Intro and my current career conundrum

[Jablev1288]

hello, my name is jason. Im 26. I have cleaned up my financial act a lot since reading the blog with me and my girlfriend's debt situation im looking into getting a better paying job so I can get out of debt and begin investing (currently make 35k as corrections officer, gf makes around 28k phone banking).  if i can do something real estate related that would be cool and the trade jobs may help if I decide to flip houses later. my girlfriend wants to be a real estate agent and considering how challenging that can be I didn't think we should both do that. I thought about home inspector,  electrician, or plumber but currently have no technical skill with any of those plus 4 year apprenticeship may be a bit much. If not a real estate career im considering nursing or elevator repair.  What do you guys think considering I'd need extra time and money to start some real estate ventures. Also considering I only have some college complete so far. General classes.  so aiming for associates degree or lower.
 

[AZDude]

I would payoff the debt first, then you should have more room to experiment, career wise.

[MissStache]

OK, your options are all over the place.  Are there any of those things that actually interest you, and not because you think they will make you money?  You will be happiest doing something that you find fulfilling on a personal level, and not just because they are paying your bills.

What makes you both want to do Real Estate. We just bought a house and it made me realize that being a real estate agent sounds MISERABLE.  You have to really work your tail off to make good money, and people are calling you constantly.  I was exhausted just watching our agent work.

Do you like your current job?  Could you make more money with a promotion or a move into a similar field? 

[Jablev1288]

I really dislike my current job. Im a prison guard. Not much too for pay upgrades with promotion either. i may like being police officer but I know that being stuck in prison for 8 hours a day is depressing. Her friends all told her that her personality would be suited to being an agent and her aunt used to be successful at it so she's  been entertaining the idea for awhile. I used to work around nurses as a guard and it seemed stressful but its also a job that makes a difference that's my attraction to nursing. And that you can still get hired with an associates. As far as home inspection I've always wanted to invest in rental properties and get passive income. I like the idea of working in that industry just because it seems like fun and the money helps too.

[AZDude]

As a male(i think) nurse, you would probably have no problem finding a job. Nurses work alternate schedules, like 3 days a week, 12 hour days or 4 days a week, 10 hour days with possible night shifts. Also, being male means you get the difficult patients because you can lift and will assume more physical danger.

[former player]

How far have you got with your financial cleaning up?  I'm all for you looking for a change in career, but it's best to do it from a position of strength- which means debt either gone or on an accelerated pay-off schedule that you can maintain until it has gone, and something in an emergency fund as well.

Does the corrections officer job come with a pension or 401k?  Anything you can stash into retirement funds now will have decades of investment growth behind it by the time you want to start spending it.

Are there any jobs which you can move into which make use of your corrections officer experience without being in a prison environment?  Law enforcement?  Probation officer?  Social work?  I think the move into nursing could be a good one too.

[Jablev1288]

I could go full out police force...pay is better and the pension is transferable. Nursing is good. I was also considering a career that could be an asset for me in real estate investing plans; i realize though that everything can be learned through books and experience so a side job that compliments real estate investing is not crucial. Break down of debt is like this:

25k or so for her useless incomplete baking/pastry school loan
17k for my car
15k for her car (both significantly underwater, or else they would've been sold off long ago)
25k or so for her useless incomplete baking/pastry school loan
1k credit card debt
3k medical debt

So rougly 61k of debt. We are trying to pay it off...downsizing our living situation next month. We make around 3,600 after taxes/forced pension expense per month. 900 bucks goes to car expenses. 1k for rent/utilities. those are by far the biggest expenses.

[former player]

Setting yourself (or your girlfriend) up in business is expensive (money going out) and chancy (uncertain what income comes in).  I think you need to keep a regular income coming in while you deal with that lot, and any side income needs to add to your income rather than costing money.

Are you prioritising paying off the highest interest debts?  It's the most financially advantageous way to deal with them.

