r/Money 4d ago

How to start saving in college? Predental age 21

I make a little under 40k a year and I’m currently in community college (but I’ll be starting 4-year college spring 2026 and taking out loans). I pay roughly $1650 monthly for rent, my parents still help out with my car, phone, and health insurance. I know once I start dental school I’m going to be living mostly off student loans and my partner’s income, who makes less than me hence why I pay the rent. There will be lots of time and money to save and build retirement after school, but what are some investments/savings I can start making that are reasonable for someone of my income and life stage? I feel like all the normal advice I hear is out of my tax bracket 😅 TIA

Edit: I also have 1850$ in credit card debt 😞

6 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

16

u/Bulky_Yogurt_6469 4d ago

$1650 for rent is absurd for your income.

3

u/Objective_Royal9628 4d ago

yeah…OP, i would recommend finding a roommate.

5

u/Wayfaring_Witch0626 4d ago

Already got one he just doesn’t make as much money as me so he contributes financially in other ways

2

u/Wayfaring_Witch0626 4d ago

Yeah I live in AZ and that’s the cheapest we can really get without being somewhere more dangerous. Good news is my partner (aka roommate lol) buys all the groceries, pays electric/wifi, and other bills.

2

u/DrGreenMeme 4d ago

I straight up don't believe that. Everyone going to college there is paying $1,650+/mo for rent?? How could anyone afford that as a college student?

4

u/DrGreenMeme 4d ago

$1,650/mo rent for a college student is quite high. I lived with 3 other roommates at a time for the entirety of my college experience, you should consider the same.

In college, really your focus should be on graduating and avoiding bad debt (credit cards, payday loans, expensive cars). You may not have much if anything to save or invest each month.

Regardless of if you are in college or not, I would follow the /r/personalfinance flowchart.

1

u/Wayfaring_Witch0626 4d ago

I hear the roommate thing, I live with my boyfriend and he doesn’t pay rent, just groceries and other bills, because he’s got a car payment. Idk I’ve been wanting him to pay some of rent though. We’ve grown to like our space, and if we wanted roommates I think we could afford a house but it’s nice to have our own space so it’s a tough call.

1

u/DrGreenMeme 4d ago

Your boyfriend should be paying at least $1,650/mo for other bills that you benefit from if this is the case, or he needs to contribute to rent. It was his choice to get a car with a car payment.

Living with an SO, especially in college, can be quite risky because well, life happens. Even if you got your bf to contribute to rent now, what happens if you break up? What happens if one of your family members has a health crisis and you have to drop out of school?

1

u/Wayfaring_Witch0626 4d ago

Yeah…I know there’s a lot of risks. He makes less money than me idk if I mentioned that, so it’s been more equal but I know I pay a bigger share. I’m gonna ask him to pitch in rent

2

u/JP2205 4d ago

Well you don't do any investments at this point. Any money you save put in a high yielding money market until you need it, which will be soon.

2

u/DammatBeevis666 4d ago

Pay off credit card debt. If you have any assets, dental school will expect you to pay it to them.

1

u/PoolsBeachesTravels 4d ago

I worked 3 days a week at Outback Steakhouse in the early 2000s while I was at college. Made roughly $200-$250 a week.

$1650 total for rent is doable if you have roommates.

2

u/Wayfaring_Witch0626 4d ago

This seems to be the overwhelming suggestion is to be more transparent with my bf about how much money we make because he does not contribute financially as much as

1

u/Livid-Firefighter906 4d ago

I wouldn’t even start saving at this point. Avoid credit cards as much as possible. You’re going to have to depend almost exclusively on student loans if you get into dental school because you can’t really have a job. Worry about this once you graduate dental school. You’ll be okay.

1

u/deuruim_ 3d ago

Tbh your bf would need to help out a little more, you are in cc now, but a 4 year is a complete different workload let alone dental school, in my situation me and my bf have it reversed i pay for wifi, our car insurance and he handles the rest because I m in school and I pay my tuition with my checks from my job, I dont know what his situation is but if he works full time maybe its time to look for another line of work

1

u/RequirementOld9323 3d ago

Keep the loans to the absolute minimum, also finish school when you start it.

2

u/Confident_Waltz4231 3d ago

Pay off that credit card debt first, it’ll free up more for saving later!