I need financial help or advice!

[christianveganforlife08]

I (M19) work in the US as a seasonal worker. I make good money, but I have no idea what to do with it or how to invest it. I'm only employed for 8 - 9 months a year bc of my visa. I don't have any monthly cost whatsoever. and I also don't have any credit.

In 2023 I made about R500K but I bought a lot of shit. I only have a Capitec savings account where I invested R100k for a couple of months. But I want to open a new account at fnb to invest all my money there. (someone told me its better than Capitec)

my queastions are

1. What is the best way to invest my money that is safe and gonna increase .
2. Is fnb the best bank to use?
3. How do u get a credit card, how do build credit ( I have heard u can open a clothing account at any place and just pay them back) how does that work?
4. what are the different card used for at fnb?
5. Should I get a financial advisor , and who do u recommend?

PS I'm going back to the US in about a month so I want to get everything handled.

thank you in advance !!

 

[jermaineman]

@christianveganforlife08 A typical plan recommended here would be:

1. Open a Tax Free Investment Account - (one that you can buy ETFs in, not a savings account that earns interest). This is an account for your retirement one day - never withdraw from it or put money into it you might need to withdraw later. If you can, put R36k in before the end of this month (current financial year), and R36k in during the next financial year. This is your first priority at investing.
2. After that, use Interest-bearing accounts for money you think you might want to use on short notice. This includes an emergency fund, or money you're putting aside for holidays etc in the next year or 2. Note if you earn more than R23 800 interest in a year you start to pay tax, so try to keep your capital in investment accounts not too high.

I would have:

• Immediate access Emergency fund in some MoneyMarket earning 8+% interest
• savings for holidays etc in a 30-day call account or something earning more interest. (less accessible generally means more interest)

3 After that, your longer term investments are typically going to be ETFs. You can buy these using whatever share platform you want, but the cheapest is Easy Equities. Usually Satrix MSCI World Feeder or Coreshares world is recommended. You'll use these same ETFs in your TFSA)

For all your other questions, I don't think you need to worry about your credit score so I'd recommend against a CC. You probably don't need an FA for investing, but you might want to start thinking about medical aid/insurance things. I don't see why FNB is better.

Different cards are used to charge you more every month for the same service, but you feel cooler when you pull your darker-coloured card out in front of people.

 

[christianveganforlife08]

@jermaineman Thank you very much I will use ur advice this year !!