What to do with it once I've saved it?

What do you do with all the money once you save it?
I have two jobs, one is my full time job that pays my bills. The other is a part time job that has a lot of room for making money because people are constantly trying to get rid of shifts which means you can work more if you want.

My goal is to have $10,000 in my savings by the end of 2013. And another $20,000 by June 2014. I am well on my way. But then what do I do with that money?

I could go to school. But I have absolutely no idea what I want to take, and I am horrible in classroom settings. I don't think school is an option right now for me.
Or I could go travelling. It would be amazing to just take off for a year and spend it somewhere else in the world. I could go to Dubai and hang out at my sisters place, spend time with my niece and nephew. Then head over to Thailand for a while, relaxing on gorgeous beaches and experiencing something new everyday. And lots of people say they learn a lot about themselves which out travelling, so maybe I would realize what it is that I want to do.

There has to be more to this life than work work work? Sure I could save all that money and have stability and be set up for retirement, or I could use it while I am still youthful and have no responsibilities and just explore the world.

I guess what I'm wondering is has anyone else here done something like this? Or regret not having done this?

Brooke, I haven't travelled, as you are contemplating nor do I have any regrets about that. I also didn't have the opportunity to do post secondary education, when I was your age, although I did do a college degree, as an adult.

It sounds to me as if you have been working very hard to save. I would suggest that you should take some time to enjoy the fruits of your labours but you could, at the same time, tuck some away for your retirement. If I were you, I'd think about socking half of my savings away in an RRSP or TFSA, if you don't need the tax deduction and then I'd take the other half and travel for a bit. Travelling can be an education in itself and who knows, while you are travelling, you might even figure out what you would like to do next.

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Originally Posted by Brooke_

I could go to school. But I have absolutely no idea what I want to take, and I am horrible in classroom settings. I don't think school is an option right now for me.

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First off, good for you for saving your money!

I am guessing from your post that you are young, likely early twenties.

Without knowing anything about you, I would make the following suggestion - go to college for a trade.

Despite the fact that I personally have 11 years of post-secondary education at university, it is my firm belief that university is not where most people should go for their education. I also fervently believe that college is a far better "bang for the buck" in terms of education that is actually useful in the workplace for most.

If you don't thrive in the classroom, then find something you can do with your hands. There will still be classroom learning, but it will be directly applicable to your hands-on training.

My personal belief is that if you enjoy travelling (I don't, but that's me), then do it. But you should be responsible and set yourself up with a reliable set of tools to earn more money first. In reality, it is more the whole owning a house and having kids thing that prevents you from travelling, not age.

If you really value travel, then delay the house and kids, not your education.

Just my opinion...

I've done the education, the travel and the savings. It can be done. It really just depends on a person's priorities.

I started saving when I was 10 and my parents started giving me the baby bonus check each month. Then I added my paper route money. Then my earnings from my part time job in high school. I was saving with the goal of going to university in a city other than the one where I grew up. I couldn't wait to get out of Dodge ;)

I took a year off partway through university and went to Switzerland, which allowed me to travel in Europe. I returned home and finished my degree, and then went to college. While in college, I spent a summer working in Arizona, which was furthering both my education and helping me gain more skills and experience for what I wanted to do long term. After college I was able to land good jobs, but I worked hard to do that. And once I had steady work and a decent income, I realized that I didn't have time for travel on the same scale anymore. But that was okay, I was able to make smaller amounts of time here and there, for example, I spend two months in Australia about 10 years ago. I travelled without acquiring debt. I had the earning power and the savings to do so.

When I was younger, I was able to travel because I didn't have kids or other obligations at home like a spouse or a house. Eventually that changed. And now I save. I have saved to make sure I have a six month emergency fund. My life experience has shown me how very important this is. Dh and I have saved so that we could help fund his children's post-secondary education. Glad that was done before the time came because life threw us some curveballs. We save for our retirement. Because we do want to retire someday, and we want to enjoy it, not live in poverty. We saved to buy a house. We continue to save for the expenses related to the house, like roof and furnace we replaced, and the remodelling we want to do. We save for the winter getaway vacation we try to take each year. We save for the cars we will need to buy when our current vehicles die.

