#JobOffer #RuralArea #SalaryAdvice #FinancialManagement
Congratulations on receiving a job offer of $75K in a rural area! This is an exciting opportunity as you embark on the next stage of your life. Making the transition from college to the workforce can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to managing your finances.
Here are some tips and advice to help you navigate this new chapter and set yourself up for financial success:
## Assess Your Financial Situation
1. Take a closer look at your current financial situation. Calculate your monthly expenses, including rent, utilities, groceries, and any other living expenses.
2. Create a budget to track your income and expenses. This will help you stay organized and avoid overspending.
3. Prioritize paying off your college debt. Consider setting aside a portion of your salary each month to make extra payments and reduce the amount owed.
## Evaluate Cost of Living
1. Research the cost of living in the rural area where your job is located. Compare the average rent prices to ensure you can comfortably afford housing.
2. Consider sharing living expenses with roommates to lower your rent costs. This can help you save money and build a support system in a new environment.
## Plan for the Future
1. Start an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses, such as medical bills or car repairs. Aim to save enough to cover at least three to six months of living expenses.
2. Invest in retirement savings early on to take advantage of compound interest. Consider contributing to a 401(k) or IRA to secure your financial future.
## Avoid Lifestyle Inflation
1. Resist the temptation to increase your spending with a higher salary. Maintain a modest lifestyle and avoid unnecessary purchases to save more money.
2. Stay mindful of your financial goals and priorities. Set long-term objectives, such as buying a home or traveling, and allocate your funds accordingly.
## Seek Professional Advice
1. Consider consulting a financial advisor for personalized guidance on money management. They can help you create a financial plan tailored to your goals and circumstances.
2. Take advantage of resources and tools available online, such as budgeting apps and investment platforms, to streamline your financial management.
In conclusion, securing a job offer with a salary of $75K is a significant achievement, and with careful planning and smart financial decisions, you can pave the way for a stable and prosperous future. Remember to prioritize financial responsibility, set realistic goals, and seek support when needed to avoid falling into monetary issues. Best of luck on your professional journey! 🌟
By following these tips, you can confidently navigate the transition to your new job and rural lifestyle while ensuring financial stability for your future. The key is to be proactive, plan ahead, and make informed decisions to build a solid foundation for your financial well-being.
Can you get a roommate?
That’s a good salary at your age and not exactly crazy rent costs. A roommate would really increase how much you can squirrel away each month.
I’m not the type to give investment advice, I’d just say limit the frivolous spending. A simple spreadsheet outlining monthly income and monthly spends (including gas, groceries, insurance, debt payments, etc.) is a great way to identify how much you can spend on “fun” while still identifying how much you can put away.
1. Make a budget
2. Let others scrutinize your budget to see areas you might be overspending, create a new budget every time you get a raise or move or change living situation
3. Pay down high interest debt, don’t accumulate any new debt
4. Invest as much money as possible for the next 20 years
Some of the best advise, that I didnt follow till later in life is – pay yourself first. Which means set up a 401k or retirement fund immediately. Try and put as much into it as you can. If your employer matches any- exploit that. It is free money. If your employer does contribute, figure out whether the money you get from them + the returns on your 401k is greater than the interest you have to pay on the loans. After about 25 years, I average around 8% returns in a vanguard broad index fund. Slow and steady is the key. As you make more, invest greater percentages of your income. After doing this for about 15 years, I will be able to retire early.
Good salary, low cost of living. You should be fine. Go there and pay off the debt; I would consider that as a young person though there is a quality of life cost to living somewhere very isolated.
I’d say yes, but only on the condition that you take careful watch of your mental health. Use the high pay and low expenses to pay off debt and build some great wealth for the future, for just a few years.
Once you’re 24-27 move somewhere fun and enjoy your 20’s without stress of debt or living paycheck to paycheck. Obviously if you enjoy living there then just stay, but most people I know in this situation end up hating it after a few years and their mental health deteriorates hard.
For reference, my best friend who is 28 from an immigrant family (first one with a college degree etc.) made $125k a year as of last year (for 3 years after his grad school program). He just quit last week with no job prospects because he hates where he lives. Doesn’t like the girls, the city is horrible and boring, all his friends live in another city, etc. Don’t let a good financial situation ruin your mental health – that’s the single most important thing you have.
I’ve worked in an industry where it pays well to work in rural areas, especially as they try and recruit people there. I’ve done this—lived in very remote places from good pay. Personally lit worked out.
Assuming you’re going to rent for a year or two after graduation – find a inexpensive place to live and put away as much money as you can and buy the least amount of car that is feasible for your situation.
At your age, I was really disciplined with most of my expenses, excepts cars – I really liked nice cars. Hindsight being 20/20 – I wish I would have bought something cheap ($20-25k at that time could get you a nice, new Toyota that would run forever vs. buying a new German car that was expensive to maintain and insure plus initially cost 2.5x more).
Contribute as much to your 401(k) as your company will match (assumably you will have this option) – try and put some money in a ROTH IRA – those tax savings will be huge when you retire. Last but not least – invest aggressively. You’re young, you should have a high risk tolerance. I started working right before the 08′ recession – I made SO much money when the market started rebounding the coming years.
