Budgeting from the Bottom? How?

[KimblemsParticipant 9]

Hi MGTOW!

I finished highschool 3 years ago when I was 18. I graduated with no driver’s license that now I feel I should’ve gotten. I went into college for a few years but had to get a full time job and it interfered with school. I sadly got my first job last year. It was hard to get it. The store closed, I got another. My household needed on certain nights so I had to quit. I just got a 12 hour with 12 dph job and will start soon. I have self taught knowledge in the computer science field and have joined a online course program called coursera. I love to learn, but hate to learn things I don’t want to know about. I used to pay 100 per month for rent since I live with the family. My question is how should I budget money based on finances? What is smart and budgeted choice in a car? If you have any knowledge to help me with, I desperately would like it! I want pave my own way, but knowledge and health make lively right?

[RoyDalParticipant]

Rule #1, spend less than you make and save what you don’t spend.

There are lots of ways to economize. Seek them out, for example,

• Do not spend a nickel on cable TV. Do without; you’ll live.
• Do not spend money on movie tickets.  They all come to RedBox eventually.
• Stay with home cooking & pack your lunch. Restaurants cost too much.
• Either don’t drink booze, or drink at home. Bars cost too much.
• Dress shirts and ties are far cheaper at thrift stores than even discount clothing stores.
• A used car that runs is all you need. I’d go with a Japanese brand, even though they might cost more.

Some of your savings can go to occasional splurges (you are not made of wood after all), but make them rare treats instead of regular rituals.

Edit:

• Make use of your public library for books and DVDs. Mine is getting new ones faster than I can read or watch them. You will never run out of entertainment.
• I was just recently introduced to that on line college course service you mentioned.  It looks excellent.

Society asks MGTOWs: Why are you not making more tax-slaves?

[BestoftherestParticipant 285]

Hey Kimblems,

I’m lucky to be a veteran and I get a ton of free money, schooling, and medical. If I wasn’t I would need a lot of help to go to school. I’ve helped a ton of my family and non military friends get the ball rolling on their education. Hell I’ve helped alot of military men go, most are scared because they’re not the school type. So far every single one has thanked me in spades.

Mind telling my your local areas financial aid for community colleges (or your nations equivalent) requirements?

For example I live in California(CA). In CA community college;

If you made less than $20k in last years taxes you will be eligible for $1,400 dollars in free community college tuition grants. Grants = Free money, not asked to pay back.

If you made less than $17k, you can get $5700 in US grants 100% guaranteed. Through a program called FAFSA. If you made more you get less but you still get money, if you made $24k for instance you get $1500 or so. So its a sliding scale.

If you’re a full time, 12 units or more, CA student you can get a $3k loan 100% guaranteed, per year With a soft cap of $10k.

I asked the question so you can go and find out, if you already haven’t, how you can get assistance. I made the examples to show you how school aid, in the US, is broken down. Grants, tuition assistance, loans. I didn’t mention scholarships!

Please PLEASE, find a way to do at least one class a semester. With your work hours you need to be doing at least 12 units. That online classes are nice but if you can go to a local school do it!

Those online classes give you real world certificates that will be honored in the field you’re studying? Do not presume having a handful of classes from an online class will translate into getting into a job that requires an associates or bachelors, or even a trade-school licence. You need to verify it will be honored in your area. Its good to use them to keep your mind fresh and in a cycle of learning, but make sure it will 100% no questions asked apply to getting work.

Their is no harm in approaching HR departments you would like to work for 3-5 years down the road and ask them that.

As far as getting a license. Find a friend who can teach you to drive, in an isolated safe area of course. Once you learned take the drivers exam. I recommend getting an MC license too. As far as cars go, get what you know you can afford and if it isn’t new assume you will need to fix it. My sisters are idiots when it comes to cars. They love to byy expensive used cars, like Mercs/BMW/Audi rather than a new used or new cheaper car. They often complain to me and ask me to help them fix their cars because guess what! They can’t afford to pay 1k to do maintenance or spend 1200 bucks to replace all their tires. So buy a easy to fix, cheap to repair, reliable car! It will also be good for you to learn to at the VERY least do an oil change and radiator flush on which ever car you get.

As far as you’re learning you need to change your stance! If itt doesn’t interest you you still need to learn it, do you think I want to learn about Geology,accounting, Adv. Chem, Astronomy, and take 2 years of mathematics,? F~~~ no but I do it because I value the end result more than the short term torture each class puts me through. If you can’t put your flawed learning approach aside I promise you will fail because at some point in your learning path of “Learning only what interest me” you will be presented with some concepts that you’ll find boring and by default you’ll check out.

