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I just got an email about getting hired at a new job! Lurked this board for a while, so I thought I'd contribute in this thread. Backstory: Graduated last May (B.S. in Psychology), worked at FedEx for six weeks over the summer, quit to move back to the town I went to college in, and my friend got me a job working in her store in September. Retail part-time, $7.50 an hour. Needless to say, I've been depending on my mom for support, but that's about to change big time. At my new job, I will be working full-time for $13/hr. That works out to be $520 a week or $2,080 a month, pre-taxes. In Tennessee, where I live, I can expect about 15.25% will be taken out for taxes (federal, social and medicare) if my paychecks from my previous job are any indication. This should leave me around 1760 a month for my expenses, which are: Rent, utilities included: 400 a month Car Insurance: 125ish a month Benefit Insurance at work: 35 a month Total: 560 What's left is 1200, approx. These will probably be additional expenses that I can count each month: Cell Phone: 70 a month (once I sign a new contract with AT&T) Food: 200 a month (estimated from groceries/eating out) Leaving me just over 900 a month to do whatever I want. I'm going to go ahead and put 150 for gas. So, $750 a month. What I want to do, naturally, is save it (after, of course, buying all the stuff I've wanted lately but couldn't afford-- 360, iPhone, new laptop). Having never had money, however, all I have is a checking/debit account that has more dust in it than dollars. My friend works at a bank and has offered to set me up with a nice savings account once I have $1000 to put away (this amount avoids a season fee or something). Other than that, should I be doing more? I'm not going to be Daddy Warbucks or anything, but I will have money that's not burning a hole in my pocket, and I know nothing of CDs or any of that stuff. Other details: No debt, no student loans, won't have time off to travel within a year or anything like that. No car note, and I have a backup for mine if it bites the dust. Any suggestions on what to do with these checks when they start coming in? edit: Just realized my taxes will be different since I was a dependent this past year under my Mom. But that shouldn't change everything too much... right? 
Soul Glo fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Mar 12, 2010 |
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Mar 12, 2010 03:14
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Engineer Lenk posted:Budget. I'd start putting $250-$300/month away into a Roth IRA. Charles Schwab will waive the minimums if you put it on auto-transfer; most other places will want $1k or $3k for startup. Sweet, I will run some of these things by my bank friend (he actually has a degree in finance, he's not just a teller or something) and see what he thinks about IRAs versus what he can do at his place. Also, 360/iPhone/laptop weren't meant to be immediate, I realize they're just wants and aren't necessary. I am picking up the iPhone ASAP though since it's only $100 since I'm not an AT&T customer yet. As soon as possible because A) I'm currently on my Mom's Verizon plan and would like to be as independent from her as possible, she's earned it, and B) I'm gonna want the internet in my pocket at my new job. 3-1130 pm, alone, with some nights being extremely dragging. The good thing about having this extra money is that I've never had it before so I don't exactly know how to go about blowing it every week. Plus I have a huge savings headstart due to my lack of debt, so I'm pretty pumped to have some cash building interest somewhere.
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Mar 12, 2010 03:50
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