General Adulthood, Planning for the Future: Business, College, Budgeting, Investments, etc! $$$ - General

So I decided on which medical school I’m going to, and am now preparing to take out massive loans to fund it. Oh boy, insane debt here I come

Both of the internships that I applied for with Disney and Lucasfilm have been taken off the website and my applications are still "under review". That's a good sign so far but I'm still incredibly nervous. Really hoping I get one over the other but either one would be amazing.

[QUOTE=Pascall;53141884]Both of the internships that I applied for with Disney and Lucasfilm have been taken off the website and my applications are still "under review". That's a good sign so far but I'm still incredibly nervous. Really hoping I get one over the other but either one would be amazing.[/QUOTE] Good luck bruddah!

holy shit, roth IRAs are fucking gold. as soon as I start working i'm throwing max contribution at this shit [t]https://i.imgur.com/elYTzqW.png[/t] look at this shit, 2 MILLION when i turn 70, 3 MILLION if I wait till 75. and since it comes out of after-tax income, you pay NO taxes when you pull it out. compound interest is fucking magical

[QUOTE=elitehakor;53142266]holy shit, roth IRAs are fucking gold. as soon as I start working i'm throwing max contribution at this shit [t]https://i.imgur.com/elYTzqW.png[/t] look at this shit, 2 MILLION when i turn 70, 3 MILLION if I wait till 75. and since it comes out of after-tax income, you pay NO taxes when you pull it out. compound interest is fucking magical[/QUOTE] Oh my sweet summer child, wait till you see what a good index fund portfolio can do. 7% returns are what you get on a bad day. :v: [editline]18th February 2018[/editline] [QUOTE=Pascall;53141884]Both of the internships that I applied for with Disney and Lucasfilm have been taken off the website and my applications are still "under review". That's a good sign so far but I'm still incredibly nervous. Really hoping I get one over the other but either one would be amazing.[/QUOTE] Don't want to be that guy, but try not to think about it at all and focus on other things of more immediate consequence. If you're selected, great, they'll contact you and you'll know for sure, but if they don't, just don't mind it and keep looking forward. Hyping it up too much in your mind before you know for sure sets you up for crushing downers if you didn't. I've go e through so much of it at this point that I just find other things to keep myself occupied until I know for sure. Be positive, but it's not the end of the world even if it doesn't come through for whatever reason. You did good. :smile: [editline]18th February 2018[/editline] [QUOTE=OrkO;53135488]So I decided on which medical school I’m going to, and am now preparing to take out massive loans to fund it. Oh boy, insane debt here I come[/QUOTE] If you have some money to invest that can be saved from the scourge of your daily expenses, you should put it in an investment instrument and keep. While you go off to medical school, it'll be doing its eork and will atleast have gained some value by the time you're in a position to start paying off your debt. It won't be a lot, but it'll be a useful nest egg to have in case life has other plans for you.

Didnt get approved for the car loan, my rent is more than 50% of my weekly pay and i cant put my gf down because she has bad credit history. Thats life below the poverty line.

I don't know if this is the right thread for it, but I could really use some help looking into immigrating to the USA in the next year or so. I want to move to Minnesota with my best friend, but my most valid option of getting an H1 employement Visa seems super unlikely. It's hard finding any job postings where people are offering to sponsor people. Edit: I'm Canadian, forgot to mention.

Snip, saw you were already Canadian :v:

Finally paid off the fiscal hold I had on my degree! I should be getting it in the mail hopefully in the next week. [I]Finally.[/I]

