To really simplify: 1 - Divide your expenses between wants and needs. 2 - Have specific financial goals. 3 - Whenever you’re about to spend money on a want, ask yourself if it’s really worth delaying your goals. If you can master that way of thinking, you can pick up the advanced skills as you go. But I hear you, our people aren’t know for much delayed gratification.

And especially for US Americans: prioritize clearing your debt, starting from lowest to highest

Learn through books, podcasts, YouTube, FB groups, and even bank websites like Schwab. Leverage AI for a quick baseline, then use that to branch into deeper topics and actually deepen your knowledge. To become financially fit, you have to audit your behaviors, understand your triggers, identify your goals, and create systems that support your lifestyle. Personally speaking, graduating with hella student loan and credit card debt felt crushing 💀 It took a shift in perspective and a lot of experimenting to figure out what actually worked. There’s an overabundance of tools and resources now, so keep researching and trying different methods until something sticks for you!

I find these spaces often chat about the same things, and it gets repetitive and stereotypical. I wanted to make a similar post to yours, but more tuned to investments and savings. Thank you for expressing your curiosity, and chatting about something different! Just remember what’s good for someone, may not be good for someone else. That being said, I would recommend the following: Audit Before Action: Move past the investment hype by starting with a granular budget. Categorize your spending into essentials, wants, needs, and goals to see where your money actually goes. The Buffer: Prioritize liquidity and security. Before chasing returns, establish a robust emergency fund covering 6–12 months of expenses to mitigate life's unpredictability. Ive always felt the typical 3 months coverage was not great, especially in a health emergency. Personal preference. Debt & Discipline: Use your income analysis to identify necessary cuts and aggressively tackle existing debt to clear the path for future growth.

Why would it be ironic?

I learned financial literacy by taking a job at a local credit union. Working with money helped me value it more and seeing how other people spent their money made me more intentional with my spending. I seemed so simple once I was immersed in it. Lessons that stuck: Pay your debts but pay yourself first. This can look like an automatic transfer of $25 on pay day to a savings account or mutual funds or whatever savings option you decide. I started doing this 5 years ago as a birthday present to myself. $25 turned into almost enough for me to put a down payment on a home. Consistency over time and keeping that money in an account I cannot access in my everyday bank account has really helped. I don’t notice it leave and sometimes I forget where it’s went until I get an email to check my investment portfolio. Also, having an access barrier (my financial advisor needs to withdraw it for me - I cannot do it myself) makes me think twice and devise another option before I request a withdrawal.

Working at a Bank 🏦