?

>>29314 You might want to consider getting a second monitor for your laptop--the added screen space's a boon to productivity and bigger monitors make things a hell of a lot easier to see. While you're at it, you could get or make a stand for your laptop to make it easier to use on a desk--Thinkpads have better keyboards and mice than most laptops, but you may want to consider getting a mouse and keyboard for yours, as well. If you live in America or another car-centric county, then you may also want to consider saving up for your first car. Now's not an especially good time to be getting one, but it doesn't look like it's going to be getting any better anytime soon. A car requires an income to maintain, as well, given that you'd have to pay for gas, insurance and repairs. Build up a small emergency fund. Your scholarship isn't going to pay for a broken bone or laptop, and it's good to get in the habit of saving.

>>29314 I don't know your specific situation, and I have some good cash saved up on the side, so I kinda know what you feel like. But for myself, I know what I would want to do. The problem is, I mostly like doing things as cheaply as possible, and work as hard as possible to make with as little as possible, using my brain to come up with solutions to problems that could be solved with money. Instead of buying steel sheets for a project, I search the old furniture people throw away, look around on flea markets, buy cheap cuts from steelworking companies around my area, among other things. Same thing for tools, except for electrics, which I mostly just order or buy when a sale comes up, or when specific products get a discount. Honestly, you valuing your time is gonna take you far. I work as hard as I do not because I have tons of time, but because it trains my brain to work around the most unusual problems. And you should invest your time into training your brain to be an incredible tool. What to do with your money will come to you on it's own.

>>29361 The primary job of kitchen aid is mixing dough. That could be anything including simply replacing store-bought pizza with selfmade pizza. Ive done that and its a real gap. Even tried buying the expensive "gourmet" pizza from store but it was worse. The overall active time investment is maybe 30min which isnt huge for getting better food quality at a cheaper price. Secondary you can also use it as a meat grinder. This means you get to make your own fresh minced meat and everything that is tied to that. As for homegym - resistance bands are quite versatile, cheap and take minimal space.

>>29314 You'll figure it out eventually, just save it for now. Saved money is good money, dont listen to consumerism foolishness.

>>29314 You'll figure it out eventually, just save it for now. Saved money is good money, dont listen to consumerism foolishness.

>>29314 Hit the gym, staying in shape and attractive to others will be a big help in your early years, and I don't mean romantically

>>29314 Get a meat thermometer and a George Foreman grill. Start making medium-rare burgers and steaks instead buying from restaurants.

Just hoard it and wait for hyperinflation, idiot

Donating just ten buscks sometimes makes a huge difference for small projects. I have a small blog and it really meant the world to me when someone donated 5$ in monero. I immediately got more motivated and started doing more projects I could share. Sometimes you can make a huge difference with little money.

