Hey I've been lurking on this forum for about a month, and I'll probably continue to stay as a lurker, but I would like to introduce myself. I'm a single 27 YO attorney, and I've been working for about 2 years now. I'm not wealthy by any means, and I need to start making some better decisions. To sum up my financial status, I have:
Credit card debt: 0k
School Loans: 30k @ 6.5%
IRA: 13K
Car Loan: 12k @ 8%
Checking account: 4k
Salary right now: 85k expected to grow to 140-200k in 5 years with 100% job security short of brain trauma
My problem is that I have a high amount of monthly expenses with rent, loans, car, living a young life, and I'm not able to save as much money as I would like to. I used to have about 40k in an account, but I used all that to keep my law school loans down as well as a trip I took after graduating from law school. I spent too much on my car (30k), but I couldn't see myself driving a Ford Focus (I know, wrong thing to say on this forum).
I'm about to start a 401k plan with my small firm, and this forum has convinced me to put in 10% with a 3% match. I really really want to buy a condo, but I have no down payment. I'm about to move in with some friends so I can keep my rent down and pay off my car quicker and save for a condo.
I'm not perfect and I do plan on enjoying life (I lived on nothing as a law student and some friends had 100k + in loans), but I want to get better about saving. Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.
Credit card debt: 0k
School Loans: 30k @ 6.5%
IRA: 13K
Car Loan: 12k @ 8%
Checking account: 4k
Salary right now: 85k expected to grow to 140-200k in 5 years with 100% job security short of brain trauma
My problem is that I have a high amount of monthly expenses with rent, loans, car, living a young life, and I'm not able to save as much money as I would like to. I used to have about 40k in an account, but I used all that to keep my law school loans down as well as a trip I took after graduating from law school. I spent too much on my car (30k), but I couldn't see myself driving a Ford Focus (I know, wrong thing to say on this forum).
I'm about to start a 401k plan with my small firm, and this forum has convinced me to put in 10% with a 3% match. I really really want to buy a condo, but I have no down payment. I'm about to move in with some friends so I can keep my rent down and pay off my car quicker and save for a condo.
I'm not perfect and I do plan on enjoying life (I lived on nothing as a law student and some friends had 100k + in loans), but I want to get better about saving. Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.