Hi Everyone!
Long time reader, but this post is about me putting my money where my mouth is. I finally decided to quit being poor and decided to take real measures to jump start the entire process of badassity. I recently left Austin to take a teaching position in Saudi Arabia for nine months. So far I've been here a month, and everything is running smoothly. If the rest of the year goes as well as this past month, I plan to renew the contract this coming May. At 30 years old, I now feel that I should consider buying my first duplex/condo to rent once I get enough money for a downpayment. However what I feel I should do and what I should financially do are different things. Right now and for the rest of my life I want to be cautious of my financial position because I never want to go back to being poor. Ever.
Brass tacks: I will have around a projected $25,000-30,000 of tax free income by May 2015, what should I do with it? The cost of living here is low because food is subsidized and there isn't a lot of entertainment to squander my money. I gauge that I can live off of $200 a month on groceries, the rest of my time will be spent trying to increase the profits from my online business that I started a little while ago; the website makes around $300-500 a month which all goes to student loans.
Income: $3,200 a month, tax free. My first paycheck comes this Sunday!
Current expenses: Student Loans - $30,000 ...this is being paid off $300-$500 a month right now with profits from the online business. I'm currently trying to increase this to around $1,000 a month. This is do-able, I just need to put the time in to get everything to that level.
Expected expenses: Groceries $200 , Transportation $0 (we're bussed to and from school), Living expenses $0 (rent, utilities & Internet are paid for the year). The girlfriend and I just hang around the apartments and keep to ourselves... so there isn't much that we can go out and waste our money on.
Assets: $1,000 cash
Liabilities: $0 - I'm 30, in good health, with no children and no credit card debt. (ĦĦhigh five!!)
I really appreciate any guidance you all can throw my way and thanks for all your help!