As a 15 year old, how should I use/invest my money?

[Clyne]

Just save up your money, i'd personally buy what you need right now and then save up everything else you have. 

Use BECU for your saving account, you'll probably have a better time there than using a commercial bank. 

If you just want to keep your money in a savings account, I suggest getting a savings account from Ally Bank as they offer 1% APY compared to 0.01% APY to some other commercial bank like BoA. 

From what I heard from friends and family, BECU is a great credit union to use...

53 minutes ago, LordXenu said:

Tell your parents I said they are dumb.

You can only get a permit at age 15 1/2 in WA, you need to be 16 or older in order to get a license.  

[Guest]

5 hours ago, jasonwj322a said:

I also will be getting a beast laptop this year from my parents after talking about how I need a computer for school. I chose the 2017 Dell XPS 15 with Core i7, 16GB of RAM, 512 SSD, and GTX 1050. I know its overkill but its also awesome at the same time as a first computer. 

I'm telling all this because what I'm thinking I should do is use my on a desktop. Though the laptop with those specs really do cover everything for me. What do you guys think? I want to work in the technology field when I get a job and spending my money on something that could help me really does matter. 

Whatever the price is, ask if you can use it as a budget for computers instead. Buy a cheaper school laptop/chromebook and DON'T GAME ON IT.
Then with some of the budget left over build a PC. I'd go low mid range, (Pentium anniversary/i3 and 1050/1050ti or rx 460/470) and then save the rest of the money. You can learn computer stuff and game on your Desktop then do the pointless word document tasks on your chromebook/office laptop. (Word of advice, don't install anything on your laptop/chromebook. Just have word/libre office or google chrome and use the free office google offers. Don't even put skype on it. All these things will severely tax your system. An SSD laptop is also a good way to go as word documents aren't very large.) i7 laptops are great, but they're not really. A desktop with an i3 would blow it away. Generally speaking. Check local stores for used PCs. I was in Microcenter yesterday and saw an i3 PC with 4gb of ram for 250 USD. The i3 is literally half the system's price. Sporting integrated graphics or getting a used GPU would be perfectly fine for older games/less intense games.

Put the rest of the money in the bank and check your local stores. Grocery stores, department stores (bjs, Walmart, etc.) and try working for some money. Put all of the money in the bank and save it. You'll be glad you did. I'm glad I did. I worked at a paintball store for a summer and put all the money in the bank. I made 1000 USD that summer. Steam has plenty of free games, and your birthday/Christmas or whatnot should bring in a little money in which you can put towards steam sales if you want to buy PC games.

TF2 is free. Roblux is free (and you can program tons of games), warframe I hear is good. Unturned I hear is good. There are plenty more to checkout.

[byalexandr]

Save it. Coming from a 17 year old who didn't save all that much.

 

It comes in handy to have the funds for an emergency or when it's time for a large purchase like a car.

 

I didn't save all that much because I spent most of my paychecks on food and computer stuff. The only reason I got my car was because I happen to be pretty good at art and made some money from an auction.

[Scitesh]

14 hours ago, jasonwj322a said:

I currently have around $1000. As a 15 year old with no real source of income

Holy mother of discipline

 

 

Also "keep"  the money for note and throw the biggest  high school grad  party ever (Ps  assuming the Schilling system in US  is same/similar  to that in India and you complete high  school when you turn18)

13 hours ago, jasonwj322a said:

 

Thanks for the nice comments and it looks like I'll be saving it then. Not a disappointment at all.

About getting a job, I've definitely tried. Maybe I was using a bad method but I just couldn't find one. Searching online really gives me mix results and asking in person just isn't something I would do. Any advice?

I.get a  job when I  see a  piece of hardware/bike mod  worth it 

For ex : I  needed a GPU  upgrade and I  heard about pascal/polaris  did an  intends  for 3  months for about INR25k  gave ? Old card to my younger brother (asked mom for 5k)  and bought my self a  new 1070

[JoaoPRSousa]

Bank account.

[LordXenu]

11 hours ago, Bubblewhale said:

.

You can only get a permit at age 15 1/2 in WA, you need to be 16 or older in order to get a license.  

A problem is that my parents wouldn't let me get a license at this age. 

problem is that my parents wouldn't let me

my parents wouldn't let me

parents

 

He didn't he can't, he said he parents won't let him.

