Dear Mustachians,
I am brand-spanking new to this forum, and I hope, hope, hope that you are ok with me just jumping in and asking for advice! I just discovered the whole MMM thing, and this, combined with the nomoreharvarddebt fellow - have truly inspired me to grow my own proverbial monetary mustache. I am laden with student loans, I have no retirement investments to speak of and I guess I really want to get started on the right foot.
So here are my details. Beginning in just a couple weeks, I will be working for $32,000 annually as a base rate. My salary will be linked with the quality of my work, but I would like to begin calculating with bare facts and figures.
I will also be selling home grown produce at the local farmer's market, nothing major, but enough to pay for a bike or something after a few months, since I will be living 3 miles from work.
So my income then is about $2055 per month AFTER taxes.
My student loans are like so:
private: $25,408.56 ($3.444.32@2.94%, $20,249.96@2.97%) and
consolidated: $40,491.95 (@3.125%)
Minimum payments are $226.40 and $214.00 respectively.
I have a citibank card sitting at $2887.11 @ 29.99% with a payment of $157
On top of this I have rent at $550 and my phone comes out to around $50 a month. For a limited time I will be funneling some cash to my recently divorced mother at her request (ca. $200 a month for maybe 12-24 months?).
So I guess on top of that is my food cost, which I'll place around $200 a month.
To recap then
Income per month: $2055
Minimum expenses: $1597
Extra: $458...
What should I do with this extra income? I suspect pay off my credit card aggressively, and then when that's done, aggressively go after my student loans?
To make things clear - I will be receiving a raise after 90 days, but how much is a factor of my performance. could be a few hundred per year, could be several thousand. Also my farmer's market sales could range anywhere from $200 to $1000 per month, but I'm not into counting my eggs before they hatch, since I'm moving to a new area, and don't know the market/competition. I would like advice on what to do with the money that I DO have over for certain, and then have a plan of action for the potential money I WILL have over if all goes well, be it $100 or $1000!
What would be the mustachian way to approach this? How should I prioritize and calculate for the best possible outcomes? I would like to pay off my student loans like this harvard guy, and am definitely open to ideas, advice and any calculations or tips you could give me to put me on the right track from day 1.
Thank you so much in advance! I hope I gave enough details.
Sincerely,
Eager to learn!