What makes you say you don't make enough? What is your percentage of spending compared to income and / or saving compared to income/spending? Maybe you're being too hard on yourself. What are your long-term and short-term goals ?
If you think your career is going to stagnate in the near future then now is the time to pre-empt that. Teaching ESL is always in demand and as a journalist you should have a good handle on the language I'd expect. If you want to be a writer - start writing on a daily basis -- not because you think it's the only way to make money - but because you have something to say or a story to tell. Write because you love to write -- don't count on the money.
Also don't underestimate the skills you probably already have. Perhaps get together with some like-minded friends and have a brain-storming session. Other people will come up with lots of ideas for you that you can't see in yourself. Be open to suggestions.
Have you ever read Susan Jeffers -- Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway ?
Or an oldie -- what color is your parachute ? Lots of good exercises in those books to get you started on a different way of thinking.
Or The Artist's Way ?
Make a list right now -- all the things you've ever done; what you like; don't like; why. Do some stream of conscientiousness writing.
Reporting as in - data reporting for a large company. Monthly, weekly, quarterly, random analysis, etc. Information that is pulled from different sources with field headers and then taken into Excel or Access or other programs to do the trend analysis. Things that a monkey can't do because a monkey will mess up, but a robot can do because it's just a 1) do this, 2) do this, 3) do that process that a human memorizes and then performs. Hence obsolete soon
I have a case study thread somewhere. I make $62k, will be out of debt in 4 months, and live in an area where I could get a decent home for < 200. But I don't make anywhere near enough. I can't save for a home and contribute 18k to my 401(k). I can't contribute 18k to a 401(k) and travel. I can't help my mom with closing costs on her retirement home. Sure, in a vacuum nothing is wrong. (in 4 months time) 32 year old dude with no wife, no kids, no liabilities, making $62k? Fantastic! I can pick up a guitar and learn to play, I can drop $50 on a steak dinner and not care, I can do anything! Except, you know, get a place to live or save for retirement or meet a woman and eventually buy a 2 month salary ring or get 40 years of compound interest because I graduated at 28 and not 22, etc.
I graduated a top school with good grades and moved into the statistics field. I took several certification exams and work in insurance. It means nothing. I'm not a people person, I can't manage, and I won't be able to move into a VP position making $130k because I'll never be comfortable going into a room of 20 people and leading a meeting where I'm making complex business decisions. I can't even decide if I want chicken or beef tonight and I've already spent an hour on it.
Excuse me, what? You make $62k? I'm sorry, I can't hear your complaining over your exploding volcano of cash.
You live in a place where you can buy a nice house for <$200k, that means rents are fairly low/reasonable. Not like you're trying to cope with a HCOL city. If the nice houses are that cheap-- the mediocre ones are surely even cheaper.
"I can't"
|_Save for a home and contribute $18k to my 401(k). Let's see-- You make $62k. Contribute $18k of that, and that leaves you with $44k. Which is *still* an exploding volcano of cash. Assuming that your rent is somewhere under $1,000 (tell me if I'm wrong), you can save at least $20k in a year (barring a medical emergency or an insurance-level property disaster). $20k is a 10% downpayment on a $200k home, or 20% down on a $100k fixer-upper.
|_Contribute 18k to a 401(k) and travel. Let's see-- You make $62k. Contribute $18k of that, and that leaves you with $44k. Save $20k.....I don't know what "travel" means to you, but I expect it's at least one or two swanky trips to non-american countries. If I were me with $20k designated to travelling, I'd be doing "tour of the whole U.S." or "several months in Ecuador" or "tour all of Europe" type travel. Your limiting factor is "allowed vacation time" not "lack of money".
|_Help my mom with closing costs on her retirement home. Let's see-- I just bought a $200k house, and closing costs were about $4-6k. Based on my (admittedly back-of-the-envelope) calculations, sounds like you could EASILY afford to save enough to cover *all* the closing costs for your Mom
AND take her with you on a nice cruise or trip to Hawaii to celebrate.
|_Eventually buy a 2 month salary ring. Let's see-- Two months' salary is $62/6. A ~$10,000 ring should take you about eight months to save up for. I'd argue that that's a stupid thing to spend your money on, but whatever.
|_Meet a woman. Lets see-- Uh.....find some women and talk to them? I don't have much advice here. But I'd be willing to bet that women would be more interested in a guy who has a plan for the future, saves a lot of money and is therefore rich, owns his own home, is generous to his Mom, and goes on exciting trips around the world. If I'm wrong, please inform me, as I've been badly sheltered.
You can do anything you want. You have a tidal wave of income with which to do it. So figure out what you want, and GO GET IT.
