finagrad's journey towards financial success

[finagrad2014]

I will be posting here. Don't mind my incoherent musings as this will likely be a messy thread.

Some brief information about myself:
Early 20s male
B.B.A. Finance August 2014
$29k in student loans
Looking for work

Goals (short term):
Pay loans off within 6 years
Attend graduate school in Statistics or Finance
Finish interviewing and land a job
Save 60% of NI (40% of savings go to loan repayment, 20% towards an emergency fund)
Collaborate with old friend/professor on investment strategies
Pay for double shoulder surgery in cash

Goals (long term):
Liquid net worth of $500,000
Save $40,000 for sister's non-profit start up
Move far, far, away and retire

Future Portfolio Allocation (to be reassessed every few years):
15% international stocks
20% grade A-AAA bonds
65% common stock (ETFs or personal allocation)

Item Goals:
Furniture (check estate sales)
Bed
Laptop with good encryption and a safe OS
Car? (Credit Union loan at 3% possible)
Apartment WITHOUT roaches and leaky toilets

Current Loan Repayments (start on 1/1/2015)
Loan balance: $29,248
Loan average interest rate: 6%

10 yr payoff (standard): Monthly Payment: $324.71 Total Paid: $38.965.20
6 yr payoff: Monthly Payment: $484.72 Total Paid: $34,899.84 Savings: $4,065.36
4 yr payoff: Monthly Payment: $686.89 Total Paid:$32,970.72 Savings: $5,994.48
2 yr payoff: Monthly Payment: $1,296.29 Total Paid: $31,110.96 Savings: $7,854.24

Note: Savings is from 10 year interest savings by paying off earlier. Payoff within a year is not feasible given the current situation.

[steveo73]

I would put all my money into paying off the student loans and then hammer your liquid savings.

[Hankaroundtheworld]

I liked the comment "moving far, far away", that came across as a clear passion/drive

[Alcibar]

Cash, you want cash! Don't focus on the loan. There are great opportunities coming for people with cash!

[finagrad2014]

Thank you for the great responses. I'm glad to see that someone is interested in my life.

Unfortunately, I am going to be moving in with a friend as I did not land the position. Hope is not all lost as I have 100 applications out. Hopefully someone can make use of me!

Thanks for the ideas. I want to hammer away at those loans as fast as possible. I guess I shouldn't ignore those old hospital bills either. Finding work is becoming incredibly difficult for me at the moment, however. I'm kicking myself for not having an internship.

I shall update this as my job search and path towards early retirement slowly moves forward. I want to succeed and retire early. Should any of you know of any places in Atlanta that can make use of a Finance grad or have any tips on the job search, any help would be much appreciated (I do realize this isn't a job search forum, but securing good employment should be a major underlying principle towards ERE).

[finagrad2014]

I landed an internship at a local startup marketing firm. The pay will be little, but it should provide valuable experience in the mean time.

I am very fortunate to have this chance. The person that offered it to me really liked having class with me and said that I could even resume fluff a bit and say that I started two months ago (partially true, but not wholly) on the condition that I stay for two months.

I am looking for alternative sources of income at the moment. I need to get back into Amazon Mechanical Turk.

A very generous friend lent me the money to cover rent for the month so I am going to continue the search for full time work. Hopefully I can expand outside of Atlanta if needed. My sister is looking to move towards New Palz, NY in the future so I will also be looking for work there. I could use a break from the South for a while. I really enjoyed my visits up north to Maine and New York. Both were much better than my experiences down here in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. My only concerns were Maine being extremely cold in the winter and the lack of jobs available. New York has a very "in your face" attitude around the NYC city. It's a bit overwhelming. I stayed in the Bronx for a few weeks and found it a bit of a culture shock. It was also very humbling. Although I've grown up in poor areas of town, to see one in a major city was both interesting and depressing.

I am also looking to self-treat for a long lasting issue with depression. This issue has been plaguing me for about 12 years now. I need to set aside an hour a day to devote towards letting my mind flow and take it easy.

