Now, some of you maybe be saying, “Meh, thirty six grand, that’s not so great.” To you, I say: I’m a college drop-out who knows more than his former professors, and I plan to make it on my own. And someone has recognized my abilities. This job “requires” a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, ya know.
There’s also the fact that, to me, $36,000 is a totally incomprehensible amount of money. The fact that I live with my mom and she buys me food probably has something to do with this.
So, I’m not actually leaving you all. But I will have less time to be here. I’m a company man now.
A man for a very famous company, actually. One of the top ten dotcoms in the Universe. But I won’t tell you which one, since it ain’t Official yet.
Now I’m going down to the local Bar and Grill (after I take a shower) for a celebratory hamburger.
You will be making more than I would have as a teacher with a Master’s Degree and 7 years of experience. (Of course, as soon as I got the degree I made the big career move.)
Congratulations to you.
Of course, you’ll be back. I give it 3 weeks into the new job. First it’ll just be lurking, then a post or two in the morning when the boards are fast. Soon it’ll be an added post during lunch. Before long, deadlines will be pushed back and you’ll be sure not to schedule two meetings on the same day.
Congrats on your good fortune. Please keep in mind that 36K
or 3K a month will get spent faster than you could imagine in your wildest dreams as new levels of income offer new levels of purchasing options. If you are salaried I assume taxes will be withheld as required. If you are an independent contractor, however, and are paid with no withholding you need to be aware of the coming tax bite. If the latter is the case see an accountant sooner rather than later for prudent set aside amounts.
You may also want to consider incorporation if your income gets to 45K+ or so. After paying $ 25,000. in additional tax one year the point was hammered home to me by a large outgoing tax check and a pissed off accountant that incorporation is a “good thing”.
Save/Invest as much as you can now, pretax if you can (401K).
If you and your mom are comfortable you with you staying at home for a while (and paying room and board) do it and save/invest more, compound interest is a wonderful thing!
Hi Opal!!
When vacation time rolls around, travel. See/do stuff that you’ve always wanted to(but couldn’t afford).
do not buy a new car! (buy a classic instead)
live within your means.
I’m now almost 43 and have nothing saved and nothing to show for it.
This could not be any more true. I took my first “real” job about 3 and a half years ago. Taking that job increased my pay by about 50%, and since then I have increased my pay by about 200%.
I still never seem to have any money. Sure, I have some nicer shit nowadays, but you always seem to be able to spend what you make.
Anyway, enough of a hijack – congrats, friedo. (and take that congrats from another college dropout who has managed to do pretty well for himself :))
To expand some, the following is extremely gratuitous advice that you can feel free to ignore…
Amen - and save post-tax as well as pre-tax money. Put the money in savings as soon as you get your check - you’re much less likely to spend it that way. Even $50 or $100 a paycheck will add up. The 401k will be deducted from your paycheck and you won’t even notice it’s missing
The first two cars I bought were used, the last two were new. Note that I buy cars and drive them until they are wrecked or repair bills start approaching a car payment. And I always saved money that I wasn’t putting into payments, so the next car has always been nearly paid for.
Make a budget - you’ll be surprised how fast that money is swallowed up into necessities.
I also under-buy - the world is out to get your money and most monetary advice is somewhat tainted by this. When I was married, we lived in houses way cheaper than the formulas indicated - as a result, we had our second house (in a nice neighborhood) paid off in three years - so almost all of our combined income was completely discretionary.
Note - I’m not a money-grubber, I just resent when advice is given that is supposedly the best for me, when it is usually what is best for the company giving the advice. But I am cheap.
My mom is allowing me to live rent-free for at least a year, but I’ll probably start finding my own apartment in the city this summer. I plan to use public transportation, so I won’t need a car (and I don’t have a driver’s license either. The fact that I really enjoy the subways will allow me to further procrastinate in this regard.)
And I’m planning to invest as much as possible; I already have a brokerage account and my company offers a good 401(k). Right now I have almost zero expenses, except for that dual-G4 on the horizon.
