White, you and I would get along. Im still in school and my roommates b*tch about how tight I am because I hang up paper towels to dry so I can use them again

 

Well, let's see- how should I answer this...

I got out of the Army as a Sergeant. Today, I make more money than a 2 Star General (Base salary).

However, with living expenses, (car note, 2 mortgages, upkeep on a rental property, upkeep on personal properties, the cost of raising a family, utilities, groceries, student loans, a partridge in a pear tree...) I had more free flowing cash at my disposal when I was a Sergeant in the Army, than I do today making many times my E-5 salary. Cost of living, and the cost of spending.

I was young and foolish with my money back when it was flowing like a river. Now, the river has been reduced to a stream and I'm now old enough, and wise enough to realize how foolish I was when I was younger- falling into the same trap my dumb friends had fallen into, and ones I was so sure I could avoid. Unnecessary bills, and credit cards...

I can't give a lot of financial advice, but I can tell you this- if you MUST have a credit card, only get one (Preferably a Visa), and stay away from Store Credit cards (Dillards, Macy's, Penneys', Best Buy, Circuit City, etc..). Those jokers will give you 21% interest with a straight face. When you want that 60" Plasma, you don't think straight. But,when you're still paying for it 2 years later, and have spent enough to buy two in cash, it'll be come clear why you don't get store credit cards.

I had cards from everybody, and had balances on most of them- but I'm paying those SOB's off one at a time, and snowballing them. God willing, and job lasting- one of these days, I'll be like some of you are- who can alk up and pay cash for my new ride. I'm not there yet, but I'm working on it.

Looking forward to the day that the only bill I have is a mortgage.
I'm listening to Dave Ramsey a lot now too. Like he said, your number one wealth building asset is your job. But, you can't build wealth when you're paying everybody else.

I'm trying to get to the point where I can pay me. I've got about 28 years left in the work force before I reach max retirement age. Today, I've got about $60K in my 401K (That I only started 4 - 5 years ago @ 5%). I've reviewed my income statements from the Social Security Administration- and already have 80 of 40 required quarters paid into the system. If I live long enough to retire, and if Social Security still exists then, I have a chance of not having to be the old fossil working at Wal-Mart as a door greeter in order to make ends meet.

My houses will be paid for, we can sell one of them (or both of them) and that should return quite a nest egg. With both our Social security's, and both 401K's, along with what I hope will be $100,000 - $200,000 equity in our home(s). I shouldn't have to work until I drop dead.

That's today's plan.

If this MBA results in a high 6-figure job (not guaranteed, but hopeful), then obviously the plan will change. I'm near 6-figures now by myself, but I want to be way up in there- like $150K and up.

 

Hersh, you and I are both hoping the MBA pays off for us...I finish in May. I'm only 24 though and never had enough cash to start any type of retirement arrangment, but it will be at the top of my list once I graduate. I'll be about $17,000 behind in student loans which I'm not complaining about. It's much less than many of my classmates.

Being that you have been in the workforce for a while, what areas do you see as being hot for MBA business guys of my age? I'm in Mississippi now which is not the best place to find work. I'm not a banking/finance/insurance guy, I'm more operations and heavy industry -minded. I've got my eyes set on executive managment when I turn 50...who knows it may come before then

 

hmm.. well I can't necessarily agree with you on that.. credit cards can definately be a great asset to anyone's wallet when used properly.. I agree that most department store credit cards and what not are a waste, but if you pick up a solid credit card that has decent cash back incentive from your financial institutuion, you'd be surprised as to how beneficial they can be.. but that's it.. you only need 1..

why not use a credit card to help boost your credit? credit is extremely important for almost everyone, unless of course you plan on paying in cash for every major purchase you make, but in all honesty most people don't or can't.. a good credit rating can mean the difference of an 8% mortgage rate or a 5% mortgage rate which can easily translate into thousands of dollars saved..

now don't get me wrong, I never said use the credit card itself as a "loan" but most credit cards have 25-day grace periods and dont automatically tack on a 20% apr charge on your purchase unless you decide to defer payments.. personally, I only have 1 card with a $1500 limit.. it has a 9.13% default rate, with 5% on gas, hotel, flight purchases, and 3% standard cash back from my bank.. considering I only use it for gas, and have automatic direct-debit payments set up on it.. I have nothing to lose, but soo much to gain..