[finagrad2014]

The internship didn't go too well. I resigned early on due to needing to have a paid position. I was able to bring in 2nd meetings with large corporate sponsorships but my boss was an absolutely stingy prick.

I do have a phone interview at 3:00 today as a Risk Manager. Hopefully it will lead to a job. If not, I am going to begin studying for the actuarial exams (P first and then FM) and take one in January.

[finagrad2014]

The phone interview went well, but the man was a scammer. It wasn't a risk management position, but one that involved 100% commission based sales.

On another note, I downgraded apartments to a $287/mo apartment (utilities included). It isn't too shabby, but it cuts my monthly expenses down by about $120/mo. I'm doing whatever I can to make extra cash while I work right now.

I've been a bit depressed and lonely, not being able to save any money but I do have one goal: go to the Netherlands for a week and visit my friend and my girlfriend. Not sure I can save $2,500 before June next year, but I'm going to make it happen somehow.

400 job applications out, 20 phone interviews, 3 in person interviews and no offers. I'm getting tired of this. I've redone my resume again, worked on highlighting the positive attributes of my life. That 3.02 GPA is starting to hurt me more and more. I really cannot stand this. Loans are due in January so I may need to switch over to IBR in order to get them to an effective $0/mo payment. I really hope I have a solid, non-commission based job lined up by then. I just can't afford to relocate for a shaky commission based job and then end up making no money at all. The desperation is starting to show, however. My stress levels are through the roof.

I'm making around $450/mo for now doing my online crowdsourcing.

Any idea on whether I should go for food stamps? I'm having a hard time swallowing my pride and getting them. I thankfully get about $200/mo assistance from my father (very lucky this lifeline still exists) which pays for groceries and gas when I borrow my friend's truck.

I really, really hope I find some paid work soon. I'm not liking studying for the P exam so I don't believe I will take it. I just need things to work out right now because I have no way to destress.

[llorona]

I haven't been a new grad for a long time, but I remember facing a lot of rejection early on. You're not alone in that respect. It was tough getting started, but it got easier after landing my first real job. Keep plugging away. I hope good things happen for you.

Is there a food bank where you live? It might be easier to qualify than going through the whole process of applying for food stamps. You could also see if a local chapter of St. Vincent de Paul or Catholic Charities has a grocery distribution program. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

[George the original one]

Your taxes have (or will) pay for the food stamps. You have every right to use them without being ashamed.

[finagrad2014]

Thanks I'm going to contact the office next week. I just put in another 10 or so quality applications to firms around the SE. Mostly analyst positions, but I really wouldn't mind doing consulting. For now, I just need to find something with a stable salary. I'm very open to the idea of moving for a job if I have to.

On a more positive note, my French is more fluent than ever. I held a 45 minute conversation exclusively in French and only made a few hiccups. I've also managed to keep it up to par by making more French friends. Perhaps this will help me break in somewhere? I only wish my Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and German were up to fluency. I should get back to work learning those for a few hours a week.

Thanks for the good lucks. I'm chugging along. It get's annoying when a company has you fill out some detailed 60 minute long application only to receive an auto-rejection 5 days later. I really have to decide how much time I really want to spend doing this.

I'm going to go home over break and drive 1 or 2 cars for my dad's company. That should bring in around $150-$300 and thus, January and February's rent will be nearly covered.

In the mean time, I will keep applying and working online. I want to have full time work lined up in January. I was fortunately added to the December resume book by calling in a favor. This will help me gain a bit more exposure to other companies. After my failed 2 month application with Home Depot (merchandise analyst 55k/yr...position ran out of funds...didn't know that was possible but okay), I will be skeptical of whatever company does contact me.

I'll post another update soon. Thanks for the advice.

[finagrad2014]

Long time since I've posted. Here are a few things.

I'm still as broke as a joke. And what makes it worse, doctor friend of mine is about 95% sure I have a rare autoimmune disorder and hence, my inability to move around freely. Going to save some money to get the testing done officially but I have to be careful so I've stopped exercising.