Got my first real job. I'm working at Burger King, around the corner from me. I live across the street from a high school in Philly, so it gets extremely busy and chaotic at times, but the coworkers and managers have all been super nice, supportive, and helpful to me. (For instance, yesterday I was scheduled from 12:00-4:00 but had to work 10:30-7:00 because people weren't coming in and they called me in to pick up the slack. When I clocked out and tried to order the super Double Quarter Pounder burger meal for $11 and use my employee discount, my manager says "You know what?" and enters in the manager discount. "I take care of people who take care of me." And I get it for free.) It's been grueling work, especially for someone who has never had a real physical job like this, but it's fulfilling and my managers are impressed with my performance and co-workers respect me. So It's nothing I can't handle. I'm four weeks in and doing very well, according to all accounts. I'm about to get a raise over people who have been there for months because I put the effort in to complete my training. Enough blogposting. This is the real question. Conventional wisdom is to build an emergency fund first, and invest second. Once you have 4-6 months of savings stowed away you can begin taking the money you would have saved into the emergency fund and commit it to retirement through whatever means are available. However, I'm still living at home with my parents and have no bills, utilities, or expenses. So instead, I think I should do it the opposite way around. I'm fortunate enough to have a safety net because I still live at home. I already wasted a few bucks on myself because new job, might as well celebrate, but this spending will diminish and I'm keeping it in check. I want to save up all my money until I have $3000, and then I want to open a Vanguard 500 Index Fund. The market is in a decline right now so I have an opportunity to buy low and keep investing and investing to get excellent returns decades down the line. Because I live at home, I think the emergency fund can take a back seat for now (maybe I'll take 80% of earnings, take 10% of that and put it into savings, put the rest of that 80% and put it into investing, and then the remainder I use for whatever the hell I want), while I invest and build my future as early and as much as possible. Is this a good idea? I'm also looking to build credit. Any suggestions for "beginners" credit cards? I plan on strictly monitoring my spending money and then using the credit card to make purchases, making sure I don't go over and can afford each purchase on my statement each month. I plan on using it as a glorified debit card.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;53152667]Got my first real job. I'm working at Burger King, around the corner from me. I live across the street from a high school in Philly, so it gets extremely busy and chaotic at times, but the coworkers and managers have all been super nice, supportive, and helpful to me. (For instance, yesterday I was scheduled from 12:00-4:00 but had to work 10:30-7:00 because people weren't coming in and they called me in to pick up the slack. When I clocked out and tried to order the super Double Quarter Pounder burger meal for $11 and use my employee discount, my manager says "You know what?" and enters in the manager discount. "I take care of people who take care of me." And I get it for free.) It's been grueling work, especially for someone who has never had a real physical job like this, but it's fulfilling and my managers are impressed with my performance and co-workers respect me. So It's nothing I can't handle. I'm four weeks in and doing very well, according to all accounts. Enough blogposting. This is the real question. Conventional wisdom is to build an emergency fund first, and invest second. Once you have 4-6 months of savings stowed away you can begin taking the money you would have saved into the emergency fund and commit it to retirement through whatever means are available. However, I'm still living at home with my parents and have no bills, utilities, or expenses. So instead, I think I should do it the opposite way around. I'm fortunate enough to have a safety net because I still live at home. I already wasted a few bucks on myself because new job, might as well celebrate, but this spending will diminish and I'm keeping it in check. I want to save up all my money until I have $3000, and then I want to open a Vanguard 500 Index Fund. The market is in a decline right now so I have an opportunity to buy low and keep investing and investing to get excellent returns decades down the line. Because I live at home, I think the emergency fund can take a back seat for now (maybe I'll take 80% of earnings, take 10% of that and put it into savings, put the rest of that 80% and put it into investing, and then the remainder I use for whatever the hell I want), while I invest and build my future as early and as much as possible. Is this a good idea? I'm also looking to build credit. Any suggestions for "beginners" credit cards? I plan on strictly monitoring my spending money and then using the credit card to make purchases, making sure I don't go over and can afford each purchase on my statement each month. I plan on using it as a glorified debit card.