Unknown Unknown’s Personal Finance guide!

What is this

• A simple, opionated guide for younger people who don’t know what to do with their money. Since I don’t make money from any of this, I feel comfortable suggesting specific companies (with links!) that you should use for your investments. These are the companies that I use myself.

Who is this for

• People based in the US. Sorry.
• The 90%, probably not ideal if you make a lot of money (>500k/year), are planning on being a super early retirer (before 50 years old), planning on starting a business, or anything else that most people don’t do.
• I assume you aren’t planning on retiring within the next 20-30 years

What this is not

• I’m not going to talk about non-tax/non-retirement ways to save more money (frugal living, coupons, etc)
• I’m not going to talk about how much money you should save. We will disucss the implications of different savings rates, but the choice of rate is a lifestyle choice which is up to you.

Contents:

• Basics
  • Taxes
  • Marginal Tax System
  • Deductions
  • Standard Deductions vs Itemizing
  • Capital Gains Tax
  • Retirement Vehicles
• Investment Basics
  • Active vs Passive investing
  • Vanguard
• The Plan
  • 1) 3 month emergency fund
  • 2) 401k up to match
  • 3) Pay off all debt with an interest rate greater than 4%
  • 4) 6 month emergency fund
  • 5) Max out your HSA
  • 6a) Max out your tax-advantaged accounts
  • 6b) (Optional) Save up 20% for a house down payment
  • 7) Finish paying off any debts with interest rates less than 4%
  • 8) Save for kids college
  • 9) Payoff house early
  • 10) Taxable accounts
• Additional Resources
  • Other things
  • Additional topics
  • Additional references