Hi, I am 29 and on a mission to succeed after this recession.

[GreatlksSailor]

Hello all. I am a 29 year old professional mariner. I work on ships for a living and enjoy my vacation time sailing around the Great Lakes and technical scuba diving.

Although I was lucky enough to take my fathers advice and open a Roth IRA when I got my first job when I was 15, I made some very poor decisions in my early twenties. Anyways, after the economy tanked in 2008 and I went from working 60+ hours a week down to 16, I decided I needed to do something with my life. I took on a substantial amount of student loans and began attending a maritime academy in the fall of 2010. I graduated in January this year and immediately went to work. I now have a great job and expect to make well over 6 figures my first year out of school. I am now on a track to make up for my lack of financial responsibility in my younger years. Some things I am currently doing include:10,000 emergency fund, maxed out 401k, maxed out HSA, maxed out Roth and paying off student debt at an extremely fast pace while I drive my beater Honda accord, and live in my Grandma's basement.

I look forward to reading and learning on this forum and getting my finances on target.

 

[38Chevy454]

Welcome to the forum. You are on your way to meeting your goals. Just keep saving as much as you can, practice LBYM, and keep the end goal of financial independence and early retirement in mind.

So what exactly is a professional mariner? Working your way up to captain of the ship?

 

[MichaelB]

Welcome aboard, GreatlksSailor. Nice way to start again after some poor choices. Keeping your expenses low while you pay your debt down is smart.

 

[Walt34]

Welcome.

Everyone has made financial decisions that in hindsight were as my Grandma used to say "not so bright". It sounds like you realized the error of your ways and are well on your way.

 

[GreatlksSailor]

Welcome to the forum. You are on your way to meeting your goals. Just keep saving as much as you can, practice LBYM, and keep the end goal of financial independence and early retirement in mind.

So what exactly is a professional mariner? Working your way up to captain of the ship?

Yes I work as a Mate. I navigate, pilot, load & unload the vessel, and deal with mountains of paperwork. I will work towards obtaining my Master unlimited tonnage license but I'm not sure if I will sail Captain, that's a good 10+ years away.

 

[AnIntentionalRoad]

Yes I work as a Mate. I navigate, pilot, load & unload the vessel, and deal with mountains of paperwork. I will work towards obtaining my Master unlimited tonnage license but I'm not sure if I will sail Captain, that's a good 10+ years away.

Welcome!

I sail a sailboat on Lake Michigan. I was under the impression GL maritime careers were severely on the decline. Looks like maybe I was wrong!

Is a Merchant Marine Academy the only way to get a good paying job on one of the ships?

 

[MRG]

Welcome to the forum. You found an interesting, to me, career. Don't worry about the mistakes of the past. At your age my net worth was negative. You can make it up.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Welcome. Be sure to take grandma out for a nice dinner regularly to thank her!

 

[MooreBonds]

Some things I am currently doing include:10,000 emergency fund, maxed out 401k, maxed out HSA, maxed out Roth and paying off student debt at an extremely fast pace while I drive my beater Honda accord, and live in my Grandma's basement.

Sounds like you're well on your way!

I'm currently 37, and lived at my parents' house until I was 33. It helped that they spent about 2/3 of the time out of town - but it also helped self-select out women that didn't understand my logic and self-sacrifice way of living. Congrats on sticking to your guns and opting for a simple lifestyle to turbocharge your portfolio growth.

The important thing is to learn from your mistakes (investing as well as relationship and other life lessons). Also, stick to index investing with a diversified portfolio, and understand various aspects of expenses -whether it's your investment portfolio expense ratios, or car insurance costs, or buying milk and how you can buy smarter. It's so easy to think "it's just $40", but when you start doing that to most/nearly all of your life, it's amazing at how quickly it adds up! It sounds like you already have a good sense of it with your car and living arrangement - but sometimes the lowest price isn't always the automatic answer.

You'll learn lots from the forum. Just read different threads, especially ones from the past. LOTS of collective wisdom from a great number of even greater minds have written their thoughts and experiences. If you learn 1/2 of what I have, you will do well.