[/QUOTE] Well, you're apparently young and don't have much by way of expenses yet, so sure, investing instead of the emergency fund sounds good. But the act of building an emergency fund in and of itself is useful because it helps you: a) cultivate the discipline of saving in the first place, and b) Forces you to really prioritize what you intend your emergency fund to cover. Point a is key. The reason conventional wisdom is what it is is partly twofold. Firstly, it takes a fucking enormous amount of money to have that kind of cash in reserve, sitting there all sexy-like and not wanting to blow it on something you've wanted. This is especially a problem because you can't even debate not wanting to by using the 'bills and shit' excuse, because you have none. Secondly, by building up the discipline to saving six months worth of your paychecks and expenses, you've shown yourself that building up the capital for future investments is not only within your current paycheck but also something that you can actually plan for. Doing it is basically training wheels for handling bigger expenses and payments later in life. Build that discipline early in, the world's your oyster. For this reason, I'd still say build the emergency fund, based on your current projections for expenses and earnings and when you hit that target, then invest the money and start over from scratch. At best, you'd have instantly plunked down a sizeable amount of cash to invest, cultivated the discipline to save and more over, have a larger nest egg of funds to work for you via compound interest. Then you don't really need to worry about rebuilding a similar amount over again as your core goal served its purpose while you were stabilizing in your current job (riding out the first few months at BK) and once you're settled in, your nest egg is ready to invest. Also, never bother trying to time the market - if mutual fund managers could figure that shit out, they'd not need to be handling anyone else's money with all the money they'd be printing for themselves. In terms of investing for the long term, months or weeks are meaningless, the damn things take years and they all trend upwards anyway. What matters are the returns. Focus on putting a sizeable amount in with a decent portfolio mix so that when your year is up, all you need to do is spend some time to rebalance it based on your investment style. I personally like to go for a mix of normal and aggressive because when the aggressive gains are good, they are very, very good. :buddy: As far as the credit card thing is concerned, here are some golden rules: a) Low Credit Utilization: This is key to building good credit fast - the rule of thumb is 30%, but ideally you want to hit under that. There's a lovely sweet spot of between 15% - 30% credit utilization that banks love you for. Too little credit usage is a red flag for banks, you're a bit of a shit customer for them. Too much credit utilization without much of a paycheck to speak of (and they know how much you make before they decide you're ready for one) and you become a liability. So let's say your card has a starting limit of 1000 USD. Any time your total bill on the card begins to touch 300 odd bucks, pay it off ASAP. Paying of regularly is also good, but pay it off in full. Personally, I have never shaken the mindset that the credit card money is 'not' my money, so I pretty much make it a point to pay it off over every weekend off my checking account. b) Low maintenance Cost: Shit, if you can get the card for free from your bank, go for it. And even if you do move on to bigger and better things, evaluate how much it would cost to keep the card active if you did. Remember, your credit rating is also tied to the age of your accounts, so whatever card you get now is going to be a future backbone of whatever credit cards you can apply to in the future. c) Examine your lifestyle: See which cards offer benefits and bonuses for purchasing decisions you do. I mean, if you're going to be buying shit with the thing, might as well get rewarded for it if you know you like going to CineGalaxy theaters. I mean, you sure as shit aren't going to go to Rent-A-Shitbox to spend the points, so why bother getting a card that touts [I]that[/I] as a feature? These should keep you covered for the most part. But as always, shop around and research on which cards are best for beginner credit cards.