[Snadzies]

Unless you have some sort of recurring financial responsibility then spend it how ever you want, even if you blow it on useless / stupid crap.

Have an urge to buy a car with the thought of fixing it up over the summer? Go for it!

Had your eye on a new snowboard? See you on the mountain!

You are young and have the rest of your life to be a responsible adult carefully managing his/her spending.

 

I personally would rather do something stupid with the money and have stories to reminisce about with my friends than tell them how I put it in a savings account.

When I'm with my family and friends the stories we always remember the most fondly and laugh hardest about are the  stupid and frivolous things we did as teenagers/young adults.

[Blade of Grass]

I would write my own advice, but I find the stuff already written by r/personalfinance to already be pretty well done.

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/teachme

 

Let me know if you have any questions  

[Clyne]

11 hours ago, LordXenu said:

A problem is that my parents wouldn't let me get a license at this age. 

problem is that my parents wouldn't let me

my parents wouldn't let me

parents

 

He didn't he can't, he said he parents won't let him.

You would have to follow the law anyway, you can't get a license anyway if you're not eligible. 

Even if his parents let him, he still can't due to the law. 

They aren't really dumb if they can't do it anyway...

[LordXenu]

50 minutes ago, Bubblewhale said:

You would have to follow the law anyway, you can't get a license anyway if you're not eligible. 

Even if his parents let him, he still can't due to the law. 

They aren't really dumb if they can't do it anyway...

But that's not what he said.

[Clyne]

1 minute ago, LordXenu said:

But that's not what he said.

It's just a fact...he can't get a license anyway. 

[HughMungusCynicalAnarch]

Silver and gold, though I'd say silver. Also have your parents make an E*TRADE account that you'd use and get a bank account, anytime you make profit from that account transfers earnings to the banks count and take out the money so your parents don't have it.

also invest in other metals like tungsten or titanium or lithium. also get a compound bow and a nice air rifle, since you cant have a gun thats the next best thing. 

[HughMungusCynicalAnarch]

15 hours ago, Aleksiandrovich said:

I can relate to you, i am 15 in New Zealand, the pricing for PC's etc is crazy in comparison to america, bascily i didn't have a job i wanted a PC badly, i loved PC's this forum taught me a lot, i work now and because of this i can afford a PC, had i known i would still have waited till now because now i have a stable income for both my PC and other things i may want. Having one thing is never enough you will always want more hence why blowing all your money at once won't do you any justice and why you should save the majority of it and should you choose to buy a desktop once you have a job.

 

I made two mistakes and would like to inform you so you can avoid this - its easy to say you won't do it but hard to not do it when its in the spirit of the moment. i to had 1000$ i blew it on ill informed peripherals being razer, i spent money on skins (CSGO). I thought it wasn't much and that i could get this money back but i was wrong and i always regretted wasting that money even on the peripherals due to the high cost. if you can avoid this honestly other wise you regret it so much later on. 

 

At the end of 2015 i got a job at a super market and bought my self a phone and PC, this would've been achieved much earlier had i been saving, although you have 1000$ now, you can spend it very quickly, save it because when new tech comes out you will want it, should you choose not to spend your money you have the luxury of buying this new tech - i say this because you say you are quite tech savvy and enjoy new tech etc, electronics always evolve there is always new stuff, save that money for new gen things that will later tickle your fancy and make educated purchases, don't waste you money till you have a job.

Just pay me to buy your computer parts. 

No seriously, give me money to buy a part in the usa and Ill ship it to you for a fee.

youll save a lot of money that way.

[jasonwj322a]

On 1/5/2017 at 7:19 PM, Bubblewhale said:

It's just a fact...he can't get a license anyway. 

I can get a licence....

On 1/5/2017 at 8:20 PM, HughMungusCynicalAnarch said:

Just pay me to buy your computer parts. 

No seriously, give me money to buy a part in the usa and Ill ship it to you for a fee.

youll save a lot of money that way.

Im in the USA...

On 1/5/2017 at 7:24 AM, LordXenu said:

A problem is that my parents wouldn't let me get a license at this age. 

problem is that my parents wouldn't let me

my parents wouldn't let me

parents

 

He didn't he can't, he said he parents won't let him.

 

On 1/5/2017 at 6:28 PM, Bubblewhale said:

You would have to follow the law anyway, you can't get a license anyway if you're not eligible. 