No job as of yet. I'm looking to move abroad sometime before August. I plan on having some fun. I've got an interview with a German company that allows me to work in Germany for 3 years and then do 2 years in the US.

I'm going to try to make this happen some way. I've been fighting crippling depression for months now but thankfully, the anxiety has mostly subsided. Most people have been supportive of me. It didn't help to find out back in December that my girlfriend was cheating on me.

I've been on the rollercoaster ride down since August, I'm hoping it hits the bottom soon so I can ride it back up. I'll try to update more often.

Another update is soonish to come.

[finagrad2014]

Back again with good news.

I've landed a job about an hour south of Stuttgart in Germany with a company's training program. I ship out on July 31st. My room/board and 2 meals a day are covered as well as 1 return flight a year (with 10 paid days off as well as 12 paid German holidays). In addition to the room/board, I am allotted $900/mo. I will also have access to a shared company car (to be shared amongst 4 people). This isn't alot but I do receive free healthcare (via Germany's universal healthcare system) for the duration of my stay with the only costs being 5-10 euros per prescription. I need two shoulder surgeries, new glasses and health checkups so this will probably save me an unrealized $1,000/month (potentially more if I get surgery). My budget is going to look something like this:

$250 (student loans)
$300 (credit card. Bought a laptop and passport....should be paid off in 2-3 months)
$50 (entertainment)
$100 (train tickets)
$200 (savings)

I'm assuming a high price for train tickets as I will be visiting a few friends. Once my credit card is paid off, I expect to put a quarter to half of what that bill is towards savings and the other half towards student loans. Ideally in a few months, this will be the allocation:

$400 (Student Loans)
$150 (entertainment/train tickets/misc)
$450 (savings/emergencies)

Hopefully the work/life balance will be adequate. I don't foresee working more than 35-40 hours a week with them. There is a small chance I might pick up a part time job as well. The good news is that I have friends and family friends located within about a 5 hour train ride should I need some support (moving is hard and lonely). I plan to be home around December 21st for a 10 day period, arriving back in Germany on the 1st of January. This experience (which should last 1.5-3 years) should give me enough time to become fluent in German, thus marking my second fluent language (behind French). I will see about picking up Dutch or Italian while I'm over there.

The company offers a 5 year work contract upon return to the US but I do not want to live and work in the US. I want to be a world traveler and to go into business for myself. I don't like to remain in one place for a long period of time.

I'm thinking of going to graduate school for Statistics or possibly an MBA after this work program is completed. This would require that I take on additional debt. In order for me to consider this, I will have to perform exceptionally well on the GRE/GMAT. When I return, I expect to study for 4-5 months and then take the exam and prepare myself for graduate school. Some of you might think I'd be crazy to take on more debt but I really love education. If I'm fluent in 2-3 languages (possibly 4) by the end of graduate school, this could propel my career forward.


Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and criticisms are most welcome. I apologize for the lack of an update in 5 months.

[cat]

Great news about your job in Germany. How are you feeling about starting there? Any nerves?

What will your job entail? I think that once you get experience, things become a lot easier.

Have you looked into whether your company might fund part of your education (if you do decide to go to graduate school)/ some of the other learning opportunities they offer whilst you are there?

Do you have any particular hobbies that you want to pursue whilst in Stutgart? I suppose that might help you to meet new people.

All very exciting! Best of luck

[finagrad2014]

Hey guys, almost 3 years later and I'm back. Lost the job (or quit) after 1 month. Horrible pay and bosses. Sat around depressed for about 8-12 months on my buddies floor and did nothing. I would bring in 2-300 a month from little e-jobs...a follow up

I did not end up finding a job, however I did hit rock bottom. $3500 in credit card debt, $100 in my pocket and 2 months to get out. No longer

Here's what happened.

