http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/heres-how-i-set-up-my-financia...

Ok, I may be getting laptop soon and it will be a first step in organizing my finances. I live at home and use our family's desktop computer so I hesitate to sign up for a service like wesabe and/or mint or use software like Quicken (you know I don't want to upload my info to the family computer). If and when I get my laptop I plan to start using those tools...in the meantime I've been researching ways to set up my finances, I mean saving has always been important to me but I haven't had parents who set the best example.

My parents actually borrowed money from me when I was high school, not a lot, I'm not saying they are irresponsible but I knew what our struggles were and that we weren't always prepared to deal with them and it would worry me. Anyhow, I hope I can get a new job (on top of all this I quit my old one!) and start a Roth IRA and save up enough to build back up my checking and savings, which have been dwindling since I quit in October, as well as invest in the stock market.

This guy mentioned an ING account and I never thought to get one, now I'm seriously contemplating it...even though I'd have to reread the article to figure out what I would use it for (similar to him or something different?)

And for as long as I can remember I wanted to invest in the stock market... I just didn't think I had "enough" money or didn't know what brokerage to go with.

Ahhh I'm babbling, I'll get to what I do have... I have a BofA savings account and a student checking account (which is free for now) and like I said I want a Roth IRA. Once I've been working for a year I'll contemplate going back to school and trying to finish my degree (I can fill you in on that chaos in another blog post).

I just want to be as organized as possible and be bit better off than my parents seem to be and also to prove to them that I can take care of myself. I'm 24 yrs old for goodness sake!

Oh, when I do invest I may go with Fidelity or some other brokerage firm that isn't Etrade

....What I worry about is that I'm not good with math and not disciplined. Can I be organized and manage my income? Any income?

Does it seem like I even know what I'm doing? Or what I'll do? What if I don't make (or can't make) time to sit down once a week or a month to keep track of all this?

Anyhow, that's just me ranting I'm not looking for anyone to tell me what to do or anything....I mostly just want to share this with anyone other that is young and in a similar situation to me and just trying to figure it all out. It may even be useful to people who already have their life together. So let me know, and please don't think of me as a crazy person

Goodness, maybe I'm just restless and anxious. I've had two jobs that I hated and I just want to be able to go back to school and finish and say, "Yes, I did it!" and then get on with living (Lord be willing)

If you scroll to the bottom of that article here were some of the comments:

Comment #1:
I enjoy your website, I think that it is difficult to find valuable information on savings when you are just starting out. I am also a recent college graduate on my first salaried job and I was wondering if you get Roth IRA benefits from your employer, of it's something you began because it is better to start young. If so, is the upkeep for a Roth IRA dependent on your constant surveilance? Can I leave it like a CD and have it grow over time? I am a novice at stocks and having a Roth IRA seems a bit daunting, but I want to start. Also, why Etrade and not, citibank, or your personal bank?

I recommend to all my friends to drop the big box banks (BofA, Wells Fargo) and join a credit union. Most everyone is eligible to join. Rates are .25% for checking, .5% savings (under $1000), 1% savings (over $1000) and no monthly fees. I keep only enough in here to pay my monthly bills.

For a savings account, use ING direct at 4.35%, or, even better, Emigrant direct at 5.15%.

I don't like E-trade. Their rates aren't very good and they charge too many fees.

For long term investments, use a discount brokerage house like Fidelity or Vanguard. And EVERYONE should have a ROTH IRA with an index fund. Index funds are cheaper and earn a more reliable return than other mutual funds.

But before you even THINK about opening up all these savings accounts and investments, PAY OFF ALL CREDIT CARD DEBT first. Savings accounts and investments are pointless if you have credit card debt.

Comment#2:
This is just the first step to becoming rich.

People know that to become rich, you must make a lot of money somehow. But what they usually forget is that SAVING money is even more important to making money if you want to be rich.

And investing your money banks, savings institutions, brokerage houses, etc. are the first step to saving money.

Comment #3
Rich ? Probably not filthy but better than most. My advice is to stick with credit unions. Good interest rates and they don't sell your info. Employ locals and don't pay fat bonuses etc to the executive robber-barons of the day. StarOne CU in silicon valley pays 4.35% interest on savings and 0.5% checking. The savings acts as overdraft for the checking. And the CU credit card has $5 late fee, etc much better than any bank.

Etrade - OK , but Vangard broker is much better. Watch as brokers are lowering fees but the sweep money-market is 0.1% interest. Schwab & Etrade both are bad at this rip-off.

Rule #1 - never do business with a company that is setup to screw you. Fleet, Citizens, BofA, Citi are on my sh** list of never do business with. Trust is very, very important in financial relationships.

Comment#4:
I would love to become more financially organised and I do use Quicken and a Palm finance programme. My problem is that I don't input regularly enough. I would ideally like to spend half an hour every evening on my personal finances, probably after I get in from work. Have you managed to set aside regular time? How do you motivate yourself to do this? Please see my blog, and you'll understand exactly why it's essential that I manage to do this.

Comment#5:
^^That is rich by most standards.

Comment#6:
and any of the other goofballs I missed:

None of us know the financial/economic background of the people who posted before us, so it's pretty immature at best, malicious at worst to knock this site for any of the reasons you gave. Have any of you been paying attention to the news on how personal debt in America has been spiraling out of control? Somewhere in between learning to crawl in diapers, and walking across the dais to graduate from college, the significant majority of Americans in their 20s never received sound financial-planning advice. What Rammit is doing, is starting, what should be, a discussion. He, and many other financial gurus out there, can point to the door, but it must be you and you alone that walks through it.

Negative posts and name-calling are a waste of everyone's time. Don't like e*trade? Understood —they're not the best out there. Tell us why? Don't just tell someone they're a moron for using them.

Conversation, remember? Tell me why you use whatever bank/broker you do— then we have a discussion.

Me? I have two checking accounts with Capital One, one for a rent house I own, one with direct deposit for my job. That's where the money starts out. For short-term savings, I use Capital One's High Yield Money Market--been using it since Sept., and the fluctuating interest is b/t 4.8 and 4.6%.

To answer a question by

AvatarKava: I have less than $200 right now in that HYMM account, and if you have a checking account set up with them, you can transfer money back and forth (limited to six withdrawals a month) within 2days.

I think Rammit never mentioned 401Ks, (always invested in only index funds, duh) because we, as the working class, can't count on whatever company we work for to feed us when we are old. Same reason he didn't include social security into this mix. No, continue putting into a 401k whatever the max your company will match, but don't even count it as part of your paycheck.

Instead, for the long-term retirement, use an online broker. I've never tried e*trade or Ameritrade; I use Scottrade for my ROTH IRA and TradeKing for my 2-5year savings...and both seem to work for me.

But unless I would've known the very basics of the stock market, I wouldn't have felt comfortable jumping into it. How I got that security was first, setting up my own banking structure flow-chart (like so many described above), then reading as many financial investment books as I could. Investing for dummies, etc.. if you are just starting out, I recommend phil town's Rule #1: a great primer for getting into stocks.

Comment7:
I have quick question. Do you recommend using your credit card to charge your monthly expenses such as your electric bill, phone bill, association fees, and etc or should you pay those expenses directly from your checking account?

Thanks... I love the site.