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
Abraham Lincoln

[Anonymous 42]

Stay away from women! learn about cars on u-tube, how to operate them for economy and extended life, learn proper maintenance weather or not you’ll be servicing it or a mechanic is servicing it. Japanese cars run till 200,000+ miles with low maintenance. Check the car over real good after you watch some more videos that tell you what to look for, I could mention all my knowledge but that will take volumes, just watch as many videos as you can on purchasing and maintaining a vehicle, it WILL save you tens of thousands of dollars over time. Knowledge is the key to purchasing and maintaining a vehicle, the more you know, the less it cost!

[UmbreonParticipant 152]

Get a mechanic before you get a car! When you find a used car, take it for a test drive. Also demand that it be looked at by your mechanic before buying. This should ferret out many of the worst lemons.

Pay with cash in hand. For sale by owner means no financing (which is good, as “financing” triples the price of the car in the end) and cash in hand means you can dodge the financing bullet at a dealership. Paying with straight cash can also get you discounts as people are happy to get it all at once.

You’ll need to have at least $500 plus the cost of the car saved just in case there’s something that needs fixing in the first few months (there usually is). Tires can cost you $100 or more alone and they’re a common fix. More is better than less.

Go to yard sales. Seriously. People sell EVERYTHING at yard sales, including cars, and sometimes you will get lucky. You also can talk to the owner there. Ask questions like “When was the last oil change? When was the last tune-up? DO you know of any repairs that need to be made? Do you have the title on hand? Are there any liens on the car?” If the answer to anything is a blank stare or that they don’t know, the car has been abused. Repairs won’t be cheap. If they answer too fast, won’t let you take the car to your mechanic, or they say nothing’s wrong, be wary.

Do NOT buy a red or black car, especially if it’s newer or sporty. Cops target these and the insurance is murder because of it. My regular car was in the shop so I was driving a red rental car that was a brand new hybrid and I was tailed by cops 3-5 times a day the entire time. When driving my older dented blue car cops tailed me once every 3 months.

Be ready to pay for insurance in 6-month chunks. This gets you a discount and it’s one less thing to think about. Look up the price of insurance long before you get a car. Younger guys with no driving experience get higher rates than the rest. Just select a common car model and color, the act like you own the car. The company won’t check to see if you have the title most of the time and you can get an idea of how much a month you’ll need to set aside.

Be ready to pay for gas, tags, title fees, car taxes, inspections and other “hidden” costs. Owning a car isn’t cheap even when it’s not breaking down. An average tank fillup for a sedan is 30-40 bucks. Inspections are needed and can hit you with repair cost you didn’t think of (ex: head lights? Tail lights?) that need to be done ASAP or you can’t drive. Taxes are unavoidable and yes, it costs money to get the car in your name and add plates.

In a nutshell: cars aren’t cheap, especially if you are broke and tying to save money. You have been warned.

Beauty fades, dumb is forever.

[Math RoninParticipant 86]

Many excellent ideas have been given for you to think about. You seem to have two problems: the first is finding employment, and the second is budgeting. As far as just budgeting, there are also many good books you can check out at your local library on the subject. If I were in your position, this is something I would want to give more thought to than just simply accept advice of people online. As far as employment, this is just an idea (and maybe not  good one; I’m just spitballing here), but have you ever considered joining the armed forces? It would possibly provide you with a stable career and you could perhaps learn a skill also.

[KimblemsParticipant 9]

Thanks guys I am using every pinch of information I got from here. I start my job in a week. I probably didn’t word it right though. I will be looking up books to read for budgeting. The car situation and information given will be very useful. I don’t pay for cable and I don’t plan on it either. The gas was turned off in my household. My aunt had a babysitting job with the government and apparently the mayor of the state refuses to pay her. Cold shower for me! I can’t start local college again without a vehicle. Also there is another online course that gives degress called uopeople They go up to Bachelor’s Degree. And going into something like Computer Science, I’m mainly focusing on Digital Media. And a portfolio with good contnet is what they really look at.

[UmbreonParticipant 152]

Honestly, books are a double-edged sword as they can be out of date. Take any books you read with a grain of salt.

That disclaimer over, I’ll suggest a few I found helpful.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad: Some of the real estate advice is out of date, but the living advice is pretty timeless. Using some of it’s outlook advice really helped me claw my way out from the bottom and has helped me keep clawing still. The title will make sense within the first chapter or two- it’s not what you think. Easy to find at a second hand store as it was very popular before the real estate bust. You can sometimes find it for free!

Poorly Made in China: Even though it focuses on foreign trade, if you want to freelance or get into business for yourself the perspective is still very valuable. Just change “Chinese people” to “People” and you’ll be fine. If you want in Digital media, you’re going to end up freelancing a LOT. Most companies just hire by the job these days and you’ll be super lucky if this isn’t the case, especially when you’re new. Harder to find, but possible.

The Wealthy Barber: I haven’t read this one yet, but many of the guys here swear by it. I wish I could say more. I have never seen a copy of this in person.

Beauty fades, dumb is forever.

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