(Part 2) Best products from r/personalfinance

For the liquid savings, your cushion is big enough that you could definitely put most of it aside in higher-yielding safe securities such as I-Bonds, TIPS, CDs or T-notes. These vehicles make your money harder to access, but give you a better rate of return, and are good vehicles if you think you will definitely want to spend the money sometime in the next 5-7 years, say. Any money that's not for use in the next 7 years or so should probably be invested in higher-risk, higher-reward securities such as stocks.

Especially because you are so young, you should definitely consider investing some of that cash into stocks. Time is on your side, and you should take advantage of your ability to weather short-term volatility in the stock market in order to take advantage of the long-term growth that stocks experience. It hurts to hear, but having $200K sitting in a bank account at <1% interest is essentially like burning money. You could at the very least stick some of that cash into a 1-3% CD or an I-bond and try to earn enough interest to keep up with inflation (inflation is slowly eating away at the purchasing power of that 200K, and will continue to do so until you put it somewhere where it is earning closer to 4%). that said, there's no need to panic and throw your money into the first CD or bond fund you see. Do your research first, learn a little bit about investing, ask more clarifying questions here and at other personal finance forums, and then make an informed decision about where to put your money :)

IMPORTANT: Definitely open a Roth IRA and contribute the maximum each year. This should be one of the first things you do after reading this post. Go to Vanguard's website and open one up and stick $5k in there right now. In terms of investments, I think lots of people in this thread would recommend investing in broad-based index funds such as Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index (VTSMX), especially in your retirement accounts at this early age. You may also want to increase your 401k contributions if you can afford it, especially since you're up in the 35% bracket.

Your overall investment choices will depend on your financial goals, such as if/when you want to buy a house, when you want to retire, if you plan on having kids (if so, consider starting a 529 as soon as those puppies arrive), etc. Consider these when investing both retirement and (especially) non-retirement (taxable) funds.

Perhaps the best thing for you to do would be to pick up some books on personal finance and investing. This may seem daunting at first, but there are some REALLY easy, helpful books out there that were written for people just like you. A few of my personal recommendations:

• http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Personal-Finance-inYour/dp/1592578837 (This is a general text on things like bank accounts, insurance, saving, budgeting, investing, mortgages, etc. It's comprehensive, easy to read and a really great place to start!)
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-Guide-Investing-Financial/dp/039332639X (This text covers index investing, commonly called "buy and hold," which aims to build maximum wealth over the course of a lifetime without using any dumbass gimmicks, just nice basic arithmetic.)
  
  
• http://www.amazon.com/Stocks-Long-Run-4th-Definitive/dp/0071494707 (Similar to the Random Walk Guide, but even more comprehensive. And I don't mean "comprehensive" like "confusing and overwhelming," but rather that it defines and contextualizes many of the financial terms and entities that we hear about all the time but actually have no idea what they are or how they work. E.g., the Dow Jones Industrial Average, stock indexes, TIPS, etc.)
  
  Also, here are a few personal finance websites that I find helpful:
  
  

• Moneychimp.com
  
• Getrichslowly.org
  
• Wisebread.com
  
• Bogleheads.org (good forum for asking investments questions)
  
  Good luck!
  
  EDIT: Also, it doesn't quite make sense when you say you want "safe" investments but that the return doesn't matter. Return is what makes an investment safe, since a guaranteed return at or above inflation is the only way you can ensure that you're not losing money (which is what I would consider to be the definition of "safe").
  
  Also, how to keep your money "safe" really depends on WHEN you want to use the money. For example, investing to keep it "safe" for a down payment on a house in 5 years probably entails conservative investments in I-Bonds, treasuries, TIPS, and bond funds (these have low short-term volatility, but offer lower long-term reward). But, investing to keep your money "safe" for retirement in 35+ years entails putting most or all of it into stocks (which offer high short-term volatility--there might be a bear market in 5 years when your stock investments will temporarily be worth very little--but offer much higher long-term returns than bonds or treasuries).

So let's take stock here:

1. You're a grown man
   
2. You're paying for this policy
   
   So what's the issue with saying "Mom I love you, but I don't believe this to be the best use of my money." and then doing so?
   
   
   There's nothing wrong with doing what is in your best interest. A big life lesson is learning how to do so even when other people are not pleased with your decision. You are not obligated to make your mom happy nor are you obligated to get her to agree with all of your decisions.
   
   
   I think you might have an issue with conflict and saying no in general, and if that's the case I highly recommend this book:
   
   https://www.amazon.com/No-More-Mr-Nice-Guy/dp/0762415339
   
   
   With that said I know family can be a challenge. I wish you well whatever you decide, good luck!

Ownership of a corporation is through shares of that corporation, where investors (individual or institutional) may own one or more shares of the company.

Owning shares gives investors certain benefits and privileges, including dividends (a portion of the corporation's profits which are distributed to shareholders), and voting rights (one vote per share, which is why you always hear about owning "51% of the company" -- if you own 51%, no one can outvote you).

Many corporations are privately held, where a small group of people own all the shares. They decide, as a group, the rules on when and how shares can be sold or new shares created.

