How comfortably can I live off of $32,000/year???

you should be just fine on 32k. You should even be able to sock some away or pay extra on those student loans. You have to decide if you should save in like a 401k or pay off the loans early which depends on the interest rate.

If the gal is presuuring you to marry her, that is a bad sign IMO.

In a rural area, by yourself. Being a teacher, you likely get 3% cost of living increase every year and job security. I'd take that.

What was your degree? Was it education?

As long as you're not supporting your girlfriend as well, I think that is perfectly decent.

I mean, rent is $300, let's say utilities and cable/internet is another $200 (let's say you get the good set up), food is $200, other little things you go out and do is $200. That's $900...hell, lets just say that its $1,000 to make it even.

That's $12,000 dollars that you spend a year, with $20,000 extra (although I wouldn't know what it would be after taxes).

That's plenty to pay off student loans, car, and medical bills in the next few years.

You'll be fine. Perhaps forgo the "new" car for the loans. Get a beater and pay down the loan faster.

I have an English degree, and 2 yrs additional coursework for a Secondary Ed. degree. Thanks for the input so far, it is helpful!

jorvack wrote:

You'll be fine. Perhaps forgo the "new" car for the loans. Get a beater and pay down the loan faster.

Yeah, I was thinking I'd buy used. I guess by new, I just meant new to me, because my current car is on the fritz. I just want something I don't have to pay more for repairs than the car itself is worth. Also, most of my loans are from my parents, so there is no interest. I still want to get them paid off quickly though.

Don't buy a new car - join the credit union at work and borrow the money to buy a used car.

uh huh wrote:If the gal is presuuring you to marry her, that is a bad sign IMO.

Ha, yeah I know what you mean. She is hot, nice, and will be finished with her masters in a few months and will likely be making 15-20k more a year than me judging be the job offers she is already getting.

You should marry her and have $80,000 a year between you.

I was in a similar situation as you and things were fine. I made about $32k for a few years. I was single and living alone (on a side note: if she's pressuring you to get married, be careful!) and I had a school loan payment and new car loan payment. I'm also pretty frugal with my money - I had no internet and no cable TV. I didn't eat out too much...when I did, it was pretty basic eating. I socked away some $$ each month into my retirement plan as well. Good luck!

You may want to consider a new car.

You may find a great deal that may not be much more than a used car. Plus you will get a better rate for a longer term leading to a reasonable monthly payment.

Long term reliability with warranty.

You'll still have similar car payments with a car that is a few years old and will be looking to replace that car sooner.

With a beater it would need more service and you would have to replace it fairly soon.

New car dealerships are pretty desperate right now so at least look into it.

looking pretty good wrote:

As long as you're not supporting your girlfriend as well, I think that is perfectly decent.

I mean, rent is $300, let's say utilities and cable/internet is another $200 (let's say you get the good set up), food is $200, other little things you go out and do is $200. That's $900...hell, lets just say that its $1,000 to make it even.

That's $12,000 dollars that you spend a year, with $20,000 extra (although I wouldn't know what it would be after taxes).

That's plenty to pay off student loans, car, and medical bills in the next few years.

You can eat on $6.66 a day?

What about gas, car payment and car insurance?

Interestingly my first job was $32k also. I put 20% into the 401K and 10% aftertax into the ESPP (for stock that was discounted 15%) and my take home was $1432 a month. I calculated that my budget was just about exactly that. My car was paid off though, and my student loan was paid off as well. I also had $40,000 saved to fall back on, so I was not cutting too close to the bone.

It is hard to make it long-term on less than $1200-1400 a month. Indeed WITH a car payment it is hard to get it down to $1400.

You can do it brother. Stick with teaching and in 35 years when you're ready to retire (and you won't even be 60 yet unless you started college late), you'll have a decent retirement and nothing to worry about.

1) Stay with that low rent for now until you get your other debt gone.

2) Normally I would say if the student loans are at 5% or less, then take the life of the loan to pay it off, but in today's world where things are less secure than they were a couple years ago, I would probably take the life of the loan to pay them off even if the rate is higher; they'll be gone in 10 years. I hate that, but it's prudent right now. Will be nice to not have that to pay each month though, so if you're feeling pretty secure in your teaching job, go ahead and chunk them down.

3) Medical bills -- you didn't say how much they were, but just get them gone within a year if you can.

4) Car -- I disagree that you need a NEW car. Maybe new for you. There are deals out there yes, but consider everything when getting a car -- rate of interest to pay (new is USUALLY better than used there), cost of insurance (used is USUALLY better there), total cost of the car, etc. Hyundai was having a deal where you could return the car if you lost a job within the first year (or something like that). Hyundai makes decent low-priced cars. Hard to go wrong with certain model year Hondas or Toyotas too though.

5) If you and your girlfriend do get married, THAT'S the time before kids come along to wipe out all debt and invest heavily in retirement accounts (403b, Roth IRA, etc.).

You won't be buying a yacht on a beginning teacher's salary, but you can end up making some decent money at the end of your career as a teacher, and then your pension in most cases is based on your salary toward the end of your career.

Do it brother! Teaching is very rewarding. Have fun.

Can he eat on $6.66 a day?

Ah, the devils meal! I remember such fare in my teaching youth.

breakfast: 2 x packets of oatmeal for breakfast, banana, 2 x cups of black coffee (1 cup when you wake at 6 am, log that morning run, then 1 cup to go on the way to school).

11:30 school lunch: 2 x pb&j for lunch, apple ... gather change from car for snickers bar from snack machine liberally. Perhaps raid teachers lounge for soda from fridge.

5:30-6 dinner: spaghetti with sauce or brown rice, vegetables, and a boneless chicken breast (buy in bulk for like $8.99 and put a couple marinating into a ziplock bag).

Voila! Meals for under 7 dollars a day.

I make 28k/year. I have a wife and a kid. We don't live large, but we make it by and save some too. If you budget your money, you will be fine.

Drive-thru manager?

I should mention too that I will be working a summer job this summer to begin paying off my loans and hopefully begin paying for a new car. I suppose I can work summers for some supplemental income, at least until I have things paid off, which I think may be a good idea. Thanks again for all the good input from everyone, it is really helping me begin to put things in perspective.

Here are some ideas to help you with the car. A used car is definitely the way to go. I've owned 40-50 used cars. Here is what you do.

Go to the local NAPA, Auto Zone, and similar places and ask for a recommendation for a good, reasonably-priced mechanic. While you're at it, ask for a recommendation for a local car salesman. Avoid the new car dealerships. As a rule of thumb, their prices are higher because their overhead is higher. You might also find a used car for sale by owner. Figure out a decent price by looking at kbb.com.

When you find a used car you like, take it to the recommended mechanic BEFORE you buy to see if anything is wrong with it and how much it will cost to get it fixed. It will probably cost $50 or so, but it's well worth cost to avoid buying a lemon. If you still want the car, you can use the needed repair costs to negotiate a lower buying price.

In a rural area, the local shade-tree mechanic will charge less than half of what you would pay at a dealership.