How many people do you honestly believe are in a position or ever will be, to save enough money out of their paychecks, within any reasonable time frame, to go buy a new vehicle with cash or to go buy a $200,000 home ?
After covering their expenses, like gas, insurance, grocerys, utilitys etc. etc. there is usually No money left out of a months worth of paychecks. Look at the cost of things now days ! The only way MOST people will ever own a home or even a new vehicle is to finance it.
Don't get me wrong. I am not a fan of having to finance my way through life either, unfortunatly it is how "Real World" works for the average person

 

I don't believe he has any kids. His original posts says he dreams someday of having them.
If the OP has Any smarts he will ditch the kids idea. Been there, done that 30+ yrs ago and in "my opinion" it's not the big thrill everybody makes it out to be.

 

haha thanks for spinning around my post patman.

Thanks everyone for the input and advice. I think I'm going to travel a little more and see what else is out there. I think I have been thinking like this because I have been semi sheltered my whole life. Could just be a phase who knows...

D

 

It's a phase, I have worked for the family business since I was 13 but when I turned 21 I wanted out badly and I let my dad talk me out of leaving 6 different times and I am glad he did and that I listened to him. Get out on your own, rent a cheap appartment, live life the way you want, travel when you get the chance or move around the country to experience the different cultures we have in our country. I have had the oppurtunity to travel for work and pleasure to different parts of the country and while the U.P. of Michigan will always be home I found that I like Texas and the south west out of all the places I have been so far.

 

Sounds like to me that you have vacation sickness!

When I was 25 I was in a rutt, dead end job and no degree. I decided to move to GA with some friends and get away from the people I grew up with. Not that anyone was bad "except the EX", it was just comfortable, hince the rutt.
When I got here, I played a lot of golf and traveled around the SE for about a year with the money that I had saved for the move.
I started in construction doing trim work. Not what I was looking for exactly but I didn't want to sit in a office. After a few years of earning my PHD " post hole digger" degree and meeting my now wife, I started moving into management. At 36 I am a Superintendent for a commercial GC and wake in the mornings happy to be doing something that I love. My thought is that if you are doing a job or in a carrer that you love its not like work.

So, my thoughts are if you can, travel and have fun through your mid 20's and then start to look for the house, wife, and kids thing.

Good luck.

 

Thanks Buck!
They came in my area today to see if the outlets could handle a coffee pot and microwave.

I'm being replaced by a Mister Coffee and a Samsung !
(They are projecting productivity to go up 17%)

 

Take pride in that Rauol, It takes 2 machines to replace you! You're awsome dude!

 

Even with your retirement your humor and wit you place here will always make me smile and that can never be replaced................

PS time to relax........

 

financing a home is one thing. A home is an investment, a vehicle isn't.

I don't finance anything. Yes I am a home owner.

 

Good for you !! Not everybody is as fortunate as you, or has the income you may make, or was born with a silver spoon ! Whichever your situation is, your clearly not the average person.
I never said that a vehicle was an investment !
You don't finance anything, And you Own a home. Golly Gee Wiz batman can I grow up to be like you ?
Oh Wait. I already own a home !

 

Hope when you get done "finding yourself" you can still get a job.

Things can change drastically in 12 months, and the people you know might not have a job for you when you get back.
Welcome to the masses of under grads, and graduate degrees fighting over a a job at Home Depot.

You make it sound like you cannot enjoy this type of life, not too sure why this is.
The concept of working for the weekend is for those that hate what they do. If you thought about your education in terms of vocation, then you can have a job you enjoy going to every day.

If you do well enough early on, you can kick it all to the curb at 50, and live the remainder of your days on a beach somewhere.

The paraphrase of the saying " Make money doing what you love, and you will never work a day in your life"

I am in sales, and while I may have the pucker factor at the end of the quarter some times, I love doing it. I refer to it as Romper Room with a bar.
I need the weekend to recoup from a packed week of having fun doing what I do.

Sounds like you have opportunities in front of you that 96% of the population only dreams of having, and you are going to toss it in the trash can to "find yourself".