Many other corporations are publicly traded, on stock markets like Wall Street, where the general public can buy and trade shares of the company.

Publicly-traded corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to their owners, the shareholders. That generally means that corporations try to maximize their shareholders' returns by maximizing profit. You maximize profit by extracting the most money you can from your customers.

With investment companies, this leads to a conflict, because the investment banks have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders, not to their customers. One consequence is that the mutual funds sold by these companies have very high fees and expenses, reflected in the expense ratio, because that is how they maximize their profits for their shareholders.

Vanguard, founded by Jack Bogle, has a unique corporate structure which circumvents this problem. All shares of Vanguard are collectively held by Vanguard's own mutual funds, which Vanguard sells to its customers. That means that when you invest in a Vanguard mutual fund, you are buying part of Vanguard itself.

This also means is that, while Vanguard, like every other corporation, still has a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders, its customers are its shareholders. Consequently, maximizing profits for their shareholders requires minimizing their customers' expenses.

It also means that Vanguard's customers have a stake in ensuring Vanguard's success, since they are also the company's owners. Vanguard still needs to recruit talent and pay competitively with other investment companies. Vanguard must make money, through fees and expenses which, again, are reflected in their funds' expense ratios.

These two competing forces help to find a balance, where Vanguard funds have expense ratios which are as low as possible, but not so unreasonably low that Vanguard is unable to do make enough money to be competitive.

Jack Bogle wrote a book about mutual funds, presenting a compelling argument that minimizing expenses is the single most important thing you can do to maximize your return, and the only way to minimize expenses is to avoid the costs associated with active investing, and stick with index funds.

Around here, we like Jack Bogle, and we like his company, because we agree that low cost index funds are the only way to guarantee your fair share of the market return.

Congratulations on your new job!

I applaud your desire to learn more about investing and finances. One of the earliest influences (and had the biggest impact) on my life in that area was my high school American History teacher, and I'll never forget what he taught me. I learned that it was important to save early, use the power of compounding, and take advantage of employer matching whenever it is offered. If you can do the same for your students, you will change their family trees forever.

You don't need a financial planner. They don't have a crystal ball that tells them how the markets are going to perform. You have what it takes to become educated in the world of finance, and are intelligent enough to choose your own investments. It's not even that complicated, what it boils down to is LBYM (living below your means), saving regularly, and investing your savings. Read about, and practice the Bogleheads investment philosophy. There is a lot of information in that link, so take your time and go through it all. If you want some reading that isn't so dry, you can check out The Wealthy Barber from your library. The Millionaire Next Door is also a great read. And if you want an inspirational read, The Millionaire In You is one of my all time favorite personal finance books.

Good luck!

I'm finishing up school as well, and have recently gotten into personal finance. I read blogs like The Simple Dollar and Get Rich Slowly on a daily basis. They have large, search-able archives and are full of free information and tools that relate to personal finance. Wonderful resources.

If you're looking for good books to read I'd like to recommend The Millionaire Next Door. By far my favorite, this book completely changed my thinking about personal finance.

Some others:

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need

The Boglehead's Guide to Investing

The Automatic Millionaire

See if your library has any! Oh, and here's a longer list from GRS:
Building a Personal Finance Library: 25 of the Best Books About Money

First off, investing in individual stocks in the stock market is essentially gambling and I don't recommend it. The stock market isn't a way to get rich quick and the vast majority of people who trade individual stocks will do much much worse than someone who just purchases shares in a diverse passive index fund. However, if you want to try your hand at gambling in the stock market, it's not difficult to actually do it...

1. Open a brokerage account at a discount broker like Fidelity
   
2. Deposit some money into said account
   
3. Purchase shares of stocks with said money
   
   Be aware that there is a fee every time you purchase or sell a "lot" (one or more shares) of the same stock. This fee eats into your profit so it's not normally a good idea to purchase small amounts of shares at a time.
   
   Also be aware that buying and selling stock creates a taxable event. So filing taxes in the following year WILL be more complicated (and expensive) if you pay someone to do them for you or if you purchase software to do them yourself. No more 1040EZ forms.
   
   You should get a few "investing in stocks for dummies" type books and gain a basic understanding of things like market/limit/stop orders, cost basis, long/short term capital gains, capital losses, qualified/non-qualified dividends, splits, reverse-splits, and the wash sale rule.
   
   You should also learn what "penny stocks" are and why you should avoid them as well as what a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) stock is and why it can be a tax nightmare.
   
   As a final bit of advice, I highly recommend picking up a copy of A Random Walk down Wall Street: The Time-tested Strategy for Successful Investing and reading it cover to cover.
   
   Good luck.

If I were you, I would put as much money towards college as you can. The less debt that you have the better in the long run. I'd also open an IRA. If you were to put in $10/month now, it would drastically compound later. Here is a [link] (https://research.scottrade.com/KnowledgeCenter/Public/Calculators/RothVsTraditionalIRA) to visually show you compounding.

I'd also suggest [this] (
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547447256?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage) book. It's $10 and is well worth the money.

