New to saving, overwhelmed by options

Hi everyone sorry if this is a dumb question but im 24 and have never really saved money before. I have about $3000 in my checking account and I want to start being smarter about it but theres so much information out there and I dont know where to start.

I keep seeing people talk about HYSA and index funds and Roth IRAs and I have no idea what any of this means or what order I should do things in. My friend told me about this forum and said people here are helpful.

I make about $52k/year and my rent is $1,150/month if that matters. No debt except a small student loan ($8k left).

Not a dumb question at all. Here's the basic order most people recommend:

1. Build an emergency fund of 3-6 months expenses in a high-yield savings account (HYSA). At your income/rent, aim for about $5-8k.
2. If your employer offers a 401k with a match, contribute at least enough to get the full match. That's free money.
3. Pay off high-interest debt (credit cards, personal loans). Your student loan at presumably ~5% is borderline -- some people pay it off aggressively, some invest instead.
4. Open a Roth IRA and start contributing. At your income level you're almost certainly better off with Roth (pay taxes now) vs Traditional (pay taxes later).

For step 1, open a HYSA at Ally or Marcus. Takes 10 minutes online. Start moving money there.

Don't try to do everything at once. Just start with the emergency fund and go from there.

Also read the wiki on r/personalfinance -- their flowchart is genuinely excellent even though I know thats a different site.

Welcome! And definitely not a dumb question. I was in the same boat at your age.

Quick definitions since you mentioned you're confused by the terminology:
- HYSA = high yield savings account. Just a savings account at an online bank that pays way more interest than a regular bank like Chase or BofA. Currently around 4% APY.
- Index fund = a way to invest in hundreds of stocks at once. Like buying a tiny piece of every big company. Much less risky than picking individual stocks.
- Roth IRA = a retirement account where you put in money AFTER taxes, and then it grows tax-free forever. You can contribute up to $7,000/year.

What bogle_or_bust said is right. Start with the HYSA. I'd specifically recommend opening one at Ally Bank -- its easy to set up and the app is really intuitive. Then just set up automatic transfers from your checking to savings (even $100/month is a great start).

You got this!

The fact that you're thinking about this at 24 puts you ahead of most people. Don't stress about optimizing everything right now. Just start.

Open the HYSA, throw $1000 in it, set up autopay on the student loan for the minimum, and forget about it for a month. Then come back and think about step 2.

Good advice from everyone above. One thing I'd add -- at 24 with that student loan, I'd actually look into whether refinancing makes sense. Rates might be lower than when you took it out. But don't refinance federal loans to private if you think you might want income-driven repayment or forgiveness options down the road.

Also and I know this isn't what you asked but start a simple budget. Doesnt have to be fancy, even a note on your phone tracking what you spend for a month. Most people have no idea where there money goes and just seeing the numbers is eye-opening.

When I was your age I wish someone had told me to just automate everything. Set up automatic transfers on payday so the money goes to savings before you can spend it. "Pay yourself first" sounds like a cliche but it works.

Wow thank you all so much this is really helpful. I think I'll open an Ally account this weekend. The definitions especially helped @jenny1987, I kept seeing HYSA everywhere and didnt want to ask what it meant lol.

One more thing -- is there a minimum amount you need to open one of these? I dont want to put all $3k in savings since I need some in checking for rent and stuff.

Ally has no minimum deposit to open. You can start with $1 if you want.

I'd suggest keeping 1-2 months of expenses in your checking ($2,300-ish based on your rent) and moving the rest to the HYSA. Then set up a recurring transfer -- even $200/paycheck adds up fast.

And yeah don't feel bad about asking basic questions. Everyone started somewhere. That's what the forum is for.