>>29314 I have my money split up into a couple different pots after fuarrrking around for most of my 20's I got it sorted out over the last year and a bit I think the immediate thing to do is safeguard yourself against any kind of financial disaster like a longterm sickness or getting fired, or needing to get a new vehicle and fix soykaf and pay dr's bills at the same time, this is what causes people that were previously doing well to get stuck in poverty, not usually one big problem but a stream of bullshit that flushes them into debt. If you have any debts accruing interest pay them off aggressively. After that decide what your immediate, medium term and long term goals are. For me I have no immediate financial goals, my medium term goals are to get a mortgage and get a permanent home after jumping around between family and renting ( aiming for 1-2 years time), my long term goals are paying that off aggressively and having enough money to be able to do some travelling, generally not have to worry about basics and look after my friends and family. I also want to get more of an education and advance at work So my finances and planning are geared towards that. My immediate needs are already met, I have a safeguard against a disaster, I need money for a mortgage which is my medium goal and a necessary step to my long term goal, and I need to think about how to begin snowballing my savings so I can achieve my long term goal of paying off a mortgage aggressively All below in £, I make ~£19.9k p/a before tax and take home 1333 after tax, pension, union dues and national insurance contributions, I save between 800-1k a month and moved back home to achieve that. At the minute I have: >6k Emergency fund of 6 months core living expenses for me living on my own outside of my family home sat in a quick access premium bonds account >1k sinking costs fund (car insurance,dental, mechanic fees etc.) in a cash account >5k in a mortgage saving scheme called a LISA where the govt. gives you another 25% ontop of whatever you put in per year up to 1k bonus >5k in a cash account that is being used to save for a deposit, at the start of the next financial year it should be at around 9k and 4k of that will then go into the LISA, leaving me 10k in the LISA and 5k in the cash account >My job is paying for me to do a degree part time >I own my car outright and pay my insurance as a lump sum By this point next year I want: >9k Emergency fund >2k sinking costs fund >10k LISA >10k in Cash account for mortgage >3k in Stocks and shares at a mediumish risk level >Completed the first stage of my degree and progress to the second of three stages >To have advanced a pay band in my organisation, which I think will happen These fulfil my short and medium term financial goals and provide me with the beginnings of my long term goals while covering my arse in case I lose my job or have to take prolonged leave for any reason. At that point I can choose to buy a home as my savings are outstripping housing inflation in my area and that amount of money will get me a decentish place or continue to save as much as possible. The stocks and shares thing is something I'm really interested in, Investing to most people is this really high risk complex thing but passive S&S or premium bonds investing is actually pretty braindead simple and so long as you have money in for a longtime is historically very low risk. You have the right mindset re:consumable items and buying crap btw, its good not to just mindlessly consoom, but don't fall into the mindset of not buying anything because its a "waste" ultimately the point of spending money should be to make your life meaningfully better, so for instance, if you're really going to benefit from another monitor as the other lain said, don't be afraid to buy a good one now and keep it for a long time.

>>29426 Stocks and Shares this time next year should be 2k & E-fund should still be 6k

>>29323 I dont really consider it an investement but i have been throwing some extra money into crypto because the the inflation problem with usd right now, im kinda in the same boat as you with having money and not a lot of needs since i keep my cost of living way down. Crypto keeps going up in price while cash keeps going down in value so putting $200 in crypto now will likely get me $400 in 6-12 months even though the purchase power might be similar. Id rather have $400 in a year thats worth $200 now than end up with $200 in a year thats worth $100 now if that makes sense. Some things im planning to buy, a steamdeck - $650, i have to repair my electric unicycle which will be about $1500, ive got rent to pay $500/month, and then i have groceries at like $200/month, usually i spend about $200/month on weed but this is a luxury that i can easily do without to save a bit on money and thats my only habit and i dont own a car or have any debts while making 2k/month minimum. So im not making a ton of money but honestly i dont really spend any money on anything, the steamdeck and euc will be the biggest expenses i have this year and i can cover them both with a single months pay plus they are entirely unnecessary wants and not even needs. So for the other 10 months this year ill likely just be saving up half my paycheck and dumping some portion into crypto or possibly stocks just because i want to keep as little usd as possible because i expect its value to dive over the next 5 years. Im in the process of figuring out everything i need to grow pot so then ill save myself $200/month or $2400/year and my only recurring expenses will be rent/utilities and food so my grow op will likely be a large expense maybe as much as 2k but i might go harder on the grow op and get myself an indoor garden too so i can grow my own greens or something, i think gardening would be a nice hobby and i could make bank selling extra weed on the side and possibly save money growing my own veggies. Plus i want to learn as much as i can about growing food while its easy to learn just in case soykaf actually hit the fan, i dunno bout the rest of you but looking around the us im reminded of ancient rome before the fall, whole lotta decadence and debauchery, excesses of wealth side by side with the depravities of poverty. Clearly soykaf is broken and i think people are too wrapped up in manufactured bullshit to do anything real about it. The only actual issues people acknowledge are the bullshit ones they use to pass their own agenda rather than the ones people care about and the ones tearing at the fabric of society.

>What do I do with all this money? Get really into high end audio equipment, you'll never have to ask yourself that question ever again. But on a serious note, travel. Going on a trip by yourself is an experience I would recommend to everybody. Look for cheap plane tickets, find a hotel with interesting things nearby, and just see what happens. COVID soykaf depends a lot on the country, but in mine/close friends experience no one really gives a soykaf and the only thing you'll have to worry about is some countries requiring a negative test before entering.