I can only hope it works out for you in the long run.

The home, not many, but the down payment everyone that should think of buying a home. If you are renting now, and want to purchase a home, you had better be able to save for a considerable down payment. If not, this is part of the reason we are where we are at, the "I Want" syndrome.

The car, everyone if they think ahead.
This is where the issue is at, the "I want" factor.
The past 15 years I have noticed the number of new cars on the road. When I was a kid, you never saw this, but with financing options, everyone can have a new car now, without saving.
Once you have that large of a note on a new car, the +/- 50% of the population no longer has the option of saving for the next car. Then come time the note is done, I Want comes around again ( or sooner ) and the cycle continues. These are the type that are just borrowing the car from the manufacture, the continual car payment type.

Those that purchase a home intelligently, aside from down payment, will do things like pay 1 additional payment per year, spread over 12 months. This turns a 30 note, into a 17 year note. If you do it as 2 payments in JAN of the year, it is ~ 16.5 year note. Not that hard to be in a home that you own free and clear, if you use your head. Same concept applies to 20 & 15 year home notes.
The thing is using your head, not trading up when you get a promotion and a 10% raise, and the likes. It is all about being smart, which is lost on many.

Once you have your 1st home paid off in 17 years, this makes getting into the next one ( if you decide to do that ) easier and having a 15 year note on it, that is paid off in 10 years or less.

 

I'll agree that raising kids is a lot of work and takes a huge amount of time, especially if you take the time to share activities and other stuff with them (which, I feel, you really should, if you decided to have them in the first place). I can say fairly honestly, that I would have gone farther in my career if I'd never had kids, because of the extra time I could have devoted to my career. My wife had to convince me to have kids, especially to go for a 2nd one. (I have 28 years into my career where I work, out of a planned 30, and both my kids are now successfully into their college lives and doing great.)

One day maybe 5 years ago, it occurred to me that for the vast majority of us who can't leave huge fortunes to a foundation or donate money that will get a building or such named after us (and even for those who do), the only thing that provides really long-term evidence that we were here on this Earth, are the people and the DNA we leave behind when we pass on. That DNA is in your kids, and those kids are the people on the planet whom we get the biggest chance to have an influence on, for better or worse.

So thinking that way, I'm glad my wife convinced me about 22 years ago that we should have kids. But, I understand that not everyone might feel that way and that's OK too.

 

interesting conversation don't see how I missed this.

Here is my advice. Stay out of debt. Debt ties you down and gets you stuck. Save up and buy things don't buy things in payments.
Owning a home is not all its cracked up to be it also ties you down
if you rent and want to change jobs you can move a lot easier.
when the dishwasher breaks or the water heater breaks you don't have to pay for it or even work on it. After taxes, insurance, maintenance and all those home costs renting is much cheaper and would work a lot better for some people who own homes.
Dont get me wrong it can be a great thing to own a home but don't do it for the wrong reasons.
basically just stay out of debt is the best advice if you really want to stay happy. I know this I got out of high school got a crappy paying job and got a motorcycle loan and a vehicle loan. Had so many payments I could barely afford to eat with my crappy income. Being free financially will give you peace and the feeling of security. Thats my piece.

 

I'm not any kind of hippie or anything. But I've lived by a simple rule of inspiration. Whatever I have been inspired to do, I've done it, and I have succeeded. I have a good job, kick @$$ family, and do well with what I've got and I am happy. It's not always how much money you make or how much luxury you can afford. But how you live your life and experience it. The "American Dream" is what you make of it. Not some pre determined plan or stereo type. Your young, experience life on your terms. By working at such a place as Morgan Stanley you've shown that your plenty responsible. I wouldn't see problem with someone as smart, educated, responsible as you are taking a year off just to "live" and see what's out there. You may become a better person for it and learn something that a book can't teach you. I wish you the best in what ever you do.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. I've talked with other people about this and for now, I'm going to continue working at MS and live the summer at the beach and see where it goes from there. I'm going to give it about a years time and save some money and see if moving is still what I want to do.

Bikertrash- I feel like we would get along pretty well.

D