Life Situation:Single filer, 2 exemptions. No dependents. California.
Gross Salary/Wages: $5446/mo, on a ten month schedule (teacher)
Pre-tax deductions: $4.66/mo for vision and dental, free Kaiser health
calPERS (pension) contribution of ~$500/mo (due to various payroll snafus I haven't had the same deposit each month)
Other Ordinary Income:
$2500 one time coaching stipend
~$6,000 for summer side gig (lifeguard)
Adjusted Gross Income: ~$4000/mo (again, for 10 months, the summer months are closer to $2k/mo)
Taxes: Per the spreadsheet on the sticky, $820/mo
Current expenses:
Rent: $350 (live with high school roommates)
Gas: $70 (drive a 2006 Prius 8 miles round trip to school)
Food: $100
Climbing gym membership: $28
Keeping girlfriend happy: $120
Teacher union dues: $108
Credential clearing program dues: $214 ($1500 total for year one, $1000 for year two)
Assets:
Checking account has $3500 in it.
I have $8700 in a "summer saver" account offered via my credit union that earns 3%. I have put the maximum $2k/month into this account. It flushes out into my checking account after 10 months.
Liabilities:
Loans: Original Principal Original Length Current Principal Years remaining Rate Excel PMT
Student Loan $83 $995 $7,500 10 $3,500 4 5.90% $82.89
Student Loan $58 $697 $5,500 10 $5,500 10 4.90% $58.07
Used car loan $149 $1,785 $5,000 3 $5,000 3 4.49% $148.71
I've made payments totaling $4000 on the highest interest student loan.
EDIT: I'll also be on the hook for a tuition payment of about $2400 next summer (2017) to finish a Masters, that will result in an immediate, perpetual salary stipend of $1900/yr
Specific Question(s): I am financially illiterate, which is good since one of the classes they gave me to teach as a first year teacher is Beginning Personal Finance. I want to start supplementing my pension contributions. What is the best way to do this?
Specifically, what should I be doing with the money in my summer saver? Keep it there? Pay down my student loans faster? Dump it into an IRA? My credit union offers 403b and I believe 457. Should I max out a retirement account before Jan 1st?
Thank you!
EDIT: I'm 27, kind of got a late start to the world of adult-ing.