We save for the things that we value, the things that are important to us. That is different for each person. And it can evolve throughout a person's lifetime.

But I save to buy the things I want because I won't do it on credit (other than the mortgage). The interest rates that one pays when buying on credit just make the purchase price too expensive. And I save to know that when life throws me more curveballs (and it will) I will have the financial means to survive them without having the added stress of figuring out how to afford food and lodging.

It is great that you have been able to save so much. I too am guessing you are in early twenties.

Some things to think about:

Likely, you will eventually have obligations in the form of family (spouse, children) and house. If you do have kids, trust me on this, they cost so much more than you could ever imagine.

Once you have kids or buy a house, your expenses go up dramatically. As a result of that, what seems like a good salary today will likely be inadequate for those types of expenses.

So if you think that it is possible that you might want to own a house some day or have children some day, you will likely want to be on a career path that will allow you to have more earning power as time goes on. So you might want to think about what your job future looks like on the track you are on currently and decide if that is adequate. If it is not, then you might want to rethink your plan.

Keep ..half of it and spend the rest on travelling.

When it comes to travelling , don't just do some touristy thing ..like going to a country and clicking a few pictures in front of some monument..or going and sitting on a beach.

Go to some developing country like India , or some South american country or Africa or some East European country and actually spend some time with the locals doing some volunteer work or social work. Actually get to know the locals and their way of life.

Your whole perspective on life will change and you will realise , how much we take for granted in a country like Canada and how much we sweat and worry about the small things in life.

Look at travelling from the holistic or spiritual point of view:)..and not just been there and done that and clicked a picture in front of The Taj Mahal or The Great Wall of China and posted it on Face Book to get a zillion likes.

I was just in India for 2 months ..mostly Mumbai..that place is nuts and crazy..but I actually found lot of people , who live in shanty towns to be more happy and content , with their lives than most people I have seen here :shrug:

There was filth , dirt , pollution and poverty and inflation everywhere..but still the tenacity and resilence and the smiles on their faces were priceless :)

That place is an assault on your senses..the sights , the smells , the sounds ..you name it , its all there:)

The experience was amazing though..not everything was positive , but still worth it.

....and remember to give to charity if you haven't considered doing so....it simply is a blessing to be able to give :-)

sounds like you want to travel, so do it
but Dubai and Thailand would not be my first choice
keep working and invest your money
or save it towards real estate , seeing that you're still young.

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Originally Posted by brunt

First off, good for you for saving your money!

I am guessing from your post that you are young, likely early twenties.

Without knowing anything about you, I would make the following suggestion - go to college for a trade.

Despite the fact that I personally have 11 years of post-secondary education at university, it is my firm belief that university is not where most people should go for their education. I also fervently believe that college is a far better "bang for the buck" in terms of education that is actually useful in the workplace for most.

If you don't thrive in the classroom, then find something you can do with your hands. There will still be classroom learning, but it will be directly applicable to your hands-on training.

My personal belief is that if you enjoy travelling (I don't, but that's me), then do it. But you should be responsible and set yourself up with a reliable set of tools to earn more money first. In reality, it is more the whole owning a house and having kids thing that prevents you from travelling, not age.

If you really value travel, then delay the house and kids, not your education.

Just my opinion...

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i agree with you.... wish i invested on education/trade
wasted all my years in partying and travelling
with nothing to show for it at the end
oh well....

After four years of working at McDonald's and another 2 years of various part time work,I bought a house. Mind you I'm buying it with my SO but we saved up 20% down and splitting everything 50/50 til were married. We went on a trip to jamaica ( first trip ever together)to reward ourselves and started saving again. Also note that my parents paid for my education.
Yea you old live once but the average Canadian death rate is 80 years old.