It's great to save for retirement and not have debt but no one has mentioned budgeting. Learning to budget is really important.

I'm 25 and started saving a few years ago. I get to go out for coffee and drink with friends when I want, but I still save 1/3 of pay checks for retirement/ savings.

Instead of buying lunch 5 days a week at work, I bring my own lunch 3 days a week. Let's say a meal is $7.

$7X5 days=$40/ week. $40x52 weeks= $2,080/ year.

$7x2 days=$14/ week. $14x52 weeks= $728/ year.

That saves me an extra $1352 to go out, to travel with, to pay off debt or to retire. Buying coffee at Starbucks daily is great but adds up.

You can work smart now and enjoy retiring at 50 or travel the world simply by being smart about your finances.

1. Vanguard is a low cost provider, yahoo finance can show you the expense ratio for any fund you are interested in -- I would decide on the 'type' of fund desired first (s&p500, total US stock market, international stocks, sectors, specialty), see what Vanguard has to offer, then compare their ER with other funds.
   
   
2. The only funds I know that all have lower ER's than Vanguard are the funds within the federal governments 401K (the Thrift Savings Program), but you need to be a federal employee to access these.
   
   
3. Withdrawal fees are up to the individual fund, if you withdraw too quickly some funds will charge a fee (ie <1 year or whatever). If a fund has no withdrawal fees at all (ie even after 1 day) then the fund runs the risk of being 'abused' by higher frequency traders and the cost of servicing these individuals will be paid by the fund's other longer term investors, so that is a business decision up to the managers of each fund.
   
   
4. In a mutual fund, you will pay capital gains taxes for each actual withdrawal (and there are mutiple complex ways to calculate how much tax you owe -- you must keep very good records to know if what is being reported to the IRS is accurate), but also each year you may have to pay taxes on imputed capital gains and dividends, even if you reinvest those distributions in the same fund immediately (ie if the mutual fund company reinvests them for you). The fund will send you a 1099 each year listing your imputed capital gains (ie gains the fund generated internally by trading stocks over the year) and dividends -- and you pay the taxes (even if you did not get the money distributed to you but it was kept in the fund). If you own an ETF, generally you should not have to pay capital gains taxes unless you actually sell shares -- but there may be exceptions!). Also some mutual funds (especially index funds) try to be 'tax efficient', meaning they try to not generate imputed capital gains that you will be taxed on each year.
   
   
5. Research has shown that if you have a chunk of money to invest, you will do just as well to invest all of it at once if you spread the money out, as with a market-wide index fund. If this is of concern to you, read about 'dollar cost averaging'. This approach means you decide to invest a fixed amount of cash in the market (ie in the S&P500 or some other broad index fund) each month or quarter, whether the market is up or down -- just buy the same dollar amount of shares. If the market is down that month, you will get more shares for your $$, if the market is up, you will get a smaller number of shares -- but it will average out and it is considered to be a reasonable approach to a lifetime investing program.
   
   
6. The problem with 'timing' investments is you have to be very smart, and have to be right twice -- once when you decide it is time to invest, and a second time when you decide to sell. Most real humans can't be this smart or knowledgeable, so 'dollar cost averaging' makes more sense. Research has shown that humans who invest in mutual funds don't do as well (don't earn as much) as the mutual fund itself -- the people try to outsmart the market and buy and sell at what turn out to be the wrong (or not the best ) times, so the return of real humans who use specific mutual funds tends to lag (be lower than) the reported fund return itself -- we think we are smarter than we are, we watch the news too much and panic. We sell when we should buy and buy when we should sell.
   
   My suggestion: go slow, read some books on investing. I read this book 30+ years ago and it was helpful. There are many others! Advice from /r/personalfinance can also be helpful in a general way.

I would recommend "The Wealthy Barber". In terms of general personal finance (not specifically investing) books, I really enjoyed the "The Millionaire in You: Ten Things You Need to Do Now to Have Money and Time to Enjoy It" by Michael LeBoeuf, and "Getting Rich in America: 8 simple rules for building a fortune and a satisfying life", because they cover not only how to succeed financially, but achieve happiness in all areas of life. I usually borrow my books from the library, but I liked these so much I have purchased multiple copies for my own library and to lend out to friends.

Those are definitely competitive rates. He's probably hiding some additional fees though, like the expense ratios of the funds themselves, and any load fees.


However, the best thing to do is absolutely to continue to manage things yourselves. There is very little value that a CFP can add over just doing some research, after all, who cares most about your financial future, you or some guy who is just after $0.7% of it?

The wiki of this sub has a lot of great information, you may also want to check out some books like The Bogglehead's Guide to Investing. I can guarantee you that the $14 you spend on that book will give you a better return on your money than the 0.7% you pay an advisor....

I am currently a resident in my research years and finally started taking an interest in my finances. I would argue that you do not necessarily need an adviser yet. You should do some reading first. Here are some websites White Coat Investor (WCI) and Bogleheads, which has a great forum and wiki. You should definitely read these 2 books:

• The White Coat Investor. It is a little to basic for me and I pretty much had zero knowledge about finances but its a quick easy read.
  
