I'm relatively new to this, and I'd like to see if there's anything major I'm missing.
Life Situation: Single, no dependents (except two cats).
Gross Salary/Wages: $20.87/hr with small amounts of overtime.
Individual amounts of each Pre-tax deductions 401k, HSA, FSA, IRA, insurance, etc.: None; my employer completely covers my health insurance, but I'm not yet eligible for any other major benefits.
Other Ordinary Income: I'm interviewing for a couple of potential second jobs, either of which would be an extra $400 after tax every two weeks.
Adjusted Gross Income: $20.87/hr. Net is about $1400 every two weeks.
Taxes: A bit under 20%.
Current expenses:
<=$100/week daily expenses ($10 gas, $20 coin laundry, $70 groceries and misc). I'm trying to lower this, but it's a process.
$100/month phone
$60/month internet
$575/month rent and utilities
$85/month car insurance (soon to increase)
$40/month medication
$329/month medical debt payments
$450/month car loan starting soonish (see below)
$30/six weeks haircut (necessary for professional appearance)
$250/year replacement clothes and shoes
$120/year necessary doctors' visits
$250/year vet bills
Total: about $2200/month
Expected ER expenses:
$1300/month (no debt payments, cheap car and insurance)
Assets: About $2.2k in an old 401k; about $1k in savings. Usually the savings is higher, but I was unemployed most of last year.
Liabilities:
$6800 medical debt ($2500 in collections)
$2000 personal loan from relative from recent unemployment, no interest or set payments but needs to be paid off within two months
$1200 student debt; needs to be paid off this year so I can take advantage of tuition reimbursement benefit at work.
I'm also going to take on a $13,000 used car loan this summer. This is not negotiable and not up for discussion. (Long story, but the current car is going to go to someone who needs it more than I do, the bought car needs to be new enough that I've got a plausible reason for selling my old but functional beater for dirt cheap, and yes, I love this person well enough that I'm willing to stay in debt an extra nine months or so to help them out. This is a one-time thing and there's no one else in the world I'd do it for.)
Specific Question(s):
Again, the car loan is not up for discussion.
The current plan for this year is to pay off the debt to the relative, then get to $3500 in my emergency fund, then pay off the student debt, and then near the end of the year start aggressively paying down the car loan. Next year I'll finish paying off the car loan and the medical debt. I intend to put the second job's income (if I'm hired and my health allows me to work that many hours a week) towards the car loan first. Once all the debt is paid off, I should be able to save almost 60% of my primary job's income towards early retirement, invested fairly straightforwardly in index funds (plus a 401k plan that will be available to me in a couple of years), which should get me there in about fifteen years with no inflation but no raises (including two years max to pay off the debt). I'll also plan to keep working the second job for one more year after the debt is paid off, then quit for quality of life's sake; a year of its income should cover the down payment on an FHA loan, and a thirty-year mortgage payment on a two-bedroom in this area would be equal to what I pay on a studio even before renting out the spare room.
I keep track of my spending and my budget using a spreadsheet tracking actual expenses/income and projecting them into the rest of the year. It matches the numbers I've given above. I expect my total cash on hand to dip down below $100 at one point next month as I pay off the relative's loan, but after that I should have a fairly good margin of error.
This does depend on keeping the current job or a job comparable in pay to it, which is why I want to pay off the student debt as quickly as possible and begin using the tuition reimbursement benefit; I don't have a degree or any specialized skills, and I'm not sure I could currently find as high-paying a job as I have.
Besides not taking on the car loan, are there any amendments to the plan that the forum would suggest?
Edited to add: A couple of you have suggested increasing my income. If you have suggestions, I'm game.
More details on my career situation here.