#dont be sad! i had the privilege of my parents teaching me budgetting and taxes from a young age (by having me do theirs for them lmfao)

[nako-doodles]

ngl i feel like i should know all this "adulting" stuff like stocks, investments, 401k etc but i don't. i think cus 1 i never had a good enough job to even put money in a 401k so i dont and i dont think im good enough with money to invest in stocks.. like unless you have SO many shares that you'll make significant money back each month, why bother. but then again i guess the only way to get there is to build it but still. need to be rich to.. be rich. also still bitter i gave my ex 1k to put into his stocks thinking it'll be for our future and i never got that $ back ;-;

i honestly think budgeting, financing, and taxes should be a class taught in hs, instead of left for your family to teach you, or for college students to learn the hard way. and youre right! the whole 'you gotta save 10-20% of your earnings' comes from a place in privilege bc you gotta HAVE 10-20% of your paycheck available TO BE saved. HOWEVER i do think you should have an emergency fund set aside, lord knows its saved me LOTS during my college years, and esp during the p*ndemic and my sudden no-longer-short-term stay abroad. its doesnt even have to be much (god knows this infl*tion has fucked up a lot of ppl and their savings), but if you can, you should! you should also diversify the form your money takes, like in stocks, bonds, etc etc. so just incase sthing happens (like a giant stagfl*tion) not all your money is going to be affected in the same way (usually govt bonds do well when the economy tanks)

401ks are retirement plans that employers set aside for you bc they get a tax break from it, so most employers will do it for their employees, but even if they dont, you should still get an IRA bc using them allows you to get taxed less overall (in general).

stocks on the other hand are helpful tools for finance management, but you shouldnt treat them like gambling (like most rich ppl do w their fancy ai bots and huge wealth management teams). you should treat them like a savings/cd account or a govt bond where you put money in a portfolio and you can get interest.

i found this youtube channel really helpful for finance tips