In terms of avoiding financial mismanagement, eventually read a book called “I will Teach You to be Rich” by Ramit Sethi. It did so much for me!
Take the job but only for 3-4 years to save money. Leave that place after 4 years with 100k in the bank.
I say do it. Great chance to start saving and putting yourself ahead/you can quickly clear debt while gaining experience.
$75k is more than enough for you to pay off your debt, eat steak every night, and furnish your crib however your want. Enjoy it
The only thing you need is the Wiki linked on this page. Follow what is says and study the flowchart. You’ll set yourself up nicely for life.
I’m taking something similar. My main worry is meeting people or finding a relationship, but honestly the ability to save and pay off makes it worth it to me. Just realize living rural comes with its own challenge if you’re not use to it. Trips to the store can be a legit half day trip. Finding someone is harder. There’s not as much to spend money on (good and bad).
That’s a good position to be in but be aware that you may have limited upward movement or options being in a rural area.
That said you probably have plenty of time before you have to think about that and It’s a fantastic start, congratulations!
My advice would be you’ll probably have plenty of surplus income (or you should being in a LCOL) start putting money into a 401k and/or Roth IRA. Even just starting with $100/mo is way better than nothing. But if you can which you should be able to try to put closer to $5k a year would be an awesome way to start.
Live within your means. But don’t forget to live. You can invest for your future and still enjoy your life.
I live in rural NW Wisconsin and I make a tad more than that and I think it’s nice since you can get a house for a reasonable cost and some land with it too since it’s cheap in rural areas. You’d have the room to build a nice pole shed someday for all your rural area toys like snowmobiles, ATVs/UTVs or maybe a skid steer to use on your land, etc.
I’m an engineer and I live in a rural state and have lived in several rural areas of that state (city population less than 10,000). This is what I did.Â
Don’t give in to lifestyle inflation. The easiest way is forced scarcity. Automate payments (student loans) and savings (retirement and others) so you don’t feel like you have money. Make a budget.Â
Knock out your student loans quick. May suck, but try to pay them off in a year.Â
Contribute to a 401k as soon as possible at least to an employer match.Â
If you’re healthy, get into a high deductible health plan (HDHP). Max out a HSA and invest it.Â
Consider renting vs buy. I bought early, but not sure it makes sense today. I bought a house for $120,000 (2012), it was considered a “fancy” neighborhood for my area.Â
Cooking on your own sucks, but learn how to cook a little, meal plan if you can to reduce the number of meals you’re cooking a week.Â
Find a hobby. One of the downsides of living rural is it’s difficult to meet people.Â
Being an engineer in a LCOL area is great opportunity to become fabulously wealthy. Won’t happen overnight, just stick money in an index fund and wait.Â
Take the job find the 600 apartment you could pay off that debt in s year if you skimp then save for a house to buy. Maybe even after a year or two fond someone to offer you 100k+.
Check the wiki and look at the flowchart.
Take this free course: https://www.mcgillpersonalfinance.com/
Make. Budget and live well below your means and invest in a broad market low fee index fund.
Check out https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-behind-early-retirement/
All good suggestions on this thread but one thing I have not seen mentioned.
As an engineer, typically the industries tend to be in a geographic cluster. See where the type of jobs and the type of companies you want to work for are located. It’s generally better to be in these areas for professional growth and for networking.
It is difficult to get back in these circles if you are out of it for too long. Also, if your company in a small town is the only one that can offer you a job, its really devastating if you lose that job for any reason and want to find another one.
Read the wiki here. Seriously, it’s some of the best advice around.
Beyond the wiki, I would say that the mechanics of good personal finance are pretty straightforward. Spend less than you make. Avoid debt. Save and invest, preferably at least 15-20% of your income.
Investment is simple. Never invest in anything you don’t understand. Related: go read about index funds, so you understand them and what goes into them ASAP.
Good luck!
One thing I didn’t see mentioned yet: if you’re going to a rural area, stay agile. That is, don’t do anything that’ll lock you down to that area for too long or make it difficult to move. Because if something happens to that job, and there’s not a lot of other prospects there, you want to be able to move without too much work.
Don’t co-sign any loans for your family.
All the very best to you. My suggestion would be to not go for credit of any kind and pull debt on yourself, unless you have a line of sight for how to get out of a worst case scenario. Just the way you framed your query leads me to believe that you will do well for yourself. Invest in yourself as much as possible and save as much as possible and invest in a good ETF like the SP 500. Time is on your side and the compounding over decades will build you a good corpus for you to use later. This shouldn’t stop you from taking sensible, calculated risks. Humble and hungry would be the mantra!
Don’t tell your family or that many people how much you make ha
Pay yourself first. Most company’s will allow you to electronically deposit a certain amount into different accounts. Defer a portion of your paycheck to a separate account automatically so you don’t think about it. Next setup your 401k and to automatically increase every year by a percent or two when you get your yearly raise. This is how you build wealth working a normal job.
Stay in that LCOL area. If you are going to live with someone, choose somebody who shares your financial goals.