  
• The Boglehead's Guide to Investing. I personally think this is the gold standard for personal finance/retirement investing. (Read it even though it says not to if you have large loans). It is also a quick easy read but explains things considerable better than WCI book. It also discusses adviser and types of different advisers. Going forward you should make it a habit to read at least one finance book a year (treat it like CME).
  
  I too plan on PSLF (my residency + fellowship will be 9 years so pretty easy decision). My personal opinion is to live like a resident for 2-3 more years (no lifestyle inflation) and accumulate as much money as possible. That means renting for the same amount (if possible) wherever you move for you job. No new cars and the like... After just 2-3 years of this, you will have a decent chunk of money for whatever.

> We would be improving the value of the house and improve the insulation with good windows

How much are you expecting to save per year in power cost and how much would it increase the home value? I don't think it's wise to sink $10-15k unless you know exactly when it will pay itself off.

You can address the efficiency issue in the short term with these while you save up for replacement windows.

Thanks for the down vote.

> I don't know where to start, or if I can even do it.

I would start by reading a book. At the same time, I would get a REAL appraisal for the property and see what it is worth.

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In addition, after reading the book and seeing what it is worth, I would find out what it would cost to maintain the property as a rental per year. I would find out the rental revenue you could generate as well. Finally, if you choose to go down this road, how much it would cost to manage this rental since you can't do it yourself.

-

After you figure out what the house is worth and your potential rental income, then you can make an informed decision.

-

> Do you know a good resource for learning how to do a cost benefit analysis, or could you tell me how to conduct my own?

Start with the book above. I highly recommend it. You can buy a used copy for less than $3.00.

-

Please let me know if you have specific questions.

I think people in this subreddit guess it will be a little bit higher than that (maybe 6%?) when they're estimating their return for the sake of retirement calculations.

I use this book for my real estate calculations. It's almost all math in there, but it's very helpful when trying to quantify if something is a good deal. In the end, a realistic ROI for the property should be better than a realistic guess for any other option (other properties you could buy, stocks, etc.). There is some crystal ball work involved, but it's still helpful.

I've really enjoyed Financial Fitness Forever by Paul A. Merriman and Richard Buck. Mostly about investing, it's laid out really well, written in a conversational tone and delves into some of the emotional aspects of investing behavior.



Also, The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias ironically contains quite a lot of advice other than just investing and he has a great sense of humor. I haven't read the updated 2016 version - mine is from 2002!

Baby Step #7: Build wealth and give!

Once your financial house is in order—all debts are paid off, emergency funds are fully funded, retirement contributions are maxed out, then the only thing left to do is keep finding ways to build wealth and enjoy it.

I've been reading a book this week (almost done) that has really helped me think of some things I can do once I get to that point myself. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki really harps on the idea that money should work for you, instead of you working for money; the trick is to find creative ways to make that happen. It's got me really excited to get my debts and savings squared away so I can move on to the wealth-building stage!

Edited to add: In response to your remark about chasing income increases… read the book linked above! Don't just make it your long-term goal to keep finding ways to work for more money, when you could be finding ways to get money working for you! It's not right for everybody (it might not even be right for me), but the sooner people think about it like that, the sooner they can try it for themselves, the better their chances of achieving it!

Money invested early has a profound effect on how much you will have in retirement.

You are in a really unique point in your life where you have income that greatly exceeds your current needs. Your best course of action is to pile on the investments as much as you can. Take advantage of a Roth IRA, 401k or Roth 401k, and HSA if you are eligible for one. A 3 fund portfolio of low cost index funds is a good place to invest taxed income.

Your biggest problem will be lifestyle inflation. Now that you have extra money, you will be tempted to spend more and let your expenses creep up. Try to hold this off as much as possible since it's easy to get used to spending more, but hard to get used to spending less. A good way of doing this is to only have the same amount of money hit your main account(s). Have the rest put into retirement accounts or investment accounts automatically. Out of sight, out of mind really helps here.

I would highly recommend reading The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing.

Since you're under age, see if you can get a custodial Roth IRA opened with your parent(s)' help. I'd strongly encourage investing in a low cost, diversified index fund.

​

If you don't know what an index fund is:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/indexfund.asp

​

A good book - might take some time to get through - that explains index investing:

https://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-Mutual-Funds-Anniversary/dp/0470138130

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Also, well done for making investing a priority at your age. Future you is grateful!

BiggerPockets.com is a decent place to start, they put together a free eBook for beginners here: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

Books are great, so here are some:

The Richest Man in Babylon okay, you're probably saying, "But TIGit, that's not a book on real estate!" It's a book on investing, and I consider it a must read. This is the book that started me off in life, I was gifted a copy by my grandmother when I was 16. Read it.

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow and 36 Other Key Financial Measures this one is one of the best books on real estate. Real estate is a numbers game, there's a lot of emotion with all the negotiation and finding motivated sellers, but you need to keep the numbers in mind first*. If a property doesn't have a profitable enough margin you need to know to walk away. And to know "the numbers" this is the book.

