@ahilla Starts a 529 as soon as possible. We started one right after our daughter was born. We couldn’t add much in the beginning but kept at it and now after a scholarship for tuition we can pay for the rest of her school without taking out student loans. Having her graduate with no debt is an incredible gift. It took me years to get my student loans paid off and I didn’t want her to have to struggle like I did after college.
@robstorts101 With the new rules allowing up to $35k of 529 money to be used as annual Roth IRA contributions, I'm better with this advice than I was 10 years ago. Used to be that we'd have to worry about penalties and taxes if the child ended up not needing the money. At least now, we have options for large portions of anything that might remain.
@deadcalm Look into the rules around it and Roth IRA's. For example, I think the 529 has to be at least 15 years old before the money can be moved, the moves are subject to annual contribution limits, etc. Even with all that, it's nice that there is the option.
@ahilla For sure! The accounts will be at least 18 years old before we need to do anything with them since they were opened when they were born. Thanks for the advice!
@zina200045 I'm in an interesting situation. My wife and I both grew up in upper-middle class families, except my parents explicitly taught me personal finance while hers assumed she'd pick it up. She did not. I don't think I realized what a gift it was to be taught personal finance in bits and pieces for my entire life until I met my wife. Highly recommend doing the same for your children.
FWIW, my plan is to start an allowance when my daughter turns 3 this summer. It'll be small ($Age/TBD or something like that). It'll be her money to spend however she wants. I want her to start getting in the mindset of understanding what money is, what it's used for, and an understanding of saving for bigger things later. She won't get 100% of this at first, but I want to build the foundation now rather than try to course correct when she's older.
@crteague I used to beat myself up over something I may have did or said earlier in the day/week. It took me a long to realize that nobody probably even noticed or if they did, they weren't obsessingover it like I was.
@crteague I have had people come and apologize for something they said/did days prior and hoped I would forgive them. I have never had any idea what they are talking about.
@zina200045 In the wise words of Albus Dumbledore, "Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it".
Take care of yourself physically. Create good eating habits and good exercise habits and pay attention to your health from an early age.
Buy a house early because someday everything is going to be super expensive and impossible.
Pick a career that is stable and not soul-sucking. Income is important, but it's not the only thing. Being able to wear a t-shirt and jeans to work at a white collar job is cool when you're in your 20s but eventually that stops being a perk you're going to care about.
Talk to your parents twice a week, at least.
Take care of your mental health. See somebody if you need to. Don't hold it all in.
You don't have to please everybody, and it's ok that some people don't like you.
@roninjedi Number 5, especially. Do not leave it fester, mostly unattended, for a decade and a half. It's 1000 times harder to put yourself back together after you're already in pieces. And even if you manage, you will never be the same.
@creationmakessense I was 35 and a parent before seeing a therapist, and 38 before getting medicated for anxiety and depression. I'm still working on fixing things, but it makes me a much better husband and father when my shit is together.
@roninjedi Well done for being willing to put in the work! In my experience, it's the hardest thing you'll ever do, parenting included, but it's also the most worthwhile, both for your offspring and for yourself.
I was 29 or 30 when I finally acknowledged that I needed help... after struggling intermittently since 12 or 13. It took until 38 or 39 to get things back to fully healthy, and in the end, it was the sharp hormone changes of pregnancy and postpartum that helped solidify the changes.