Yeah, not building an emergency fund at all is off the table for me. I'm gonna do it on some form. Building discipline is the entire point, once a month or two is over in gonna take stock of my average monthly income, keep track of my spending, and then set solid deliberate percentages to curb excessive spending and save responsibly. I'm more thinking that I should weigh investment more than savings at this point, not that I should cut one or the other out. I'm thinking about getting a secured card through my credit union. I'll have to think more about it. Also, I'm 24. It's just so harsh right now, I've applied to tons of minimum wage jobs and his was the only one that went anywhere. I never thought to look right under my nose is the thing.

i also started a savings account this week, got $20 put away. i'm aiming to save $20-50 a week for emergencies because this week has been expensive for me and my gf and i'd like to be able to pay for these things myself instead of borrowing money from people. the account has no interest but also no fees. feel like i should have gone with a proper savings account with interest, but i wasn't sure if i was going to be able to save enough per month to avoid account fees.

Blogpost Update: Yesterday my managers sat me down. I earned a raise. In the coming weeks as I learn more about all the different functions of the restaurant, they're thinking about sending me away to training and making me into a trainer, maybe becoming part of management staff. I only started three weeks ago. I still feel dead inside. Is this what being an adult is like?

[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;53155053]i also started a savings account this week, got $20 put away. i'm aiming to save $20-50 a week for emergencies because this week has been expensive for me and my gf and i'd like to be able to pay for these things myself instead of borrowing money from people. the account has no interest but also no fees. feel like i should have gone with a proper savings account with interest, but i wasn't sure if i was going to be able to save enough per month to avoid account fees.[/QUOTE] Don't use savings accounts to make more money, because you'll make extremely slow gains, even with a good interest rate. Utilize it for an emergency fund or maybe something that you want later down the line and the like. I highly recommend to anyone that investing disposable income is millions of times better than letting it rot in an account. Having no account fees is much nicer than having a lowly interest rate tacked on.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;53158481]Blogpost Update: Yesterday my managers sat me down. I earned a raise. In the coming weeks as I learn more about all the different functions of the restaurant, they're thinking about sending me away to training and making me into a trainer, maybe becoming part of management staff. I only started three weeks ago. I still feel dead inside. Is this what being an adult is like?[/QUOTE] In short: Yes. Develop a hobby you like as something you look forward to doing during your off hours, or you'll find yourself feeling very rudderless and burnt out after a while of the monotonous schedule. If you are going/seriously considering going down the management track, definitely look [I]now[/I] into what certifications and qualifications you could use to leverage a better position both within the industry and outside of it. Most large-ish organizations actively encourage continuing education, so doing your homework now can net you better growth in the position over the long term as the company can be likely to pay for you do to them (or partially fund them).

I'm a HS junior and I don't have any idea what further education or job I want to pursue and I feel like I'm gonna be fucked if I don't just decide.

[QUOTE=Hilton;53162041]I'm a HS junior and I don't have any idea what further education or job I want to pursue and I feel like I'm gonna be fucked if I don't just decide.[/QUOTE] First and foremost, you're not alone and that's not a problem. Finding things you enjoy takes time, if you can make money doing those things then that's a huge plus. For some people finding out their future job early is really lucky, take me for example. I tried out some programming courses in high school and I really enjoyed them. It came as a surprise when I found out that I could sell my creations for money on things like Clockwork plugins for Garry's Mod and that there was already a big market for programmers. Now to find out what kind of job you'll enjoy you should think about your personality in how you can cope in different situations and what kind of setting you'd like to be working in. For your personality are you a sort of logical person? A big thinker (i.e. high level thinker, e.g. you can process all of the small details and describe the collection of small details with a few sentences or less)? Do you enjoy learning new things on a daily basis? Then you may be like me and may enjoy something like programming. As for the setting of work do you prefer to work on a computer or with your hands by tinkering with things? You could also think of which part of schooling you like most: Outdoors gym class, indoors sitting at a desk listening to a teacher teach, or doing homework, etc. Once you figure out your inclination to types of work by figuring out your personality and what kind of work you'd enjoy doing by figuring out the things you enjoy in school, you can work towards figuring out which job would suit you (note: there's other aspects you can consider besides your personality and things you do in school). If you feel lost or confused then the best place to start is with the things you enjoy. Maybe you enjoy the outdoors and plants so you could consider horticulture. Or maybe you like building things or making things work again by fixing them, so you may enjoy something of a mechanical nature (e.g. fixing cars or machinery, architecture, etc.). Maybe you enjoy getting dirty and getting really sweaty so you may enjoy a labour job like farming, construction, etc. Or you like working with animals so you could consider veterinarian work, or animal care taking of people's pets. The point is that there's a lot options that can be curtailed to things you're interested in, just try not to be overwhelmed with all of the choices because there's plenty of time to choose a field that you'll enjoy. You may not get things right on the first try but you're only human and mistakes are only natural. You'll have the opportunity to try something else, it just might take a little longer is all.

when i finished highschool i had no plan, i ended up immediately moving states and ended up getting into uni even though it was past the enrollment cutoff date. that was 7 years ago, i have my degree haven't got a job with it yet still working my previous part time job. important thing to keep in mind is people during their working life change careers. i think the average is like 5-7 career changes.