How to Manage Residential Property for Maximum Cash Flow and Resale Value this one is for if you plan on building wealth through owning property and landlording. If you just want to be a wholesaler, buy a cheap personal home, or flip, this isn't the book for that. But it's important to keep in mind because the other REIs you compete with have this in their heads, and you should too.

Real Estate Finance and Investment Manual I don't like "fluff" books. Those quasi-motivational garbage real estate books are so common, but this isn't one of them. Stay away from those "Rich Dad Poor Dad" crap, those are just feel good word vomit. It reads more like a textbook, but it's good. None of that "Find the leader in yourself!" bullshit.

The 4-Hour Workweek this one also isn't a real estate book, but a must read. Ferris is a salt-and-burn serial business man, so bear in mind that he as a person is sort of shitty. I don't advocate taking advantage of people. But this book opened my eyes on how much of business is done. Exporting labor for cheap, using automation to save time and costs, selling products, setting up a business, and marketing. It's all there. And he's right. Tim Ferris is probably a sociopath, but he's dead on in how to succeed in business.

Ok, great, start educating yourself on financial management. Even if you hire someone to do it, don’t trust them blindly. Shady people love to take advantage of high-income doctors, because most doctors are incapable of managing their money responsibility.

Start reading some of the content over on White Coat Investor. It will change your life.

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com

Also, the book:

https://www.amazon.com/White-Coat-Investor-Personal-Investing/dp/0991433106

One thing that I would recommend is that you at least attain a remedial understanding of money. After "finding a good financial advisor", it's still important to be able to understand what they're talking about - not to mention detect if they know what they're talking about/are trying to scam you.

Find some financial literacy books, read one or two. I just googled it so I don't know if it's good, but there is a Personal Finance for Dummies book. This will also help you know what questions to ask. And if anyone that's telling you what to do with your money ever makes you feel like you're asking too many questions, run away and find someone else.

If reading isn't your thing, you might try taking a class at a community college or find some other community resource. When I was in Oregon I was involved with the Oregon Society of CPA's and we had a financial literacy group that put on talks at local libraries and things like that.

The best ones are of course free, and both this subreddit and bogelheads have a wealth of knowledge. I try and watch a tutorial or read a story a few times a week on both


For how to create and stick to a budget as a young professional, I like Dave Ramsey. He has tons of good rules of thumb and pitfalls to avoid that will be useful for the rest of your life. He's a bit conservative though, and I don't necessarily agree with his cash only, no debt strategies.


https://www.amazon.com/Total-Money-Makeover-Classic-Financial/dp/1595555277/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480449960&sr=8-1&keywords=dave+ramsey


Suze Orman is another great author for younger people, especially when tackling big things for the 1st time like home ownership and loans


https://www.amazon.com/Money-Book-Young-Fabulous-Broke/dp/1594482241/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480450023&sr=8-1&keywords=suze+orman


My top suggestion though is Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It's not as direct as many other personal finance books, as its more general advice on how to steer your financial life, but itss an incredible book


https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680011/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480450131&sr=8-1&keywords=rich+dad+poor+dad

Read and listen to Dave Ramsey if you want to be "good" with personal finance.

If you want to "optimize" finance, then come hang out with us in r/financialindependence

Podcasts: ChooseFI, Afford Anything

Blogs: Mr. Money Mustache

Books: Simple Path to Wealth, Your Money or Your Life, Millionaire Next Door, The Richest Man in Babylon

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Some pointers:

1. Don't do what most people do. Chances are, they know less about personal finance than you do.
   
2. Spend based on your value (within your means of course), not based on the percentage of income.
   
3. Don't spend money to impress others.
   
4. If you think 20's is time to spend every penny to have "full" experience, look at this chart.
   
   ​

I would get blackout curtains, at least for windows that get a lot of sun during the day. They'll keep your apartment cooler.

In the winter there are window insulation kits - something like this though I picked that at random as an example, shop around to find good prices and good reviews. They'll help keep your apartment warm in the winter.

When I started investing I didn't know jack shit. Now I make between 30-50k year just in growth and dividends. I started with this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Investing-Lessons-Every-Investor/dp/1118484878

It's a short book, a 1 day read. You'll come out being very very skeptical of "financial planners" and investment bankers who want a piece of your action. It walks you through all the scams, types of accounts, tax benefits, etc. This stuff is all super confusing and they do a nice job of explaining it.

Once you read the book, this will make sense: You might want to think about migrating what you have left over for saving into a Roth IRA over time. (there is a $5500 limit per year/per person and you need to have a separate roth for both you and your husband) Then your growth is tax free.

​

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I've been sleeping on a Zinus Memory Foam 12" Mattress for over a year now and it's quite comfortable. Truth be told before this I was sleeping on a very very expensive tempurpedic and I have trouble telling the difference between them.

Investing in a good nights sleep is crucial, sleeping well is very pivotal to keeping a healthy mind and mental state.

Here are the first two I read to get you started, I'll see if I can't dif up the others:

• The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need
  
• The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
  
  
  And yes, I opened up my Roth through Vanguard which was super easy!

