24 years old and anxious about whether I’m making the right financial decisions. Looking for advice.
I’m 24 and have been feeling pretty anxious about my financial future lately, even though I know I’m in a decent position on paper.
Here’s where I’m at:
Around **$115,000 invested** (mostly index funds/money market) about 45k is in S+P so the rest, 65k is in a money market
About **$26,000 in retirement accounts**
Roughly **$5,000 in checking**
I own a condo that I recently bought for **$210k** with **20% down**. I currently have around **$50k in equity**. It’s gone up about $9k estimate wise
I make about **$75-80k/year** as a full time cosmetologist. I have been able to save a lot up because I started at 18, and stayed at home until I bought my condo at 23.
My long-term goal is to move into a single-family home in about **3 years**. Based on my savings rate and hopefully some appreciation in my condo, I’m estimating I could have somewhere around
The problem is… I constantly worry about the economy.
I’m always reading articles or seeing videos saying:
“The housing market is about to crash.”
“Stocks are in a bubble.”
“A recession is coming.”
“Everything is overvalued.”
I catch myself checking my investment accounts way too often and worrying that my condo will lose value or my portfolio will drop right before I’m ready to buy my next home. I constantly want to sell.
I know investing is supposed to be a long game, but my anxiety makes it hard to ignore all the doom-and-gloom headlines.
If you were in my position, what would you do over the next three years?
Would you:
Keep investing aggressively?
Start moving more money into cash or a money market for a future down payment?
Keep paying only the minimum on my mortgage while investing the difference?
Or just stop worrying and stay the course?
I’d especially love to hear from people who have gone through previous recessions or housing downturns. Did things work out in the end? How did you handle the uncertainty?
Thanks in advance. I’m trying to make smart decisions, but the constant fear of “what if everything crashes?” has been weighing on me.
Posted Jul 10, 2026, 7:33 PM UTC