The Mess that’s Left

I’m a college grad, got a promotion at work, 7 years in my company and I’m fully vested in my 401k. Too bad I didn’t care about 401k and gave less than my company match. That vesting would have meant so much more if I had! Complacency sets in, I keep my head down work hard and stay with the company. I thought I could live beyond my means since I was a college grad and had a steady career. I maxed out another credit card, opened another to transfer the balance to a lower intro rate and ended up with 2 maxed out. Third dumb credit mistake was an store credit card to “earn 5% back and enjoy special deals”! By 30, I realized I was stuck in a dead end job, with no savings. There’s no upward mobility. I haven’t learned how to save money. Something had to change. My surrounding seemed like a good place to start. I decided to go to the place I thrived and took a job at a State Funded Public University and my alma Mater. The state “has a pension”, “great benefits”, and “you can retire happy”. The State job was a slow death by monotony and mindlessness. It did however have 2?glimmers of hope, the TAP or tuition assistance program and a blessing in disguise. First TAP meant University employees could attend any state university for $0 in tuition up to an annual max of around $5000/yr at the time. Here is where my inner FI comes out, I researched the cost per hour and how many hours a Masters program would be. I found a 100% online program for an MBA, where I could take 2-3 classes at a time over 18 months and graduate with only the costs of books (About $1000). I NAILED MY FI MBA!! Next was the pay cut. It forced me to trim all the bloat and make a budget. I’m still pay check to pay check but I’m dedicated to saving money anywhere I can. Can I get an Aldi amen? The silver lining came when 3 weeks before I graduated with my MBA I took a job (back in banking for around 13 years total now) making double what the state paid. Now the commute is an hour, the working hours are long and well over 40 hrs a week, and my family is often waiting on me to unplug. It took ALL THAT MESS, for me to find FI. My hour commute has taught me so much. I reached a $0 net worth within a few months of starting the higher paying job. I’ve stacked about $20,000 in cash and investments. I’ve got a full company match on my 401k but it’s definitely not maxed out. I’m still paying on 2 of those cards. Thank the Good Lord he gave me enough sense not to try the “open a new card trick” more than once. So that’s where I am today. Just starting out where many are already FI. That’s ok, I’ll bring you along from here on. We can look at the numbers, the life choices, and everything in between.