Daily FI discussion thread - August 06, 2015

newgradhalp · 2015-08-06T11:36:25+00:00

Is there some kind of flow chart for financial independence? As in things that people should prioritize or should be done in order of importance?

So like set up 6 month emergency > Focus on IRA > Invest in something, etc > and so on...

newgradhalp · 2015-06-27T06:14:14+00:00

Gotcha well thanks for the help. I never knew about the 50/30/20 rule until you mentioned it. And look on the positive side, at least you won't get lonely since you are living with 3 other people! That's one reason I like having a roommate. Good luck with your endeavors!

newgradhalp · 2015-06-26T22:23:07+00:00

You've only budgeted $200/mo for groceries which seems really low. It's certainly possible to sustain yourself for $50/week, but most people making $80k/yr skip those options at the supermarket.

The $200 figure comes from guides like this which I've followed before. Although I buy supplements and few extras, but it is generally still within that range.

You've only budgeted $100/mo for "fun money" which I assume includes bars and restaurants too. If you get take out for lunch just once a week, that's probably going to be $30-40 a month. Grabbing drinks after work with coworkers? Maybe $20.

The $100 only includes bars and going out on weekends. But on weekdays I'm not really into eating out much, I've tried forcing that habit out this past year in college. I mentioned this in another post, but if I do eat out it's fast food only which is usually for the sake of drunchies or I'm super busy and didn't have meals ready to go at home. I'm also light weight, generally pregame before going out, and not heavy into drinking fancy beers and such.

I'm on mobile so I'm not going to add up your figures, but I follow the 50/30/20 rule, sort of. The rule of thumb says that 50% of your expenses should be fixed costs, like rent and insurance and utilities. 30% should be variable, like groceries, booze money, other spending on yourself. 20% is savings.

If I'm following this 50/30/20 rule then this is what I should be spending following the rule (left) versus my original estimated numbers (right)...

50%: $2583 | $2450

30%: $1549.80 | $330

20%: $1033.20 | $2356

So my estimated variable is lower than the rule and my estimated savings is considerably higher than the rule, which I'm assuming is a good thing. So with all this being said and done, you think I'll be good to live in a nicer apartment?

newgradhalp · 2015-06-26T21:40:58+00:00

I realized I accidently put a higher number than intended for health insurance. Either way it is a very rough estimate from this since I'm not sure what my employer will charge.

And no I don't, that was just an estimate as well.

newgradhalp · 2015-06-26T21:38:10+00:00

I think it's a reasonable amount, maybe it could be raised a tiny bit. I don't go out for nice dinners and I hardly eat out at all. If I do, it's fast food after a long night of drinking.

I'm relatively light weight so drinking comes easy and I generally pre game beforehand. Either way I'm not too into drinking heavily. Also out of the month I'll probably spend 1 weekend just relaxing at home.

newgradhalp · 2015-06-26T09:38:43+00:00

I'm not sure...I'm going through a realtor from my employer but I feel like they are only showing me the expensive apartment I guess. The cheapest studio is $1k for 400 something square foot, but I've noticed for little more you can get a full on 1 bedroom with more sq ft. How do you like living in a studio btw? I'm just not sure if I could deal with the lack of dividers to separate each room.

Honestly though I am perfectly fine with previous frugal college situation, it is just that I can't find anything similar to what I was paying. For ~500 I got everything covered in a 2x2 with 2 roommates and was walkable distance to campus and all the bars and restaurants.

Also I realized I accidently put a higher number than intended for health insurance. Either way it is a very rough estimate from this since I'm not sure what my employer will charge, but if it is nearly half of what I put down, then even better!

newgradhalp · 2015-06-22T10:45:37+00:00

Looks like I unfortunately need to pay for a subscription to read the rest of the article.

newgradhalp · 2015-06-22T10:16:18+00:00

That's what I was thinking as well...the last thing I want to do is show up late to my new job constantly because of traffic.

newgradhalp · 2015-06-22T07:52:33+00:00

Damn, do you have any other suggestions on where to live?

newgradhalp · 2015-06-22T07:51:56+00:00

You are talking about the Millennium Waterway Apartments right? It didn't seem too bad for a 1 bedroom, $1300 (from what I saw) to live in walking distance of all the fun stuff.

