Guest Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 I always feel weird making long post titles. Super rant, btw. Everyone knows I'm broke as fuck. I'm a student, bumbling around. I'm now asking for legit money advice with actual prices for things because I don't know who else to ask. We talk about weirder shit on this forum, we can talk about this. I recently made the discovery that know that I'm not completely bogged down with factors I couldn't control, I'm now considered independent on the FAFSA, I improved my folio to the point I just need to pick an internship, and yet.. I'm just relying on comms right now. And now that I have the promise of future income that isn't just to survive, what the fuck do I do with my money, now? The adults in my life just aren't to be trusted, and I don't have the fiscal maturity to really think through what would make the most sense. My goal right now is to relocate from a major city in OH to a major city in Colorado. I graduate Spring 2017 and I've already accepted the next decade will be paying student loans, so I'm projecting any income I make by half so that the other half goes to aggressive student loan repayment. Alright cool, plans with money I don't have. But what about plans with money I do have? I'll be finishing a couple comms soon, say 130 bucks. What the do I do with that? I have $993.15 @ 22% in debt in one card and $625.41 @ 30% in debt. I haven't paid their minimums this month, $50 total. I want to get at least one christmas present for my boyfriend. ($20, max I guess) I want to buy a tabletop scanner ($80, high res, so that schoolwork is streamlined, commissions can be done much quicker (This makes more money for me). I need to get winter clothes! I don't have a dresser, and we don't even have a couch. I'm trying to SELL my drafting table + chair, (~300 on a $900 drafting table).. I've sold everything I own of value otherwise. I've been to four interviews that won't let me know if I got it until January I get a $400 court ordered stipend, and that immediately goes to bills, food, and transportation. I either break even or am in debt every month. I can't plan or save with money I don't have, and there is always something I gotta blow my money on right that second as soon as I get it. If I get paid tonight, it goes to a new tablet tomorrow. Mine broke, yeah. Another 200 bucks. Thankfully, my dad scrounged up christmas money early. Bo, my cat, needs flea medication (~50 bucks), a new bottle of Lysine for his cat-herpes (~30 dollars), fountain filters (~10), we need groceries (~100 on cheapest food for a couple weeks that'll feed well, ~30 for just rice and meat for a couple weeks) I have a total of $1618.56 in debt, at minimum $370 in expenses I need to make for responsibilities sake, $240 in my account right now to buy a new tablet ($199.95 not including tax), and $130 in commission money coming my way after I do them. What do I do? What should I do? What money should go where? At this point I legit wish I'd stumble across 2 grand just reset myself to zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brass Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 lol ask @Rassah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 5 minutes ago, Brass said: lol ask @Rassah Figured I walked into that one. Seriously though, what do you think? Everyone here comes from hugely different backgrounds. What would you do with my current stats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrecker Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Hahaha, I just figured out that Rassah joke. That's not the same person that made that financial advice thread on the old forum, is it? Nevermind, anyways. Unless you have guaranteed income, like where you absolutely know for a fact that you are collecting a wage, don't spend fuck all if you don't need to. It sounds obvious, but it is easy to think that you're in a great position only to get shot down. Trust me on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clove Darkwave Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Paying off your credit card debts would the be wisest thing to do with any leftover income you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rassah Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) Since you need to spend your money within a short period of time (less than two years), just keep it in a savings account. Shop online for one with a high interest rate (you probably won't get much better than 1%) and after setting it up, transfer any extra from your bank there. It not being a physical bank, only accessible online with a 2 day transfer time, will help not spending the money right away. Regarding debts, alway pay as much as you can over the minimums on just the one with the highest interest, and only the minimums on the rest. Once you pay down the highest interest one, put everything you were paying towards it on the next highest interest one. In short, put as much money as you can towards whatever has the highest interest. This is regardless of whether it's debt or investment. So if you end up with just 3% debt and extra cash every pay period, at that point it's best to put most of your money into 12% mutual funds and pay minimum on that debt. Debt is other people's money, not yours. If you have higher personal priorities, the debtors can wait (unless they jack up your interest rate, but then there's always bankruptcy, which despite negative connotations is an OK to use tool sometimes). Regarding buying stuff all the time, shop for as much as you can on Amazon. If you can get your pet's megs and some groceries there (Amazon Pantry), consider that too. But instead of buying directly, open an account at Circle or Coinbase, link it to your bank account, and use Bitcoin and Purse.io to buy from Amazon through an intermediary. Add items to your Amazon wish list, add the list to Purse.io, only buy enough bitcoins to cover that expense, then when the items arrive, release the bitcoins in escrow and sell whatever remains back into your bank (or keep them as investment). It's a bit of extra work, but it will save you 10% to 15% on everything you buy, which can add up to a lot over time (that tablet will leave you with an extra $30 to spend on what you need using this method). If you need extra money to pay down things, and have a car, check my Uber/Lyft thread. Nice thing about those is you don't need to commit yourself to anything. You can drive for a day just to help with one debt and never drive again. If you ever do figure out how to make extra money, and want to start investing or figuring out how to build up wealth, you know how to find me. Edited December 12, 2015 by Rassah 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conker Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Donating plasma is an option, maybe. Dunno how it works in your area. But you can make a few hundred a month off that where I live, and a lot of college students do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Doggo Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) I wish I could tell you :[ my financial plans to date have consisted of: A) Acquire money B) Spend as little as humanly possible, scrape by with my needs, skip many meals C) Put the rest in an ever-growing pile Edited December 12, 2015 by Sir Gibby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidewalk Surfboard Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Simple, you give it to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratmomma Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I've waited so long for this moment to use this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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