You don't really have any control over your ROI, there are much bigger factors at play. You want to control the things that you can - which is why keeping fees reduced is a strategy stressed around here.

Overall, I think you are in good place, though. Keep doing research, and most importantly, keep on saving.

If you are looking for some "light" reading, check out this book (think there are free PDFs available, too).

For retirement accounts in particular, I would highly recommend The Elements of Investing by Malkiel and Ellis.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Investing-Lessons-Every-Investor/dp/1118484878?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

It covers the optimal strategy for how everyday people should invest for retirement: a diversified portfolio of low-cost, broad index funds. It also gives a list recommended funds from various institutions (Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.). If you frequent this subreddit, then the majority of it will sound very familiar. But it's a good introduction for the uninitiated.

I suggest Andrew Tobias's The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. If you read it through it should give you a grasp of the basics, but won't give you more than you need (which can get you into trouble).

Aside from that, I would focus my energy on keeping spending low and trying to find higher-paying jobs and/or additional job(s). Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937/

My wife and I bought this mattress and this bedframe in January and we love it. You can be in a nice bed for a few hundred bucks.
You can't afford anything fancy that you think you need, and a bed is not an emergency.

Welcome. One more - wish I'd found this as early as you're asking, but I think this book is foundational in personal finance: The Richest Man in Babylon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0451205367/ref=pd_aw_sbs_14_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=T6BW800K95JP290PTWQE

Because of how you worded your title, take money and turn it into more money, I'll recommend The Richest Man in Babylon. Its about the philosophy of making money. It provides absolutely no concrete examples but it does give you certain philosophical rules that you can learn about that will help you deal with the actual financial world we live in. http://www.amazon.com/Richest-Man-Babylon-George-Clason/dp/0451205367

One book I highly suggest reading and tabbing (for future reference) is Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson.

This book is easy to read, and helps you understand important concepts you'll experience in the future such as insurance, retirement planning, and budgeting.

Another thing I recommend is brushing up on your student loans and figuring out the inner workings of them so when you begin to pay them off, you know what to expect. From personal experience, people don't delve deep enough into their loans until they are in the red.

Here's the ones I like:

• All Your Worth by Elizabeth Warren
  
• The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by Suze Orman
  
• Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson
  
  However, I highly recommend not buying them but borrowing them from the library and just taking notes on what you find interesting. Otherwise, it is $15 per book that you will read only once.

A Random Walk down Wall Street: The Time-tested Strategy for Successful Investing

Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives For The Intelligent Investor

It sounds like you really just need to talk to a CPA about your tax situation. This

>I never seem to get any return at the end of the year

most likely has something to with this

>I currently do a decent amount of freelance work

They will also help advise you on your options for establishing your business for tax purposes.

In terms of investment advice, you can do it all yourself. Read a couple books from the sidebar. I suggest starting with A Random Walk Down Wall Street.

I recently came across the book "The White Coat Investor." Haven't started reading it yet, but it seems well reviewed. Book is meant for students in addition to residents and attendings.

http://www.amazon.com/The-White-Coat-Investor-Investing/dp/0991433106

The author also has a blog in case you want to validate his content and advice first:
http://whitecoatinvestor.com/new-to-the-blog-start-here

I would definitely recommend having disability insurance for your wife. Specifically make sure to have own occupation disability. This means if she practice her specific specialty anymore, even if she can still work, she will still get compensation. Basically all of your life planning is going to be based on her having an excellent income. Long term disability could be devastating if she isn't able to work as a physician anymore. $375 /month seems high.

For reference, I have a disability policy (own occupation) with Standard Insurance that pays around $8-10k per month (cant remember exact amount) and my YEARLY premium is $1050. For life insurance, 2 million 30 yr term for me plus 1 million 20yr term for spouse is about $2800 per year. If that $375/mo includes term life insurance for both of you plus disability insurance, then that may be reasonable. Also, getting insurance earlier allows locking in lower rates. As she progresses in her career, the premiums for disability insurance will go up.

Someone else linked white coat investor. Cannot recommend this enough. Really wish I would have read it in med school. It's a really quick read and is nicely broken up into stages of training.

The White Coat Investor: A Doctor's Guide To Personal Finance And Investing https://www.amazon.com/dp/0991433106/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-K1MDbBH237KB

The younger you start savings the better off you'll be. Even if it's just a little every day.
http://www.businessinsider.com/amazing-power-of-compound-interest-2014-7

READ: The Richest Man in Babylon

READ: Rich Dad Poor Dad

Do this, and you'll be ready to be on your own.

This is a good start: https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Finance-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/1118117859

Tyson writes other books on finance. Also, any book related to "financial independence" and "Retiring Early", whether you do so or not. They all pretty much bring wisdom and knowledge to your own personal finance and saving.

Here's a tip from Wisconsin, USA (-20C during winter). Tape a big sheet of plastic over the window frame. http://www.amazon.com/3M-Indoor-Window-Insulator-5-Window/dp/B00002NCJI
If you do it right, you won't be able to see the plastic and your place will stay warm with less energy use. Or just get better windows.