I took that $100, cried for 3 days straight and decided that I was going to make a living reselling. First day pounding craigslist, I hit a megascore of Gamecube games and made $1k in about a week. Great huh? Well, that was lucky. I was back living in with a manipulative mom and had to find the money to leave to return back to Georgia and just...survive. Survive until I could work this out. I didn't care anymore. I wanted to sell. I wanted to be my own boss.

This was in October of 2016. I struggled, hustled surveys, anything to make this work. Lots of blood, sweat, tears, sleepless nights, anxiety, sifting through trash etc.

Here is where I am at now:

Student loans still around $30k. No payments made on them. My business is doing okay though which is great

Business sales per month are ranging from 10-12k a month. I resell from thrift shops, other online sellers and department stores. I have taken the lessons I learned here and applied them. I have a cash balance (I am legit with the IRS) of $20k, inventory value of about $100k (20k if I needed to liquidate in 30 days). So I didn't get a job. Nobody would hire me so I made my own.

I am making steps in the right direction but as of yet I have not saved a dime towards retirement. Monthly personal expenses remain capped at $700/month. Since I am bringing in about $2.5k a month in discretionary income after taxes, I am looking to reinvest in my business.

My goal now is to get a car ($7k or cheaper), open wholesale accounts with distributors and look to scale. I want to grow my business for at least 2-3 more years. After it's reached a high level, I plan to write off a check to pay the student loans in bulk and then look towards retirement plans.
I am sorry for leaving you guys hanging, and this was a weird way to "find my feet". I didn't expect to be able to make a living doing this.

This is still very new to me and I can't believe that hard work actually worked in my case. I am not sure how long I will do this but as long as it covers my expenses and allows me to reinvest, I am happy. $20k? From 2010 (graduation) to 2016, my average account balance was $6 and some change. lol.

[finagrad2014]

New expenses:

Rent + utilities: $360
Food: $200
Discretionary Income: $240 (cigarettes and energy drinks mostly)

Leaves me at about $800 a month. Often there is 50-100+ in discretionary left over. I pay myself $800 a month so I technically am not able to save. I do, however, keep a business cash reserve of $10k, and have money set aside for a car. Far from where I want to be but I am working towards it.

Taxes are murdering me though. Thank goodness for writeoffs. I use most of my discretionary income after I do my shopping to eat, half of which is written off as business meals.

I also need to fix my credit. It's too late to pay back the Cap1 card and get a good boost on my credit report. Discover approved me at no annual fee for their Discover it card. I gave them a $200 deposit and will spend only what I use in gas on it for 5-6 months and then reevaluate. I will have to begin from there

Personal goals:
Find home to rent (and hold junk)
Get back in shape (lost weight, still a healthy weight but not in shape)
Increase productivity (80-100hours a week is murder sometimes)
Buy new bed (Ikea bed is wrecking my back)
New business computer (laptop HDD failed, replaced with PS3 slim HDD)
Visit dentist
Buy car
Find hobbies

Long term goals:
Amass $100k in savings/cash
Write a check to pay off student loans
Business inventory value of $1m
Monthly sales revenue of $35k/month as a 1.5 man operation

[finagrad2014]

Your taxes have (or will) pay for the food stamps. You have every right to use them without being ashamed.

Necromancing your post on my thingy here, but they gave me 1 month of food stamps at $150 and then cut me off. I paid $8k in taxes this year so I think you were right. haha

[Randy]

Wow, sounds like you’ve had some rough years, but congratulations on pulling yourself through and finding something that works for you! At the risk of sounding like a concerned mother, have you thought about quitting smoking/energy drinks for your health/wallet?

[thrifty++]

Shit sounds like you have had some crazy times since finishing university. Awesome that you have ultimately pieced together this business and that its making ok money. Sounds like you have to work on it many hours though.
I had a rough patch after finishing university too. Took me a while to get a job. But I worked for about 5m working 30 hours a week in a restaurant so that I didnt have to panic about cash. Then I obtained proper graduate employment.
Have you thought about supplementing your income with non grad jobs ?