Hey everyone, first post! Been an avid reader of the MMM blog and an infrequent lurker here for about 2 years now. Although it's always somewhat bittersweet knowing that my situation - at least income-wise - is much lower than those who generally make this place tick. This'll be a long post, but I could use some insight and encouragement about where I'm at with finances and future life planning.
About me:
26, male, single, living in Western NY
4-year degree in Communications acquired at a private university in PA in 2011. Should have done STEM or something but went with liberal arts. Oops. Never was a math/science guy anyway. I'm blessed in that my dad footed 75% of the bill for my tuition. I already paid off the rest.
I spent 2 years in my desired field of sports media, the 2nd gig being 1200 miles from home. Ultimately I decided to go another direction. The work was fun, but I was homesick and burned out with the minimum-wage pay/65-hour work weeks. Ended up taking an entry-level banking job in my home town and decided to try it out. Maybe another oops?
Current Employment
Bank Teller/Customer Service: $11.50/hour @ 40-45 hours/week. Contributing 6% to 401k and 12% to HSA
YMCA Attendant: $8.40/hour @ 6-12 hours/week (plus valuable free membership worth $55/month)
Freelance Fantasy Football writer: $200/month from September-December.
I started the bank job at $10/hour and have gotten 2 raises in my first 8 months. I am fairly certain I'll have another one coming next month. They really like me there (not many youngish male college grads willing to do the menial GED-level work I guess). I've been told there's lots of room for promotion if I keep at it. I enjoy the YMCA job as a social outlet, and the free membership is a great perk. It's also within walking distance of my apartment. Wage there should go to $9/hour in January when minimum wage law changes.
Average Net Monthly Income: $1700.00
Expenses
Rent: 325 (sharing a 2BR with a buddy)
Utilities: 75-100 (internet, basic TV, gas, electric)
Food: 200 (includes the occasional meal out. I cook for myself and eat well. Thanks Aldi!)
Cell Phone: 50
Car Insurance: 25 (still on my dad's plan, he helps me a little here)
Gas: 40 (small town, old Corolla, short commute)
Misc: 100 (gifts, household needs, netflix, the occasional new shirt or something)
Average monthly expenses: 900
Debts: none
I rotate a small arsenal of credit cards to maximize cash back for my limited spending. The statement balances are all auto-paid in full each month.
Assets
Checking: $3.5k
Savings: $1k (emergency fund)
HSA: $300
Roth IRA: $19k, VFFVX
Company 401k: $1.5k ($900 vested, just started this in April. Contributing 6% to maximize the full match. Crappy vesting schedule)
Taxable brokerage account: 13.5k (all low-expense index/mutual funds)
Physical silver: $500-worth (thereabouts)
1999 Toyota Corolla: paid for in cash in 2013. It only has 48k miles so I'm hoping to get some more life out of it. Only thing that concerns me a bit is trusting 15-year-old crash technology in a small car.
Net worth rough estimate according to Mint: $38,500.00 (not including car/silver/petty cash lying around the house)
So as you can see, I'm cash-flow positive. But that's mainly because I'm still living like a broke college student while many of my peers are buying houses and starting families. I was fortunate to grow up in a household that taught the value of saving long before spending. I just wish I was making more so I could realistically feel like a grown-up.
Loose life plan: 12-18month
I'm really not overly attached to my current area or my current job(s). One thing I would like to do while I'm young, healthy and single is do some extended traveling. I would love to spend 3 months in South America and just adventure. I speak passable Spanish and would love to improve. I also could selfishly use a little time off after working 50-60 hours a week over the last couple years. But I'd likely have to do such a trip between jobs, which makes the timing a little tricky.
I have a loose plan of uprooting myself from the bank in a year, traveling over the winter in early 2016, and then moving to Pittsburgh to look for something different. I have some family in Pittsburgh and it's closer to where I went to college. I feel like I could land a 30k job somewhere although the cost of living is definitely higher.
Questions
Is it worth it to consider going back to college to find a higher-paying skill? I really don't have many technical qualifications. I like to write and I'm okay with messing around on computers. But I also don't want to go back into debt if I can help it.
Does anyone think contributing 12% pre-tax to my HSA to be too much? With the company match, I'm on track to max that out next year. I would like to either get Lasik surgery if deemed eligible, or find a new custodian to invest it with and let it grow.
Any other liberal arts majors who found a way to make a livable wage? Like I said, I'm young, single, healthy, and a hard worker.
Thanks!