Ric Werme's Finances for Young Adults

My daughters will be heading out into the cold, cruel world over the next few years, and that got me thinking about what I would have liked to know when I was their age. I came up with a number of things, but would I have listened to my father if he passed on his knowledge? Maybe. I would have had to keep it around because it wouldn't soak in the first time around. Besides, it wasn't until I was nearing graduation from college that I was really living on my own and realized there was no reason for my parents to be supporting me. By then it was just tuition for my last required course, but it was time to be on my own.

There were a number of things I didn't really need to know. Buying my first car - it was a gift when the rest of my family moved to Germany. IRAs? Didn't exist. Saving money? I had a savings account since grade school. Being good at math, I had a decent understanding of compound interest, incomplete it turned out, but the basics are simple. Checking account? My parents helped set that up when they brought to CMU for my freshman year.

Looking back, there are things I would have done differently, but all in all I did pretty well. My intent here is to pass on some of what I learned over the years. Most of it is stuff up to my mid-20s, but there have also been major changes in the investment world that make longterm investing a lot simpler than it used to be.

Each page below covers one topic. Call it a lesson, call it a lecture from Dad. Skip the stuff that doesn't apply today, but come back when it does. If it's useful, let me know. If using it helps you, let me know. If you have better ideas, let me know.


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Last updated 2007 August 3.