[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;53162612]when i finished highschool i had no plan, i ended up immediately moving states and ended up getting into uni even though it was past the enrollment cutoff date. that was 7 years ago, i have my degree haven't got a job with it yet still working my previous part time job. important thing to keep in mind is people during their working life change careers. i think the average is like 5-7 career changes.[/QUOTE] I highly recommend that people DON'T change careers constantly. You will gimp yourself in your pay-scale and work opportunities by doing so. I don't want to put too much pressure onto Hilton, but degree and career indecisiveness leads to really bad decisions down the line, and is a strong reason as to why people can't seem to make more than $60,000 by their mid-career stride.

[QUOTE=Omilinon;53165039]I highly recommend that people DON'T change careers constantly. You will gimp yourself in your pay-scale and work opportunities by doing so. I don't want to put too much pressure onto Hilton, but degree and career indecisiveness leads to really bad decisions down the line, and is a strong reason as to why people can't seem to make more than $60,000 by their mid-career stride.[/QUOTE] Depends what you mean by "career changes" I don't think moving around similar roles within a company or industry hurts, in fact I would certainly say it benefits. The advice (at least within the UK) I hear given regularly is "change one thing" so if you're a software development engineer in a large automotive company, then becoming a software systems engineer in the same company or a software engineer in a smaller automotive supplier would be good moves, but becoming a mechanical engineer in a small aerospace firm would be a bad move. That's not to say its the end of the world if you dont like your chosen direction mind, but be aware you dont have many opportunities to totally mix it up.

[QUOTE=metallics;53165077]Depends what you mean by "career changes" I don't think moving around similar roles within a company or industry hurts, in fact I would certainly say it benefits. The advice (at least within the UK) I hear given regularly is "change one thing" so if you're a software development engineer in a large automotive company, then becoming a software systems engineer in the same company or a software engineer in a smaller automotive supplier would be good moves, but becoming a mechanical engineer in a small aerospace firm would be a bad move. That's not to say its the end of the world if you dont like your chosen direction mind, but be aware you dont have many opportunities to totally mix it up.[/QUOTE] I mean, I'm probably an outlier, I ended up tripling my starting salary in three years after switching out from being a 3D artist into an Inside Sales position. Turns out the shit's easy if you have a way with people and basic project management skills, so I treat it as a sort of 'Field MBA' for if I want to ever move back into art (which I'm still planning to do at some point), I not only have my original qualifications backing my art capability, but also management chops. I started the Inside Sales Job at X dollars, which was basically the salary I earned after my last bonus as a 3D artist. In three years, I trebled it. Honestly, do roles that you think are useful to you in the long run based on the set of skills you already have, what kind of mentorship you're looking to get and what skills you'd like to work on. You may need to take a pay cut sometimes, but truth be told, if the experience you walk away with can help you net a 20% salary offer from another company that is interested in hiring you, go for it.

[QUOTE=metallics;53165077]Depends what you mean by "career changes" I don't think moving around similar roles within a company or industry hurts, in fact I would certainly say it benefits. The advice (at least within the UK) I hear given regularly is "change one thing" so if you're a software development engineer in a large automotive company, then becoming a software systems engineer in the same company or a software engineer in a smaller automotive supplier would be good moves, but becoming a mechanical engineer in a small aerospace firm would be a bad move. That's not to say its the end of the world if you dont like your chosen direction mind, but be aware you dont have many opportunities to totally mix it up.[/QUOTE] A career change describes exactly that, a change in a career. What you're talking about is just moving positions, a common occurrence. I'm talking about people who continually move from one industry to another without allowing themselves to gain work growth and experience, because they can't decide on what they want to do in life or their degree is either useless/not backed up with connections.

I dropped out of college after my third semester to work full time at a good job. I have roughly 4 more months grace period before I have to start paying back my loans. I've got around 4k in a checking account and I dont know what to do with it. I only have about $310 in recurring monthly payments. What should I do with my money and at what point should I consider getting my own place?

