Author Topic: 18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?  (Read 4578 times)

JJTheJetPlane5657

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18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?
« on: July 13, 2013, 11:14:28 AM »
I was in a terrible accident when I was younger, and won the court case. I just turned 18 two months ago and my settlement check came in the mail. My brain has been churning ways to do something with that money since I first deposited it into my no-interest student savings account.

I know I'm wasting my time letting my money sit in that account, but I don't know what else I want to do with it.

To add another twist to the story, I'll be moving from the USA to Switzerland this fall with my wife for school. My parents will cover my living expenses, but ideally I'd like to have some money kicked off for me to have fun while I'm in college while still growing my initial investment. Also, at some point I do need to start earning enough money to live on without my parent's support. This is made difficult by the fact that I'm not allowed to work for the first six months of my stay (not at a job, like I'm not allowed to have any income at all). After that I'm only allowed to work 15 hours a week. As an aside, how the hell is anyone supposed to live like that?

Anyway, that's my situation. What do you recommend I do? I'd love to hear some opinions on this. I'd also like if you could provide some resources for me to read (obviously I'm doing my own research too).

I guess it's also important to know that I have no debt at all. I just got my first credit card last month, and I have a whopping $400 on it =O Most of that will go away when I move though, soooo much of it is from gas (my stupid car gets relatively bad mileage AND takes premium).

My wife has $12,000 of student loan debt, which is in deferment right now because she's "still in school" but she won't be going back next semester and will have to start paying them (also likely with no income). Her income situation depends on how she comes to Switzerland with me (either via "family reunification" where she'd have no income, or a job where she'd have income).

Joel

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Re: 18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2013, 12:44:25 PM »
You probably should use that 52k to live off of and go to school with. Use it wisely and not foolishly.

18yo with 52k and a wife? Really?

JJTheJetPlane5657

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Re: 18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2013, 01:06:20 PM »
Why would I use the 52k to live off of when my parents are going to pay for my living expenses..? And yes, 52k because of a court case and I just got married last week. What's so unbelievable about that?

Lans Holman

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Re: 18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2013, 01:15:23 PM »
So what are you asking here?  Are you thinking about investing that 52k or just using it for fun?  Are you trying to establish yourself in Switzerland long term or is just a good place to go to school?  Just out of curiosity, what are you studying?

Why would I use the 52k to live off of when my parents are going to pay for my living expenses..?

Most people on this board are here to work on how to get their own finances in order.  If yours are all being taken care of by someone else, there's not a lot of advice we can give you.  Not saying this to be rude, it's just not really what's going on around here.

And yes, it is a little unusual to be married at 18 and have a nice chunk of cash like that.  Congratulations on both. 

JJTheJetPlane5657

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Re: 18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?
« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2013, 01:20:07 PM »
Quote
Ideally I'd like to have some money kicked off for me to have fun while I'm in college while still growing my initial investment.

Joet

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Re: 18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?
« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2013, 01:22:24 PM »
Why married so young?

To your question, open a vanguard account and put it in the total market index and reinvest the dividends and come back in 10 yrs to look at it.

If you have any earned income (sounds like a no) consider investing some  in a Roth for the tax advantages

If you want to use it as a piggy bank well that works too, maybe allow yourself to spend up to 10% of it a year for fun stuff to do in Europe? Sounds like a good way to optimize consumption smoothing. You'll never get those teen years back.

ny.er

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Re: 18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?
« Reply #6 on: July 13, 2013, 01:28:54 PM »
Keep some money in your student account for your travels, look into VTSAX index fund for investing. Your in a great spot, in that you're paying attention to investing at a young age. Congratulations on your wedding, and good luck!

Emg03063

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Re: 18yrs old, $52K savings, what do I do?
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2013, 08:43:13 AM »
Why would I use the 52k to live off of when my parents are going to pay for my living expenses..? And yes, 52k because of a court case and I just got married last week. What's so unbelievable about that?

It's a cultural norm that people determine how they are going to support themselves (and their spouses, if you're not marrying a financially independent woman) BEFORE they get married.  That's what makes your situation unbelievable.  Usually parental financial support ends sometime before marriage.  It's nice that you have a chunk of cash and parental support for living expenses, but without some information on how and when you intend to support yourself off of your own earned income, I really can't advise you on what to do with the cash.  It depends on when you will need it.  Do you want an education?  Will you be attending school in Switzerland?  What do you plan to do for a living?