Even if his parents let him, he still can't due to the law. 

They aren't really dumb if they can't do it anyway...

I have 3 more months until a I reach 16 and my parents wouldnt let me get one either way.

[spellmanuk]

save it man while you still can go to your mom and dad for food and a house when you go to university or get a job and move out youll need every penny and if you have managed to save $1000 now think how much you could save by the time you hit 18 youd have a much better start to adult life than i did 

[Clyne]

4 hours ago, jasonwj322a said:

I can get a licence....

Wouldn't it be a permit? You can get a license at 16 but not 15...

[NinJake]

I also agree, don't spend so much money on a "school laptop". Get something cheap and affordable that will do exactly what you need for school, and use the rest of the money to build a decent Desktop for yourself. Don't spend all of your money, as you never know when you'll need a new pair of shoes.

[Clyne]

13 hours ago, LordXenu said:

-SNIP-

What? I know he said he can't get a license anyway, all I thought was due to his age and to follow the law with it.

Edited January 7, 2017 by W-L
Content

[LordXenu]

1 hour ago, Bubblewhale said:

What? I know he said he can't get a license anyway, all I thought was due to his age and to follow the law with it.

Technically he can get a permit and start the process of getting his license, BUT HIS PARENTS WON'T LET HIM.

[Clyne]

1 hour ago, LordXenu said:

Technically he can get a permit and start the process of getting his license, BUT HIS PARENTS WON'T LET HIM.

Probably because of the law, but that's what I think anyway. I just think his parents can't let him get one because of the law.

[Clanscorpia]

I would save it, I wish I did and didnt blow my 1300 CAD on a PC  Also you might need it later, like I went on a surprise trip to Greece and London from my grandparents and I was lucky that I have $400 saved

[Scruffy90]

Save it. Spent 26 years wasting money with very little to show for it. Things you buy at 15 you may regret buying in the future. so save it all up.

[jasonwj322a]

7 hours ago, Bubblewhale said:

Probably because of the law, but that's what I think anyway. I just think his parents can't let him get one because of the law.

Nope thats not what it is. They wouldn't let me cause they think its too dangerous for my age.

11 hours ago, NinJake said:

I also agree, don't spend so much money on a "school laptop". Get something cheap and affordable that will do exactly what you need for school, and use the rest of the money to build a decent Desktop for yourself. Don't spend all of your money, as you never know when you'll need a new pair of shoes.

I'm not paying for the laptop. I also have 7 pairs of shoes.

On 1/5/2017 at 4:21 AM, Scitesh said:

Holy mother of discipline

Also "keep"  the money for note and throw the biggest  high school grad  party ever (Ps  assuming the Schilling system in US  is same/similar  to that in India and you complete high  school when you turn18)

I.get a  job when I  see a  piece of hardware/bike mod  worth it 

For ex : I  needed a GPU  upgrade and I  heard about pascal/polaris  did an  intends  for 3  months for about INR25k  gave ? Old card to my younger brother (asked mom for 5k)  and bought my self a  new 1070

Thanks. Im actually surprised to hear that $1000 is a lot for a 15 year old. 

[NumLock21]

Save it when you really need to use it and open up a bank account, so you can put your money in there. Don't waste your money on stuffs that you don't need just because you can afford it such as that laptop, car, or whatever that is your thinking about wasting. In the end you will have to start all over. Set a challenge/goal for yourself. Now you have $1,000. You want to one day look at your savings, and see that extra 0 at the very end.

[KuJoe]

Invest in your future. Don't buy toys or anything like that, discover what you want to do and invest into that (i.e. tools, books, labs, etc...) or if you don't know what you want to do spend the money to find out. The biggest thing I push onto younger people is to discover what you want to do with your life early and focus on it as early as you can. I've seen way too many people in their 20s and 30s still unsure what they want to do and not only are they unhappy but their lifestyle is full of one bad choice after another because they don't have anything guiding them. One added benefit of working towards your career early is being able to network and get a job much faster. I wasn't even out of college when I landed my dream job because while I was in high school I was working at Dominos and one of the drivers worked in HR at the company I wanted to work for and my manager's mother was in charge of the internship program there also, luckily I had known I wanted to work in IT and had the skills and knowledge to get an internship at the company beating out other applicants from better schools. It was one of those "it's not what you know, it's who you know" deals but because I started networking in high school I already had things lined up for me when I started college.