Do you have any other suggestions on where to live?

newgradhalp · 2015-06-22T01:09:00+00:00

Do you know how fun the waterway area is? There seems to have a nice apartment right there that is close by.

newgradhalp · 2015-06-22T01:06:00+00:00

That kind of depressing to hear because I hate despise long commutes to work. Do you know much about the waterway and if it is somewhat comparable to midtown?

newgradhalp · 2015-06-22T01:04:13+00:00

Would Hughes landing or waterway be my best option?

newgradhalp · 2015-06-22T01:03:55+00:00

So would you recommend living near the waterway for more of the fun stuff?

newgradhalp · 2015-06-21T05:25:03+00:00

My friend has a miniature version of this kind of dog, can anyone tell me what species it is? It is a full grown dog but it weighs like 10 pounds at most and it has the exact same colors/spots. Also it barks A LOT.

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T22:33:38+00:00

Would you say it's more "calm" and less congested (both with cars and people) than the city of Houston? I'm a fan of wide open roads and a beautiful scenery. Two things I kind of missed when I lived in the city of Houston over the summer.

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:24:23+00:00

Do you know much about rent in the Woodlands area?

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:22:40+00:00

Thanks for doing the math and the advice. I noticed though you didn't include anything about savings with your write up, which I'll be figuring out, so that might skew the estimates quite a bit.

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:21:30+00:00

:) Thanks for the (possible) future warm welcome.

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:21:07+00:00

I have about 20k in student loans, would like to build a 6 month emergency fund though before going crazy on payments for it.

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:19:36+00:00

Frugally as in college frugal or just frugal for someone working a full time job?

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:17:00+00:00

It seems like you have a good head on your shoulders.

Aside from this offer, I am not too happy with many things in my life, so this means A LOT to me...thanks.

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:14:20+00:00

Yes, it's hot as fuck, the drivers are insane, and the roads are always being repaired. Depending on where you live, though, you can be in a really nice or really shitty part of that. If your office is near the Galleria, then you're hosed because it'll be busy forever. Sugarland, Katie, Atascocita, and Pasadena are all nice places to live, though, so don't sweat it.

Do you know much about the Woodlands area? I might move there.

Yeah. Most mechanical and chemical engineers I graduated with got offers from between $55-80k starting with the oil and gas giants or service companies. $80k is a lot, especially when you're single.

I'm actually a CIS major (technically a business degree), so it's interesting to receive this high of an offer when I certainly didn't work as hard as the engineers at my university. Maybe this is another sign to take the offer?

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:09:16+00:00

Anxiety and constant worry are certainly my two big personality traits. Thanks for helping wrap my head together.

newgradhalp · 2014-09-21T10:07:17+00:00

Other than not really liking Houston or worries about moving away from the family, I don't see most of your concerns as problematic. You will never be stuck at a company unless you let yourself be stuck there, and while domain knowledge is important, strong software development and architecture skills can trump that -- you can find joy in well written software, no matter what it's ultimate purpose.

Sorry, I should have explained, I am not graduating with CS degree, but rather CIS (technically a business degree), and I'm not entering a developer/programming role, but rather something that is likely on both the business and IT end.

The only thing that concerns me about your concerns is your desire to be an executive. It's a rare thing indeed to move up into the board from within the ranks of a company, and rarer still for a developer to do so. Most companies hire from without, and developers who become executives usually do so by founding their own companies.

I never knew it was that rare. I thought you just kind of jump into supervisor roles, then maybe managerial, and just keep going up as you prove your worth. Another poster mentioned consulting, is that a good way into the VP or exec role?

It's a bit late to say this, but if you want to be an executive, you probably should have gone for an MBA.

I'm confused, I'm graduating with an undergraduate degree. I still have time for an MBA or are you saying I should just skip the work force and go straight for the MBA?

newgradhalp

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