Hey, folks.
Have posted concerning finances once before here. Have also been searching through threads fervently for a bit now, and figured it wouldn't hurt to make a standard case-study post. I am doing pretty all right in the savings department, but am young and not really knowing how to go make the best of my options.
I really kind of value a lot of non-material things, like family, art, nature, and experiences I can make without money...so I really don't want that much. I have considered investing in a small property to take care of housing costs and then just living on part-time income at a small but valuable job...(maybe health-care related or farming)...and just living a small life. I do value being around people I have connections with and doing volunteer/humanitarian work, but at this point, if I do this first plan, I end up working forever, having no retirement, and being pretty tied down to the property.
My other option I'm considering is going mustachian and instead of beating them, joining them. I do what I used to do in elementary school, and instead of refusing to do all but the minimum of the rat-race class assignment, I study extra hard for a week and ace through all the school work, then I can go do self-directed study for the rest of my semester. This seems irritating but very do-able. The trick will be to not burn myself out and not get seduced into the wanting-more phenomenon.
So, as I have seen so many clever and hard-working people from so many walks of life here, I would appreciate any insight you could bring to my plan. I really feel pretty lost with all of this. Which I guess is nice, in that I don't spend all my time caring about trying to buy a nicer speed boat, but awful in that I am floating with little know-how.
--
Life Situation: I file taxes as single person with no dependents. No state income tax here...just U.S. federal at about 13.7%. I am mid-20s, out of four-year uni, (psych B.A., have minor med certification/behavioral crisis training/CPR training). Have history of working in retail...am good at it but can't stand it; beyond burnt out. Also have worked in restoring historic buildings, and minor experience in biology/natural conservation work. Been working about two years with mixed savings, having come through getting out of a bad family situation, then working only temp job, then only part-time, then two part-times, now full-time for about a year.
Gross Salary/Wages: 2014 was about $16,400 USD. ($1,366/month)
Pre-tax deductions: I don't trust the non-profit I work for...and I kind of just don't like trusting other organizations who give me a paycheck with my monetary expenses in general, so no 401k, etc., for me through them. (Though I do have a life insurance policy and worker's comp lined up through them as regular policy. I contribute nothing to these and no strings attached. Given that I work with people with behavioral issues, I guess my employer just plans I may get injured/killed.) I do all my stuff through independent accounts with separate corporations like a regular consumer. The prices on the market have been cheaper anyways. See below for details.
Other Ordinary Income: In 2014, my mother kindly gifted me some one-time purchase household items like a desk, a couple shirts, and some cooking containers, and about $1000 of inheritance. No regular other income planned for 2015. Also got about $1,000 from working a one-time overtime schedule for a couple weeks when my then-supervisor was on holiday.
Adjusted Gross Income: $18,400. ($1,533/month) (+ some negligible material stuff)
Taxes: Federal = $2131+$62 wheel tax= $2193 ($183/month)
Current (as of April of 2015) expenses per month:
Food........................$140
Alcohol.....................$5
Clothing....................$2
Household needs........$30 (stuff like gloves, printer ink, detergent)
Laundry.....................$14
Gifts for others...........$2
Medical......................$45
Health insurance.........$122
Car insurance.............$96
Electricity...................$22
Internet.....................$46
Cellphone...................$9
Banking fees...............$2.5
Travel to see family.....$3
Apartment rent...........$430
Frivolous fun stuff.......$2
Transportation...........$150 (Personal use: about $30/month. Rest is for work and compensated for and then some. I hate that I drive so much for work, though, due to wear and tear on car and bad for my health.)
Total: $1120.50
No mortgage payment, car payments, loans, or other debt of large kine.
Current single credit card expenses: No payment ever due next cycle, but this month about $450 on card. All of this is money for basic needs which I just put on card and pay off the next month to build credit history. I always have savings to back up this at any time.
Assets:
Savings: $31,000. None invested yet, but planning on doing soon, maybe a basic Roth IRA kind of deal? Could have invested a year ago, but a family member recommended this pushy investment advisor who was out to get paid, so I figured I'd just fire him and do some research to do it myself in another year or two. Here I am...still sorting it out but feeling more confident.
Old coin collection: maybe $300?
Old federal bonds: about $4,000.
Liabilities: None, aside from the basic liabilities of being a human with human foibles.
Specific Questions:
1) Can I save any further?
2) Vague investment thoughts? I have time on this, so is not crucial.
3) How can I increase my income? I live in a small-/mid-sized (relatively) city surrounded by rural area, and most jobs I've considered, (nursing, social-work, carpentry, plumbing, IT work, library sci. work), seem to max out at about $45k/year in this area, even though in others they can go for upwards of $90k. I would like to FIRE asap and am planning on reaching a goal of $350,000 savings to do so, (figure I will want to do some voluntary work for pay after FIRE, so this covers basic expenses). If pulling in $80k/year, could FIRE in 6 years. $50k = 12 years. etc...Am willing to relocate, especially if for a short time like half a decade/a decade, but my COL is so low, and it's a big stress/gamble if it doesn't work out, so I wanna plan this sucker well before I go shifting house.
Concerns about after FIRE: A rent-free location possibly, but wouldn't mind working in my free time when FIRE'd to earn this over some years. I do have aging parents, but they currently look like they will be able to care for themselves financially, unless something happens to them like my cousin and they end up in a head-on collision with a cement-truck. At that point, I'm not going to plan so far. I could drop dead before I post this? Weirder things have happened?
--
Thank you so much for all the help. I appreciate any constructive criticism! I also appreciate all the inspiration and gumption which everyone seems to have. Keep on keeping on.
-Possum