This hobby can indeed be expensive, which is why every month I set aside a fixed amount for hobbying and I stick to it.
As the years have gone by, I’ve started thinking more and more about the long-term financial side of things.
Do you invest in stocks, ETFs, or gold?
If you don’t yet, I’d strongly suggest starting to put $500 a month into the S&P 500. I personally use the Vanguard index fund (VOO).
Money should be put to work instead of letting inflation eat it up in a regular bank account.
A side tip would be to start with an initial lump sum - say, $1,000 for the first month - and then $500 every single month after that.
Let’s do some quick math and be conservative, assuming the S&P 500 returns 7% per year:
- After 10 years, you’d have roughly $88,500
- After 20 years, around $264,500
- And here’s where it gets juicy—after 25 years, a staggering $410,000!
Best of all, these numbers already factor in average future inflation
I’d personally suggest never selling your holdings, but instead borrowing against them when you need liquidity.
Now that´s more for the longer term.
There´s a lot of good advice in the
financial advice thread, also more in the short-term pond.