Honestly I would just read Richest Man in Babylon and use the 10 / 70 / 20 principle they talk about. Use that through college and then when you graduate you can have a much more meaningful conversation about finance. (cause you will have money to use)

I bought a queen memory foam mattress on amazon for $229 and it's amazing.

Let him keep the mattress and buy a new one. I bought this a few months ago. Cheap, fast shipping and the best sleep I've ever gotten... And it's new!

Since someone already named Millionaire Next Door, I would have to say The Random Walk Guide To Investing. It is, hands down, the best book I have read about PF/investing.

The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need remains one of the best explanations and tutorials about the stock market and investing

• First of all congratulations. It's terrifying and awesome to become a father.
  
  
• Get 30 year term life insurance today. You are going to sleep better knowing this is taken care of. No "cash value" life insurance. TERM!!
  
  
• Read some books, The Millionare Next Door, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Financial Peace any of the etc. These books will give you some contradictory advice but they'll also give you the information to make your own decisions.

Another which had a great impact on me was Burton Malkiel's A Random Walk Down Wall Street...

Buy yourself (or go to the library) a copy of John Bogle's "Commons Sense on Mutual Funds". Great book and you will learn a lot from it.


http://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-Mutual-Funds-Anniversary/dp/0470138130

Try to target 6-12 months of living expenses. Call this your emergency fund.

Do you have any debt? Pay that off next.

Third, try to invest money in tax advantaged spaces, (IRA, Roth IRA, 401k).

Plenty of good books out there on investing and personal finance. I favor the book below:

The Index Card

Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated
https://www.amazon.com/Index-Card-Personal-Finance-Complicated/dp/1591847680

​

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/1119404509

The Bogleheads' Guide To Investing. First book I read about investing, does a great job explaining concepts and actually teaching IMO, especially for someone not familiar with investing. Can read it from front to back cover and learn a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Guide-Investing-Taylor-Larimore-ebook/dp/B00JUV01RW

I'd suggest this book as an easy starting place. https://www.amazon.com/Index-Card-Personal-Finance-Complicated/dp/1591847680

Congrats of taking responsibility for learning about finances? As you get older you'll realize that many adults have awful finances, know next to nothing about money, and just hide it very well. The fact that you're asking means you're already ahead of a lot of people.

This is good and here's what I would do.

1. Make sure that the house is 100% yours as /u/catholicwannabe2 has pointed out.
   
   
2. Come up with a plan. You've already noted that siding and carpet are a want. You haven't determined on windows yet, but I'm assuming that they are doing their job for the most part (that is that there is still glass in them that is not broken). If they are leaking maybe get a seal kit until you have enough money to get new ones. Prioritize things you need or want fixed.
   
   
3. Tell your grandma your plan and don't budge from it. There is no point in taking out money on this to go into debt and pay loan fees and what not when it sounds like you could probably save up enough money to fix these within a year or two.

First step is to determine your time horizon. From there, you can determine how much risk you want to take on. If you wont need the $2,000 until retirement, then you can afford to be rather risky and go 100% into a stock market index. If you're going to need that money at graduation, then you're probably better off putting that money into a savings account and investing in some personal finance books.

I recommend The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need as recommended by Mark Cuban.

http://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0547447256

Get the book.
The richest man of babylon. This helped me lots with refunding the loans.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Richest-Babylon-George-Clason/dp/0451205367/

And read through it all and apply.

The Richest Man in Babylon

Read rich dad poor dad. It is easy to read and teaches you basic concepts of money and investing. The main point of the book is to make money work for you, not you working for money. Link: http://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680011

Devil Take the Hindmost - fun, readable book about the history of investment https://www.amazon.com/dp/0452281806/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_xIpbBbSMEKR7X

The Boglehead's Guide to Investing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JUV01RW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_gKpbBbSYVVXS7 has a lot of practical info on wealth maximization through minimizing taxes, long term consistent debt such as frequent new car purchases, and general buy and hold investment strategies

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0041842TW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_6LpbBb1PVZEMX solid, classic book about foundations for building wealth

Cheap mattress here. Free shipping. You can just throw it on the floor.

https://www.amazon.com/Zinus-Memory-Green-Mattress-12-Inch/dp/B00Q7EPSHI

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q7EPSHI/

$229 for a queen with free shipping. Only $199 for a full.

Check out the FAQ.

Also see if you can pick up a book, I really liked this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Finance-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/1118117859

My own advice would be to start early (you're doing that) and to go with no/low fee investments. This will make a huge difference over time.

You might also check out the personal finance book "The index card," and the video "How to Win the Losers Game."

I thought this one summed up many things nicely:
Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias
http://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0547447256
Contrary to it's name, it has more to do with personal finance than investing.

I highly recommend this because it's a really accessible read, and it go over some things that are beyond investment https://www.amazon.ca/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0547447256

You start here.

This is the most succinct, most comprehensive, clearest book on the subject I've found to date.