Be careful with paying extra on the car loans to check whether it is going to principle or interest: if it is only going to advance your interest payments rather than paying off principle it may be less advantageous to feed money into it until you are ready to get rid of a loan completely by saving up the amount you are underwater (if a car loan interest is high, it may be worth a personal loan at a lower rate to get rid of it, or rolling the loan into a cheaper car, but be sure to have the maths right on this).

How are you and your girlfriend splitting your finances, and is it going to be a long-term relationship?  If you are taking on responsibility for her $25k school loan and that is stopping you from getting an associate's degree and progressing your career, it's a pretty serious financial commitment on your part which needs to be matched by the personal and emotional commitment by you both to a life together.

Good luck, and I hope you keep posting here.  There are lots of stories here of people changing their lives for the better over a period of a year or so, and it would be good to have another from you.

[OneDollarAtATime]

What does it mean for the cars 'both significantly underwater' (or they would have been paid off long ago)?  By nature, vehicles are almost always 'underwater' against their loan.

Depending on how serious you are about getting debt free, I'd take a good look at the vehicles since they are over 30k of your combined debt.  How much would you get if you were to sell both cars today?  How much would you have to spend to buy new 'cheap' cars for a bit until you erase the 61k debt?  Not only would you erase debt, but you would significantly improve your cash flow (900 a month, currently) which would allow you to pay off other debt more quickly.

It might be painful to part with the vehicles, but if you're serious about FI, dumping the cars for less expensive ones (or biking / public transit?) of the best places to start.

[KungfuRabbit]

Car loans are usually underwater, that doesn't mean you shouldn't sell.

Can you move close enough to the prison such that you can bike / walk / carpool to work?  Selling one of the cars and only owning one would help your situation a TON (less debt to pay off, more free cash to pay off said debt).  Better yet sell both cars and buy a single, cheaper car

[Proud Foot]

It looks like you have your $17k on your car. Whose name is the medical and cc debts? You didn't say much about the status of your relationship other than she is your girlfriend. Has it been long term, do you plan on getting married, if not married do you plan on continuing to be committed long term with her?  Also, have you two been combining finances already? I would focus on your personal debt and get those questions figured out before I spent any of my own money helping pay down her debts.

It sounds to me like you are wanting to make more money but, as others have asked, have you thought about whether you want to do those jobs? Take away the money part and figure out what you want your interests are.

[James]

Take a step back. This is MMM forum, I am happy to give advice on your career but can't overlook the two car loans you just mentioned. You need to read this once a day until you get rid of those car loans: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/


With the income you guys have, just buckle down and live on rice and beans for a while. (obviously you can eat well cheaply, the "rice and beans" is figurative, no eating out, no drinking out, no movies, etc, etc - the link above spells it out) Pick a vehicle to start with, probably yours. Pay it down until you can sell it, and then buy a $3500 high mpg car to use while you change your life around to financially sound. Repeat with other car, and really try to live where you can only use one car, that would be a huge savings. With the car payments out of the way you will have done two things. You will be in a better financial position to make career changes or go back to school, and more importantly you will have exercised and strengthened your badassity muscle!


With all debt removed, spend some time researching your options. Police work might be a great extension of your current career, how much more school would you need, how much would it cost, how easy to get in, where to get a job when you get out, how much does it pay, how happy are those who have that job, etc. Repeat for other career options and make lots of pros/cons lists. You have lots of time while paying off your debt, so by the time your debt is gone you can make that move and start into your new career. You see first hand what debt does if taken out without good plans, the school debt your gf has is a good education for you. Don't repeat that mistake, be wise with any new debt you take and and try to finish whatever new degree you need while working. Starting a new career without new debt is certainly possible.


You have a good paying job, don't make any rash move career wise until you solidify your financial situation. You could FI on your current salary, so don't assume you need a ton more to have a great life. The question is what you want to do with your life, not how much more money you can make.