When it comes to financial planning. I have one nephew who just graduated and another who will be in 2 years. I'm the worst $$ manager around so I hate to give advice, but want them to start thinking about things. I got this advice off of one board: Base assumption was a new college graduate with a company that has a 401K with matching contributions.
Without specifics it's tough to design a financial plan as there are (most times) conflicting needs/demands on the income of the young professional AND everyone has a different philosophy on wealth development. However, IMHO one of the first things they should do is eliminate (and then avoid incurring) debt, especially debt with non deductible interest. This is sometime tough to do as they want that nice ride and end up with a big auto note. Hey, maybe their uncle should buy that aTm p/u and "gift" it to them?! Assuming they do not own a home but want to, they should develop a cash accumulation strategy to build a down payment for that 1st home. Some employers have 401K plans which allow participant loans for the purpose of buying that 1st home. If they have access to such and if they believe they will be with that employer for a long time (may be difficult to project in this day and age) the accumulation of the down payment via en employer-matched 401K deferral may work. If that's not a possibility, then find a financial services company which will allow them to build the down payment via "no-load" growth (perhaps aggressive) mutual funds .... and stay away from insurance contracts. With regard to retirement deferrals, if they have any available cashflow after living expenses, an intelligent/aggressive debt retirement program, and "saving for a down payment on a house", they should consider making the 401k deferral which allows them to enjoy the employer's maximum matching - eg defer 6% if the employer's program is to match 50% of deferreal up to 6% of annual comp. Don't know if there is one perfect approach so perhaps the best road to take is one that provides your nephews the flexibility to change what they're doing when it's necessary they do so.
1. Maximize 401k contributions right now. They're tax sheltered, so they have almost no effect on take home income, but they do reduce the yearly tax burden, which is considerable if you don't own a home. 2. Buy a home as soon as possible. This should be the main financial goal that they work toward. 3. Have a small savings account to save for Christmas and vacations. If they don't save small amounts of money for those two things, they'll wind up extending their credit cards.
That is great advice, JO'Co... I emphasized to my kids the value of 401K or IRA contributions... The best example I could give them was the one where one guy starts contributing the max to his IRA at age 20...stops at age 30 and never contributes another nickel... The other guy starts at age 30 and contributes the max every year....when does he catch up in total value to the first guy who contributed 10 years and quit? Answer: never.