I have a long list!!! :lol:

Good for you for saving lot's of money. Personally I would put a portion into a retirement savings and emergency fund. Worse case scenario.. if you lost a job (layed off) you may need extra money from emergency fund, to tide you over, until a new job appears. The rest I would put aside for education and travel.

Good for you for saving lot's of money. Personally I would put a portion into a retirement savings and emergency fund. Worse case scenario.. if you lost a job (layed off) you may need extra money from the emergency fund, to tide you over, until a new job appears. The rest I would put aside for education and travel.

It is great that you have worked hard, saved money, and now have the opportunity to make these kinds of decisions. I will keep this short.

I think that it would be great for you to take some time and money to rewards yourself, but you also do not know what the future will hold for you. Like you said...possibly go visit family.

Although I am a teacher, I agree that a tech school is a great way to go. Less costly and many job opportunities. It would be worth looking into.

It is important to save money. If you do your research...RRSPs are NOT what is best for most people. Having a nice emergency fund is also a great thing to do.

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Originally Posted by Angela273

RRSPs are NOT what is best for most people. Having a nice emergency fund is also a great thing to do.

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Good thing to point out.

An RRSP is good in one of two conditions:

1) Your employer offers a matching contribution (often in the 50% range). Hard to beat that sort of return, especially if you are older. I'm not fond of how many employers only offer locked-in plans, though.

2) You can engineer your income so that your annual income will decline greatly at some point in the future. This way, you push your income from a higher tax year into a lower tax year, likely saving taxes.

A word of warning though, if you don't understand marginal tax rates, or don't know what yours is, it is likely a bad idea to get an RRSP until you educate yourself.

And remember, an RRSP only delays tax, it doesn't avoid it.

My employer does match 50% of my RRSP contribution so I do max that out each pay check already, I contribute 6% of my paycheque and they put in an extra 3%!

I need to take the time to research taxes and see if I can figure out what I will end up paying in taxes come the end of the year since I am working two full time jobs and will definitely end up owning. I should see if I have any options to owe less.
I still haven't fully decided what to do. I am however looking at moving into a higher position at work so I can grow my income and save even more. I have some courses to take, and am aiming to be in this new role by February 2014. Wish me luck! It will be a good chance to see how I am at learning since I have to do some courses, that will tell me if I am even ready for school in the bigger picture.

Well this is just me, to each their own but I would work on putting a down nice downpayment on a house =) . Or more likely work little longer,go to college and then save the rest for your house. I am debating going back to school myself but i wouldn't make much even with a college degree,very tough decision.

You have your whole life ahead of you to work on saving more so i may wait on the travelling... i mean once your house is paid off (and maybe have gone to college)you will still have that extra $$ to travel and save if you really want it.

Of course rrsp is always a good option to, as mentioned Always grow it in a savings account while you aren't doing anything with it as well !

I am probably just a few years older than you but now in a different life situation.

I think my one regret is not au pairing in Switzerland when I had a chance. I now have a child and seeing Europe is out of the range of possibilities for me for a while. My Switzerland could be your Thailand. So by all means make sure you jump and go see the places you want to see.

I would recommend 1/3 in retirement accounts (maybe dividend paying stocks, ETFs or mutual funds with low MERs), 1/3 toward travel at your age, and 1/3 towards short term savings (your house or opportunity knocks situation). You should start reading about investing or retirement. Its amazing what interest can do if you start young. If you can't be bothered to read about investing and choosing accounts the ING streetwise fund is basic with a relatively low MER which you can open as an RRSP or a TFSA.

I would also consider going to schoool for a decent paying trade. If I had to do my education over again and had no career in mind I would have probably become a pipefitter, a home inspector, or a speech therapist. These are in demand professions that pay much better than mine...some of which require much less schooling.

So anyways, there is no right way to spend money. Just make sure if you are in a position of power to pay it forward and to donate to a few causes that you care about. Make a difference where you go! Good luck!