Topic Title:Reader Case Study – [El Salvador] Started my journey to FI 3 years ago, whats next
Life Situation:I'm 27 married, my wife is 26. We have 3 kids (16, 3 and a 11month baby), we live in San Salvador, El Salvador.
I started on my journey to FI 3 years ago. I was in a pretty big credit card debt hole, I owed $71,000 and had two mortgages. The first one was for $150,000 and the second one, which I still have, is $220,00. After I sold my rental apt for $150,000, I pocketed $35,000 and used it to pay half of my credit cards.
My current strategy for my emergency debts is dumping all my extra cash on one card until its completely paid off and jump to the next one.
Gross Salary/Wages:We make $72,000. I make $60,000 a year at my job, and we have a sidebusiness with my wife that earns us about $12,000 more.
Taxes: I pay about $5,200 a year, includes sidehustle taxes.
Current expenses: Mortgage $2,069 per month
Food $250 per month
Nanny $320 per month
Utilities $0 (covered by my job)
Cars: SUV 2008 (121,117 miles)
Gas: $120 per month
Repairs: $45 per month (avg of the past 3 years)
School for my kids: $1,100 per month
Insurance: $0
Clothing: $55 per month
Health/Doctor visits: $120 per month
Entertainment: $360 per month
Credit card monthly payments: $630
Taxes: $410 per month
Misc: $128 per month (avg of the past 3 years)
Total: $5,607 per month or $68,000 a year
Im currently trying to sell my home, which I think is very expensive. It's a $220,00 loan with 9%, I still owe $151,200. I plan on paying my remaining credit card debt of $34,608 with the ~$68,000 i'll get from selling my house, and investing the rest in a 7% quasi-savings account. Citizens of El Salvador dont have access to Vanguard or Betterment accounts but fortunately, for us, specialized saving accounts in local banks and the local stock market yield about 5-7%.