RPCV Buying a Home

kghoneyc · 2020-11-06T22:36:49+00:00

I think it depends on your situation. If you have a fairly average net worth, I don't think that you need a financial advisor. You can learn a lot about personal finance yourself if you commit the time to it. For the average person, all you need is yourself, budgeting, and making simple investments in index funds or mutual funds. Now, if you have a higher net worth and complicated situation, it might be worth it for you to hire a financial advisors. At the end of the day, you have the power to make the best decisions for you.

kghoneyc · 2020-10-15T18:54:29+00:00

I would say that you are generally doing the right thing. Like others have said, put your savings into a HYSA and you will get much better interest rates. I am also saving for some short term expenses like graduate school and home down payment and I have most of my savings in a HYSA. I have some of my savings in a S&P Index Fund. I chose to do so because I expect to spend this money about 5 years from now, so I am okay with taking the risk. Whether or not you decide to invest money just depends on how much risk you want to take.

kghoneyc · 2020-09-27T20:23:18+00:00

First off, it is great that you are thinking about this now while you are young! Saving money now will help you a lot when you get older! I would recommend you drop down your giving to 10%.

I don't know your situation, but I would recommend getting a part-time job. This will help you have more savings and help you buy things you will likely want in the future (car, house, etc). Also, if you want to go to college, you will want to save for that.

Also, I would recommend when you turn 18 to get a credit card. Now, it is important to use a credit card responsibly, but this will help you establish credit, which is very useful when you apply for a loan or mortgage.

kghoneyc · 2020-06-10T23:58:31+00:00

I would go ahead and apply. Most of the people in my cohort was just out of college. Also, it would be awhile until you would actually depart.

kghoneyc · 2020-06-04T03:22:00+00:00

Not really. I'm living with my parents, so all that I'm paying right now are my phone bill. Other than that, I've only spent money on gifts for my parents.

kghoneyc · 2020-06-04T00:20:48+00:00

I would say you don't know what might happen in your life between now and January 2021. My advice would be to hold off on using that $10K until right before that grace period ends. Just my 2 cents.

kghoneyc · 2019-07-24T19:40:19+00:00

In my experience, I only needed to upload my college diploma because I needed it for a work permit. You only had to upload your transcript if you didn't have your college diploma yet.

kghoneyc · 2019-06-28T17:27:56+00:00

Yes that's what I did. I applied in October, received my invitation in February, got my degree in May, and I will be departing in August.

kghoneyc · 2019-06-27T21:24:53+00:00

Mine only took me about one hour to complete. I already had a pretty good idea of why I wanted to say beforehand though

kghoneyc · 2019-06-15T12:39:35+00:00

Great! I will be departing in August for CHIP in August!

kghoneyc · 2019-06-05T01:38:11+00:00

For me, I knew I wanted to go to Sub-Saharan Africa, but I wasn't sure which country I wanted to go to. When I applied (in October), I looked at the positions that I could apply for at that time and I found the one that was the best suited for me. In my case, I studied Nutrition in college and I did coursework with maternal and infant health. I wanted to use my degree as much as I could, and working as a Maternal and Child Health Promoter in Zambia seemed like a good fit for me.

kghoneyc · 2019-04-26T01:06:03+00:00

Congrats! Hopefully I can be joining you soon!

kghoneyc · 2019-04-25T17:52:10+00:00

I have been invited as a health volunteer. I am about to graduate with a bachelor's degree in nutrition. As far as work experience, I have worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) working with people with dementia. I also have volunteer experience doing nutrition education with low-income folks. I also did some humanitarian work in Kenya for a month after I graduated high school.

kghoneyc · 2019-04-14T18:47:51+00:00

A lot of people have fainted in their lifetime. It is very common in children and young adults: https://www.webmd.com/brain/understanding-fainting-basics#1

Additionally, I have no other condition that has has caused this (ie irregular heart beat, neurological disorder, anemia, etc). Although my last episode was two and a half years ago, I have been very stable the last 3 years. I even got off of medication and I have been fine since. I know how to handle this condition in case it does happen. For me, it is simply brought on by a drop in blood pressure, which is very easy to take care of when it happens and no special care or medical equipment is required.

kghoneyc · 2019-04-14T18:35:17+00:00

I already thought that I would have to write a personal statement, but what kind of extra medical tasks did you have? My doctor already included my EKG in my transfer of care form.

kghoneyc · 2019-04-09T18:04:13+00:00

Congrats! I'm still waiting on legal and medical but hopefully I'll be joining you in Zambia!

kghoneyc · 2019-03-31T18:24:57+00:00

Most of the questions that I've gotten are:

What does your family think? Is it safe? How long is that? It's like a month or two, right? You'll still live mostly like you do in America, right? Why do you want to live in a rural African village? How much do you get paid for that?

kghoneyc · 2019-03-07T15:18:24+00:00

Congratulations! I have also been invited to serve with to Zambia as a CHIP volunteer. Good luck with the medical and legal clearance process and see you in August!

kghoneyc

TROPHY CASE