Scrooge McDuck
Confused about dryer sheets
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2010
- Messages
- 5
Hello all!
I am a 23-year-old (for about two more weeks), single, college graduate living at home with parents.
I caught the "FIRE" bug pretty quickly after graduating in 2008 into our lovely economy, with $20,000+ in student loan debt and ZERO career prospects--the disadvantages of being reliant on an employer were pretty obvious.
When I did find a decent job with a govt contractor about a year and a half ago, I dedicated myself to living below my means and saved about 40% of gross income at 36,500 a year (gross recently increased to 38,000/yr after their idea of a "raise"). My dedication to the FI goal
only strengthened as I quickly came to hate my boring, unrewarding job.
Now I'm about to start a new job with a substantially increased salary (~51,000) and I'm hoping I can finally afford to move out of my parents' house while still budgeting for a respectable rate of savings. It's a big challenge, since it's pretty tough to beat (or even come close to)
$250/mo for rent/utilities AND food, at my parents'... I live in MD so cost of living not exactly low, unless I buy a rowhouse with no floors in Baltimore.
I'm also at the point where I've got the saving thing pretty down, and I'm looking to learn the investing side. I contribute 7-8% of income to 401k but the rest of my savings just goes in a high yield account for the moment. I just bought my first ETF this week--300 dollars in TIP.
So my top goals at this point are figuring out how to live on my own and still save, and learning how to properly invest. I'd also like to establish some alternative income streams (which probably goes hand in hand with goal 1 of moving out).
I don't know any other people in real life who share this dedication to building wealth and achieving financial freedom. I've been nicknamed "Scrooge" by some. Personally, I don't mind. I look forward to becoming the richest duck in Ducktown!
Okay, so some numbers and my current budget... since I don't start my new job until Aug 2, these numbers are based on my old/current salary.
BUDGET
Monthly Gross: ~3200... currently 7% allocated to 401k (no company match, this place sucks)
Monthly Take-Home: 2216
Student Loan: 215
Car Loan: 262
Car Insurance: ~175
Gasoline: 100-125
Credit Card: 25-50
Housing: 250 (live with parents)
Food: 0 (live with parents)
Personal Spending: 250
Savings: ~850
(Note that I usually overpay the student loan with some of the "Savings" so the actual amounts are more like 400 loan/600 saved or 500/500)
ACCOUNTS
401k: $3500, diversified over ~12 funds, I don't have the exact info off-hand but it should be weighed significantly (~75%) toward stocks
Roth: $750 in account, unallocated (not sure what's going on with this, grandmother gave me this account)
Brokerage (TradeKing) Portfolio: ~$300 in iShares Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (TIP)
Savings: $5500 (was higher but I depleted it for down payment on car)
LOANS/CREDIT
Student Loan: ~$12,200 @ 5.19%
Car Loan: ~$15,000 @ 0.9%, 5 year
Credit Card: ~$400 @ 11% (I keep this at 10-15% of my $3000 credit limit for crdit score purposes, costs me about $5 in interest a month)
I'm in a pretty bad position for FI thanks to the debt but I try to tell myself I'm better off than most folks my age.... with the main advantage being I'm at least COGNIZANT of my situation.
I am a 23-year-old (for about two more weeks), single, college graduate living at home with parents.
I caught the "FIRE" bug pretty quickly after graduating in 2008 into our lovely economy, with $20,000+ in student loan debt and ZERO career prospects--the disadvantages of being reliant on an employer were pretty obvious.
When I did find a decent job with a govt contractor about a year and a half ago, I dedicated myself to living below my means and saved about 40% of gross income at 36,500 a year (gross recently increased to 38,000/yr after their idea of a "raise"). My dedication to the FI goal
only strengthened as I quickly came to hate my boring, unrewarding job.
Now I'm about to start a new job with a substantially increased salary (~51,000) and I'm hoping I can finally afford to move out of my parents' house while still budgeting for a respectable rate of savings. It's a big challenge, since it's pretty tough to beat (or even come close to)
$250/mo for rent/utilities AND food, at my parents'... I live in MD so cost of living not exactly low, unless I buy a rowhouse with no floors in Baltimore.
I'm also at the point where I've got the saving thing pretty down, and I'm looking to learn the investing side. I contribute 7-8% of income to 401k but the rest of my savings just goes in a high yield account for the moment. I just bought my first ETF this week--300 dollars in TIP.
So my top goals at this point are figuring out how to live on my own and still save, and learning how to properly invest. I'd also like to establish some alternative income streams (which probably goes hand in hand with goal 1 of moving out).
I don't know any other people in real life who share this dedication to building wealth and achieving financial freedom. I've been nicknamed "Scrooge" by some. Personally, I don't mind. I look forward to becoming the richest duck in Ducktown!

Okay, so some numbers and my current budget... since I don't start my new job until Aug 2, these numbers are based on my old/current salary.
BUDGET
Monthly Gross: ~3200... currently 7% allocated to 401k (no company match, this place sucks)
Monthly Take-Home: 2216
Student Loan: 215
Car Loan: 262
Car Insurance: ~175
Gasoline: 100-125
Credit Card: 25-50
Housing: 250 (live with parents)
Food: 0 (live with parents)
Personal Spending: 250
Savings: ~850
(Note that I usually overpay the student loan with some of the "Savings" so the actual amounts are more like 400 loan/600 saved or 500/500)
ACCOUNTS
401k: $3500, diversified over ~12 funds, I don't have the exact info off-hand but it should be weighed significantly (~75%) toward stocks
Roth: $750 in account, unallocated (not sure what's going on with this, grandmother gave me this account)
Brokerage (TradeKing) Portfolio: ~$300 in iShares Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (TIP)
Savings: $5500 (was higher but I depleted it for down payment on car)
LOANS/CREDIT
Student Loan: ~$12,200 @ 5.19%
Car Loan: ~$15,000 @ 0.9%, 5 year
Credit Card: ~$400 @ 11% (I keep this at 10-15% of my $3000 credit limit for crdit score purposes, costs me about $5 in interest a month)
I'm in a pretty bad position for FI thanks to the debt but I try to tell myself I'm better off than most folks my age.... with the main advantage being I'm at least COGNIZANT of my situation.