Read a book on personal finance. I like this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Finance-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/1118117859/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397534249&sr=1-1&keywords=personal+finance+dummies

The Elements of Investing was the first book recommended to me by a friend, and it taught me ridiculous amounts in about 150 pages. You could tear through this in a day and learn volumes full.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1118484878/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You may not have been alive fifteen years ago.

But if you like to read "personal finance"....you really NEED to read these.

Peter Lynch

https://www.amazon.com/One-Up-Wall-Street-Already/dp/0743200403

https://www.amazon.com/Beating-Street-Peter-Lynch/dp/0671891634/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=


Andrew Tobias

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466002617&sr=1-1&keywords=andrew+tobias

Oh I wouldn't call Dr. Dahle random - he's a well known and financial expert (and physician). Here's his book on Amazon.

Looks like the price is now $229 - but here you go!

I seriously cannot recommend this mattress enough. It is both firm and super soft at the same time. We call it our "heroin bed" because it is so comfortable you sleep like you're on heroin. Our previous mattress was a fancy, $2000 Vera Wang pillow top, but after trying the Zinus we will never purchase another mattress again.

Rich Dad Poor Dad
https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680011

As a fellow EM Doctor that had $300K+ in debt, you should find a higher paying job.

$230K/Yr is a pittance for what you do. I make (almost) twice that in a major metro area, had 8 interviews fresh out of residency that paid from $185-235/hr, from rural areas, to midsized town, to 1,000,000+ cities. You should be able to find a job at $200/hr easy. $200hr x 144hrs/mo x 12 months = $345K/yr. That's like $80K extra post tax per year that you can put towards loans / savings / vacations / whatever. Every 80K you miss our on early in your career stacks up over time, on missed savings, missed loan payments, etc.

You're getting screwed at $230K/yr. Get a higher paying job, and get an accountant that works with other doctors (will save you so much money!). Also read White Coat Investor.

https://www.amazon.com/White-Coat-Investor-Personal-Investing/dp/0991433106

Buy it and put it in the bathroom, and read it 5 minutes at a time until you're done.

https://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-down-Wall-Street/dp/0393352242

If your Father wants real investment advice, tell him to read:

A Random Walk Down Wall Street

The Investment Answer

Listen to this:

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/01/23/688018907/episode-688-brilliant-vs-boring

Read this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393352242/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9PSjDbKQQF2MQ

https://www.amazon.com/Richest-Man-Babylon-George-Clason/dp/0451205367?

From 1926. You can probably find versions floating around on the internet. I don't think it actually talks about tithing, though.

Add this to your reading list. https://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-Mutual-Funds-Anniversary/dp/0470138130

You could start with: https://www.amazon.com/Only-Investment-Guide-Youll-Ever/dp/0544781937

First Med school is 4 years, not 8-10.

After School you will go into residency making about ~40k/ year.

And for any more advice read the book white coat investor.

White Coat Investor

Check out The WhitE Cost Investor. It's a blog (http://whitecoatinvestor.com) and book (The White Coat Investor: A Doctor's Guide To Personal Finance And Investing https://www.amazon.com/dp/0991433106/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_US-Hxb3G7PXVG).

I went to my local library and read Personal Finance for Dummies.
https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Finance-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/1118117859.

Then I read others in that series on investing, etc.

Try http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Finance-Dummies-Eric-Tyson/dp/1118117859

Boglehead's Guide to Investing

I started with The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

https://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Guide-Investing-Taylor-Larimore-ebook/dp/B00JUV01RW/

Edit: updated link

https://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Guide-Investing-Taylor-Larimore-ebook/dp/B00JUV01RW

The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JUV01RW/ref=cm\_sw\_r\_cp\_apa\_i\_ZWO9Ab96NZHK9

1. Open a Vanguard account
   
   
2. Dump everything into VFIFX
   
   
3. (Optional) Read Boglehead's Guide to Investing and adjust investments accordingly.
   
   
4. Transfer shares to an IRA when you are eligible. Passing up tax free growth because you don't think you'll live long is dumb, dumb, dumb.
   
   
5. Change nothing else about your life.

>I know I want to be a Doctor.

OK, so take not going to med school off the table.

>I finally got into a medical school after working at getting in for the past 4 years... should I re-apply and hope to get into a cheaper school?

IMO, hell no. Getting in, as you know, is very difficult. The risk of gambling to get in again later at a cheaper school (if you've already decided you absolutely will go to med school) is not worth it.

In response to others who say you should get a military scholarship to pay for school, I'd say that is not a decision to make from a financial standpoint. You join the military to serve your country, not for financial reasons. If you don't believe me, read The White Coat Investor. According to the author's math, he would have made more money in the long term by paying for his own schooling and taking a higher paying job (military docs don't make as much as civilians, at least not for several years).

$70k/year for tuition alone is expensive, no doubt about it. You should really take the debt you're incurring into account when you decide which specialty to pursue (i.e. stay the hell away from peds and family practice). But hell, you've discovered /r/personalfinance before even starting the journey. I would kill to have discovered this place at the same place in my life.

Source: Emergency Medicine attending (1 year post-residency). Around $360k in student loans at the moment.