Hello all! Relatively new MMM reader here, but I am liking what I see and while I feel like I'm on a pretty good track myself I wanted to see what advice some long-term readers/true mustachians have for me. I've been told multiple times my early start to FI is my biggest asset and I don't want to squander it!
Here are the details, some are a bit fuzzy because frankly I've only been out of college/renting/buying food for a few months now (on that note let me tell you the life as an RA in college definitely pays off, especially in a pricey housing market like Boston).
Income: $1600/mo =$19,200/yr (this is pretty much a guess based on the last 3 months, although the word at work is I may be offered a salaried position, so maybe (fingers crossed) this could be $30k/yr)
Expenses:
Rent - $575/mo (Cheap for my area, lease goes til Oct. 2013, may explore cheaper options if my roommate/friend moves out)
Utilities - $75/mo (we already have fluorescents, house is kept at 52 and I'm about to make my roommate plug his tv into a power strip! 3/4 of us want to cancel cable but unfortunately we agreed to cable before moving in, we did reduce it by $100 a month by changing providers though.)
Food/Alcohol - $250/mo
Personals - $20/mo
Clothing - $30/mo
Entertainment - $15/mo
Misc. - $10/mo ??
*Spending will probably increase by $35/month in 2013 as I take over my cell phone bill.
Assets:
Cash - $5,500 in 1%/month interest bearing checking account
Investments - $57,000 ($5k of which is kept liquid in Schwab to top off my emergency fund, will soon be earning 0.15%)
Roth IRA - $5,800
College Account - $11,100 (fortunately didn't use all of b/c of scholarships, now saving in case of grad school future)
*Just sold my car that was sitting around at my mom's house, should be getting $2k soon
**So I believe I'm at $1600/month income and $975 spending/month = $625/month savings**
No debts
2 Credit Cards (just opened the AmEx Blue Cash Everyday after seeing it on MMM, after I reach my $50 of dividends for my other card (Citi Dividend Platinum) I plan on canceling that, leaving me with 2 debit cards (Checking and Schwab) and the AmEx)
I bike to both of my jobs, bring my own lunch and generally consider myself pretty financially aware. I've been lucky to have a significant amont of savings so early in my life (almost 23) but have been struggling to find work (and especially work that I want to do) in a pay range I find acceptable. I'm happy in my (main) job that has the possibility of advancement within the company but currently make only $10/hr. Obviously the small income is my main source of lagging FI, but I have definitely been working to right this (picking up a 2nd job, applying to other jobs, craigslist sales..). I'm also working on decreasing food costs while balancing social outings that revolve (in an unfortunately antimustachian way) around going out for food/drinks. In the meantime, what can I do to keep my 'stache growing?
Ideally I'd like the financial freedom to work at jobs I like/believe in regardless of pay while NOT impacting my financial future.