I've had this card since I was 18, and my credit score is already north of 770.. getting 2.9% financing on my truck from my back doesn't hurt either..

congratz on the upcoming MBA.. its always good to set our goals high.. anything north of $100k is gravy for me.. but $150k would definately be icing on the cake.. good luck

 

I have one credit card, I run a lot thru it each month but, it has always been PIF ever since they removed credit interest from the Schedule A.
That must have been 20-25 years ago?

 

Well, honestly, you could always look into retail.. with an MBA you could more than likely land a store director job at just about any major grocery store like Wal-Mart, HEB, Costco and etc.. department stores don't fair quite as well.. Anywho, the store director (2nd in command) for the HEB I work at graduated with his bachelors in business and was able to land his job.. He got paid upwards from 75k/yr and the benefits rock for full-timers, max 20% 401k contribution up to 5% at 100% match.. 2 years later and he already moved up to unit director (1st in command, own store) and is banking close to 105k.. he's 26 now

personally, I don't think I'd be able to last in retail, but you'd be suprised how awesome the benefits are for some stores.. retiring at 50 definately sounds like an awesome goal, just be aware of certain investment restrictions on 401k, ira and etc.. I'll prolly retire from the major workforce at 50 as well, and return to an educational setting as a teacher to end my career at around 60

anywho.. just food for thought..

 

I'm at school full time, but work weekends as a manager at Panera Bread for $11 an hour. And here's the truck:

 

I worked retail for 1 year in a DoItBest Center ...we had about 37,000 SKU's and a bunch of weirdo's running the place...big time mom-and-pop store. Even though I was only a sales rep and I learned a lot while working there, retail is definetely not for me

 

I work for myself, the harder i work the more i make so i try to work less and make alot.

 

no job right now, i was making 7.50 an hour lifeguarding then 9 an hour for post season lifeguarding

 

Agreed,

I think retail is the best way to go, and if you have low overhead, and a flexible spouse (no pun intended) you could do well fast.

Retail is tough, and you have to be willing to work most any day, and every weekend. But, retail has HIGH attrition, so you can move up just by having personal endurance. Mix in a little work ethic, and boom.

My best friend was a District MGR when I met him. He's now a Sr. VP (He made regional VP within one year of my meeting him, with a total of three years on the job at Wal-mart). Since then, he's worked for two other major retailers, and we stopped talking about salaries after he broke $300K/year. I'd be happy as hell with half that salary. The downside to that is, he travels a lot, and he's moved and been back to Dallas 3 times in the last 10 years- which is what I mean about flexible.

But, how many 38 year olds do you know making $300K? I only know one. Sacrifice? Yes. Job hopping? yes. But witness the result. Million dollar home, 300K in automobiles, wife doesn't have to work... I want to do that for my family... Sure, he only has two weeks of vacation, and I have five. But, he's making more than triple my salary. I'd give back three weeks of my vacation if they'd triple my salary.

Retail...

Who knew? 10 years ago, I thought when my wife said her friend's husband worked for Wal-Mart, they barely had two nickels to rub together... Wrong...

My other friend is a GM at Wal-Mart. He's banking too. He doesn't want to get promoted, because it'll mean moving. So, he stays put. But, pulling the cheese in he pulls, not to mention bonuses easily double his annual base salary, and it's easy to see why he's in no hurry to leave. Another friend is a GM at Best Buy- over 6 figures too, barely over 30 years old.

Although down the road looks good, for me, I can't move to retail from where I am because of the initial pay cut ($35,000 - $45,000 to start as a floor manager). And, you can forget about hiring in at a 6-figure salary. But, if I were to get laid off (and God I hope I don't) with my severance package, maybe I could afford the pay cut, get in there, kick names and take *** in a big way- and get promoted swiftly.

 

Well DAMN, I just decided not to buy those 24's. Thanks Guys

 

Don't feel bad about not getting the 24's...I have factory 17's and get all the a$$ I want. Sock that money away until you really need it

 

Texas girls are a whole other game. Your talkin big leagues. haha.

 

hahahahahahaahah, Now thats classic