How am I doing so far? what could be improved?

[DKAS]

I like Steve's advice re: car. I also think your idea of getting a part time MBA is a good one, but I'd think and research about what kind of job you'd expect to get afterwards so you can make sure you really need the MBA.

Also--you mentioned that your parents have no savings because they raised 6 kids. I agree that we should help our parents when they're older if we can. Are your siblings helping out at all? Maybe they could help out in small ways--have one of them put your parents on their cell phone plan. Have another one pay the cable bill. Or ask them all to pitch in $100/month toward groceries etc. Maybe they are already helping, but it seems unfair for you to be the only one helping them when there are five other people who also benefited from your parents' generosity growing up.

It seems like you are doing great considering you have two dependents. Your attitude is great, your savings rate is great under the circumstances. Get rid of the car debt, think long-term about your career, and keep plugging away at the retirement contributions.

Thank you for the postive encouragment. No, I don't get any help from any of my siblings. Infact, couple of them that were still in CA recently moved out of state fully knowing I could use some support specially with my father's illness. I have never asked any of them for anything but the fact that they don't even consider it, does piss me off at times. I understand they have their own families and a couple of them are not doing great financially but it would not take much of an effort to provide some support even if its non-financial. Actually, couple of them have actually asked for support from my parents which I find incredibly ignorant.

[snafu]

While those who know nothing about demands and standards of post graduate distance education may hold a lower opinion, I assure you distance education courses with *accredited* universities have an incredibly high standard. Most charge more per course or per credit hour than brick & mortar schools primarily because the profs are highly ranked in their specialty. The major benefit to the student is the one-on-one on-line time with prof and the support from the cohort.

The most important thing for you to do is decide what you want long term. Where do you see yourself in 5 yrs...10 yrs. What is your career path?

Parents: You may have to take the lead and remind your siblings of their responsibility to their parents according to your cultural norms. They need to remember their parents made sacrifices to see that they got what the needed when they needed it, as best they could provide. Were they sent to community care/foster homes when things got tough? In China we often saw how much effort elderly grandparents put out for grandchildren. WOW!

[PatientSaver]

Why is only one parent collecting SS? I believe someone who didn't work much could still collect SS; if that's your mother's case, she would collect based on her husband's earnings.

[DKAS]

Quick update: My mother got the job as a caretaker and it will bring in $1,000/month to our household income. My small blog should be up soon, I've began studying to advance my income level for my part-time job (should take up rest of the year). Also, researching on sellling and buying a used car. Thank you all for your support.

[DKAS]

PatientSaver,

Regarding SS, my mother has a few years left for retirement age so I have not explored that. However, now that she has earnings, it should help her in the future. I believe you have to have certain number of quarters of earnings to qualify for any Social Security.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Good luck to your Mom starting work in what I presume is her old age. I hope she has plenty of stamina. Now make sure her Social Security taxes get paid to help her qualify for SS.

I believe one must have 40 quarters to be eligible for Social Security, normally. Patient Saver was probably thinking of the fact that the surviving spouse of a Social Security recipient can collect SS based on the dead spouse's eligibility. However, both partners cannot collect on the same account while both are still living. Neither can the surviving spouse collect on both their own and the dead spouse's account.

Does Social Security have your father's work record correct? His check is very low for someone who was able to help put you (and your siblings?) through college. But perhaps he had other earnings in his lifetime that were not part of the Social Security program's record. If you think there is any chance Social Security has made a mistake, please see if your Dad has records of his work life. Have him review the records SS has. Perhaps they are missing something.

My own father was turned down for SS, with the explanation that he had not worked enough quarters in jobs where he paid SS tax. However, an alert SS worker found a decades old note in his file wherein it was documented that an employer had criminally neglected to submit the taxes. My father was actually given credit for those extra quarters, which made him eligible for Social Security. So mistakes do get made, but can be rectified.