[QUOTE=Dave_Parker;53172702]Without knowing how much this good job is raking in for you, it's hard to say. [/QUOTE] About $500 a week

So, when applying for health insurance, does the proof of household income have to be from the household you actually live in? My father, who I live with, is being difficult and refusing to give me his proof of income, claiming it's my mother's responsibility and that I should "use her household income, because she's going to be paying for it." Meanwhile, both her and I are under the impression that it has to be the household I actually live in, because using someone else's to get cheaper health insurance sounds a lot like insurance fraud. I haven't told my dad that I'd be willing to pay for myself, because he'd just make it into a huge shouting match about how "my mother has to pay" and a bunch of family drama I don't give a damn about dealing with anymore.

A snow storm like week canceled my first class of the day and my precalc teacher just posted some notes online for us to review, but I have an exam first thing in the morning tomorrow and one of the expected questions is about said notes. But it's incredibly vague(imo) and I can't find anything in the text book related in how to solve it. Now we are suppose to be getting another snow storm tonight into tomorrow morning and I'm hoping class isn't cancelled again because if I fall further behind I may as well fail this course now and retake it next semester. fml.

[QUOTE=Combat Wombat;53165964]I dropped out of college after my third semester to work full time at a good job. I have roughly 4 more months grace period before I have to start paying back my loans. I've got around 4k in a checking account and I dont know what to do with it. I only have about $310 in recurring monthly payments. What should I do with my money and at what point should I consider getting my own place?[/QUOTE] It certainly sounds like you can afford your own place. Depending on the cost of living where you live, of course.

Checking, regular savings, and high-yield savings. How should I employ each? Especially savings and high-yield savings, and how does that play into my portfolio, especially when deployed with things like an IRA and an Index 500 fund?

Assuming this is after taxes and not before, but regardless: Getting your own place independently is hard in the US. You could get down to some pretty absurdly low rent ($500?~) if you're willing to live in a studio in less-favorable location, but assume $800-1200 depending where you live (or more.) That's going to take a pretty hefty chunk out of your income. ($115/w to 276/w). Living with others will cut this out majorly, but if you have a free ride and are on good terms with your parents, take it as long as you (and they) can stand it. Don't feel shame about it either. I highly recommend you break out Excel and start mapping out your income/expenses so you have a better feel of how things would workout for you financially. (And work off your average actual paychecks, not your $/hr or salary as it's easier to account for post-taxes, deductions, and whatever.) You also have, but not limited to: Food Various Supplies Student Loans Utilities AND LOTS OF THEM Car whatsits (maintenance/payments/insurance/gas) And don't forget the huge blob of random whatevers that come with moving into a new place. I don't know you personally, but I'll give the old person cane rattle of you should probably finish college unless you dropped out real early, and feel real secure with your job. Look into night classes or something - and it also delays your student loans further I think. I could've probably do the job I'm doing right now before I ever went to college, but they implicitly would ONLY hire people with at least a 4-year degree or 5+ years experience in the industry (and it's not an industry anyone goes into willingly/knowingly.) That stupid roll of paper that says you sat through additional years of yapping goes a long way in the hiring process on cold starts. As for that 4k in your bank? Don't fucking touch it right now. You're gonna want and need that buffer, and liquid cash. If you want to be cheeky and learn about investments, read up on index funds (can't recommend a book offhand, sorry.) At 4k, you can't even spread it too fancy so might as well plop a grand in some index fund if you insist on doing something with it. I've kept about 9-10k floating in my account (through some pretty brutal saving during college) and I've had to suddenly, instantly, and temporarily eat up to 1-2k of that for life and job reasons - like travel expenses on week 2 of a job before I had a travel card (which was reimbursed, thank fuck.) Somewhere down the line, you'll want 6-mo to 12-mo equiv of annual earnings in some account or at least in an investment you can yoink out of without getting kicked in the dick, but right now, just focus on not burning through it and building up to that point.