Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm 25 and a college grad who recently accepted a job in Florida that pays 54k/year starting off. I have no school, car, or any other loans/debt as I worked full-time throughout both undergrad and grad school to pay it all off. I have about 8k in savings as of right now but this money is saved for the move/travel costs as I am taking a much needed 1.5 month break before starting the job.
I'll probably net around 40k a year and I'm trying to develop a plan/goals for the next 5 years. My costs will most likely break down to: monthly rent, car insurance, health insurance, phone bill, utilities, food, entertainment, and any misc. costs. This should add up to roughly about 2k/month, leaving me with approx. 16k/yr in savings.
My goal is to buy a house by the time I'm 28 and another perhaps by the time I'm 30. I'd love to own two (smaller) houses by the time I'm 30 so that I could rent them out while I rent an apartment for myself, wherever I do end up at. Does all of this seem doable? I do expect my salary to increase slowly in the next few years, hopefully reaching mid 80's-90's/yr by the time I'm 30 (I will be in a career ladder position.)
Of course life does happen, maybe I'll meet a significant other and my plans will change, but as of right now, I really don't have any plans to settle down. My main question is if this seems realistic and if I should look into any other avenues for investing purposes? Yes, I'm already planning for retirement, ha! I figured you all could impart some knowldge as I'm sure a lot of members have a lot more life experience than I do and frankly I don't know the first thing about investing. Thanks all!
I'm 25 and a college grad who recently accepted a job in Florida that pays 54k/year starting off.
I have no school, car, or any other loans/debt...
My goal is to buy a house by the time I'm 28...
Yes, I'm already planning for retirement, ha!
#1: load up on all the pretax investment options available; especially employer match.
#2: load up on after tax investment options too
#3: structure your budget to minimize housing costs
NTE 12/52's of your NET take home pay including utilities. Share if needed.
#4: don't buy a house until/unless you really NEED to have a house (spouse, kids, dogs, etc)
A house is a thief it steals you money and your time. I would hold off the the real estate "investments" and go with stock mutual funds after 401k investments at least up to the employer match.
A house is a thief it steals you money and your time. I would hold off the the real estate "investments" and go with stock mutual funds after 401k investments at least up to the employer match.
I would too! Especially two of them. My kids are in similar positions as you. I think you will be very lucky (or not) if you don't move on from your new job, or moving up in the company and to different locations. Planning my to own two homes before you even know if you like the job, industry or location could be bad.
I'm 25 and a college grad who recently accepted a job in Florida that pays 54k/year starting off. I have no school, car, or any other loans/debt as I worked full-time throughout both undergrad and grad school to pay it all off. I have about 8k in savings as of right now but this money is saved for the move/travel costs as I am taking a much needed 1.5 month break before starting the job.
I'll probably net around 40k a year and I'm trying to develop a plan/goals for the next 5 years. My costs will most likely break down to: monthly rent, car insurance, health insurance, phone bill, utilities, food, entertainment, and any misc. costs. This should add up to roughly about 2k/month, leaving me with approx. 16k/yr in savings.
My goal is to buy a house by the time I'm 28 and another perhaps by the time I'm 30. I'd love to own two (smaller) houses by the time I'm 30 so that I could rent them out while I rent an apartment for myself, wherever I do end up at. Does all of this seem doable? I do expect my salary to increase slowly in the next few years, hopefully reaching mid 80's-90's/yr by the time I'm 30 (I will be in a career ladder position.)
Of course life does happen, maybe I'll meet a significant other and my plans will change, but as of right now, I really don't have any plans to settle down. My main question is if this seems realistic and if I should look into any other avenues for investing purposes? Yes, I'm already planning for retirement, ha! I figured you all could impart some knowldge as I'm sure a lot of members have a lot more life experience than I do and frankly I don't know the first thing about investing. Thanks all!
Congratulations for your first job!!
You have a vision and it seems achievable only if you would first start investing in yourself, so that you can make yourself visible enough in the good books of your current employer and should also be able to monetise your talents, in this digital age and grow passive income
You should first lay out a clear plan for your own self brand development to begin with your mission.
Thanks everyone! I have to ask - why the general consenus against buying a house? My thinking is that if I rent it out, that money will go towards the monthly mortgage and I wouldn't really have to spend money out of pocket besides any repairs every now and then. I will definitely go "all in" with the employer matching, etc. I just don't want to have money sitting in the bank without a plan of use for it, if that makes sense.
I think saving to buy a house in 3 years is probably a good idea. Simply because by then you will know whether or not you want to stay in the area and you will know how your career is going. Rent goes up every year. If you're going to be in the same area for a while it's just a waste of money to rent if you can find a affordable house. you'll be building equity in an asset versus just throwing money out forever. I will also say while renting, rent the nicest cheap place you can find and not the nicest expensive place. I would also invest in after tax investments.
The main thing is to keep your expenses low, especially the first few years of this job. If you can rent a room for a couple of years to save on rent, that would really be awesome.
I would say I don't think it's a good idea to put all your savings into a house (whether it be an investment property or the house you live in). Definitely put something into a 401k or IRA (or both).
If you keep your expenses low and grow your income, this could be realistic for you. The hard part is knowing whether you have the desire, personality and skills required to be a good landlord. I know there's no way in hell I'd want to be one. My thing is investing in mutual funds that invest in a mix of stocks and bonds.
You definitely have the right idea as far as being a motivated saver. That is at least half the battle. So many people put saving at the bottom of their priority list and they spend their whole lives being slaves to paid employment. They work because they have to, not because they want to. With your somewhat above average income potential, you could potentially be financially free in a decade. By that, I mean you would have enough income from stocks/bonds/rental income that you wouldn't need to work in the paid workforce if you didn't want to.
I highly recommend the Mr. Money Mustache web site for tips on how to keep your lifestyle efficient so that you don't end up being a slave to "the man" until you're 65 (or even 55):
I have to ask - why the general consensus against buying a house?
Because you have much better uses for your time and money.
Well, you should have.
Quote:
My thinking is that if I rent it out...
That's an entirely different scenario and discussion than what you wrote about.
But being a landlord still knocks up against the issues of your day to day time
and the even larger question of KNOWING you'll be in that city for ten years or more.
It's almost impossible to know at this point in your life.
---
Live cheap. Invest to the max.
Every $1 you can invest today would cost you $30 when you're older.
You'll never get this time back.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I figured you all could impart some knowldge as I'm sure a lot of members have a lot more life experience than I do and frankly I don't know the first thing about investing. Thanks all!
