The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Gavin on February 13, 2015, 07:56:59 AM
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Hi fellow Mustachians, I'm in need of your advice and wisdom. What should I do with my life? (I was never a fan of broad, ambiguous questions in school either ;))
A little about myself...
Name: Gavin
Age: 27
Married with 2 kids, 5 yr old and a 3 week old (no need for congratulations, for you will feel my icy, sleep-deprived stare through your screen)
Income: 45k/yr (includes income from one rental property)
After-Tax Savings Rate: 50%
No mortgage on either home nor rental house (they were both small and cheap)
Job: Production scheduler for a Manufacturing firm
Job Satisfaction: Low
Education Level: Bachelor's in Business Admin. (My 20 yr old self is feeling my icy stare right now for making that (in-)decision of majoring in business)
Assets: Pretty much the 2 houses I own. I'm guessing they're worth $100,000 total. I just started investing with Vanguard funds VTSMX too(I just added that to cut out half the potential replies)
Debt: None
Interests: Many; woodworking, blacksmithing, hiking/camping, living abroad (love Central America), all sports, exercise science, Christianity, animals, finance, music (guitar/mandolin/banjo/electronic)........and obviously frugality and financial independence.
What should I do?
Go back to school (and back into debt) and get a degree in a field I'm more interested in and/or may (potentially) increase my future earnings potential?
Weather the storm where I'm working at (the job sucks but the people and the work environment are great) and potentially retire in the next 15-20 years?
Finally call that number on those late night commercials and get "enhanced" to start a lucrative adult film career? (Please just comment on the first 2 options, I only attempt to be humorous to mask my own desperation and job depression)
Any advise/wisdom would be great. Thanks for reading.
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What other fields are you interested in?
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I think you should probably hold off making big life decisions for a few months. Sleep deprivation will make you do crazy things.
Hang in there, you'll make it.
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Are there any jobs within your firm but in a different area you think you might be interested in? Some companies will assist with or pay for schooling if it's relevant to your job - maybe they would also do this if it's relevant to a job you strive for within the company.
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JLee - other fields of interest would be engineering, nutrition, exercise science, biology, ecology
antarestar - sleep deprivation is not the cause of my disgruntled feelings about my job. I'd just like to find something I enjoy doing that also pays money.
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AlwaysBeenASaver - that's a possibility I've been throwing around in my head. My company does do that, and I've thought about getting an Mechanical Engineering degree through the program. It would take a while. I'm torn between doing that and just looking for a higher paying job in a bigger city.
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Can you use your current business education, experience and skills to work in a more interesting field? Outfitters companies must need people like you...ditto for vets.
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Obviously I don't know your whole situation, but from what you have told me, this is what i would do.
1. find another (higher paying job) either in your city or a bigger one, that you actually enjoy.(45k with a bachelors is not enough money to stay miserable, if you were like i make $150K and they do tuition reimbursement that's one thing, but i think you can find a lot of jobs that pay more than 45K that will make you more happy)
2. if that new job is not your end all be all, see if they have a tuition reimbursement program, and go back to school.
3. keep being frugal and enjoy life more.
4. once you have your new degree, find the job of your dreams, and work it until you retire(and even after you are FI if you so choose)
At least that is what i would do.
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It sounds like you're very interested in exercise science and outdoor activities - any thoughts on becoming a personal trainer?
- The education necessary is limited relative to getting another degree.
- The pay should eclipse $45K/yr on its own, once you get an established client base.
- The risk of trying it out is low since you can start with the occasional evening session after work (and certification class costs are low relative to a degree).
- You get to be physically active while you're working (which sounds like something you value).
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One thing to consider...a great work environment can be worth its weight in gold when you have very young children. When my sister was pregnant and had very young babies, she stuck to a rather dull job because it was much more family-friendly. Once her children had made a good transition to day care, she moved on to the more interesting but also less flexible work. So it might be worthwhile to hang in the boring job a bit longer (but get the planning in place for Phase 2). If you were three years from RE, you might get different advice...but if you have 15-20 to go (assuming no huge set-backs), I would absolutely encouraging looking around for something that suits you better. It doesn't have to be a passion, but there is pleasure in having a job that you can be successful at and interested in.
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Just a word of caution from the wife of a personal trainer... the income isn't always as lucrative as people think and it's expensive to run a business. My husband is super happy but only brings into the house approximately $1700 a month after paying to run the business. he's been in business for nearly 12 years, is extremely hard working and has a very loyal base of clients. When the economy tightens, personal training is the first thing to go in many people's budget. To most it's a "luxury" and not a necessity.
BTW, I am also certified as a personal trainer. I did a stint at a large gym, was paid minimum wage for my hours and earned a 20% commission on supplements and 10% on sales of personal training packages. I now work in Corporate America.
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Have you had any thoughts about side gigs? After the babes are up in age does the wife intend to do anything to bring in additional income?
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Agree with the side gig idea. You list several hobbies that have income generating potential. Develop them and see where you can profit. When hobby income + passive income comfortably & reliably exceed your cash needs, feel free to quit your day job if you so desire.
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Sounds like an office job might be soul sucking... Since you already have landlord experience, and are not making hideously large sum at work so starting new should be easy.
What about becoming a property manager? Business degree would come in handy, you are not stuck in an office all day, and as you build your stash, you invest in more rental properties that you manage, until you just work for yourself. This gives you flexible time then to further pursue exercise (triathlon) or music as a hobby/ paid hobby...
Oh, just research what you need for now to make it happen, and hold on until you get some SLEEP!