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I made a post about 7 months ago, right before I was PCSing to Hawaii. Things were rough for a little while, but we got everything settled. I am finally getting paid for making rank (BAH rates went up around $360 a month starting January 1st!). So along with BAH increase, base pay increase, cola increase, my paychecks are about to be $350 more (semi monthly!) I am also deployed for the next 6.5 months, so I should be getting an extra $2100 + rent (I got my new check in on my lease. She pays me $900, and banks the other $1416 for herself) So as long as everything goes as planned, and we get a nice return (I will be able to claim my disabled girlfriend + her 9 year old son this year), I should be able to pay off my remaining $15000 before March 1st. That's my goal at least.
But now I have to make all these other important decisions.
1: Should I max out my Roth TSP?
2: If we were to max out my Roth TSP, should we also try to open a Roth IRA for my girlfriend and max that out?
3: If we are only able to save $11,000 a year, would it be best to put all of that into Retirement accounts, or instead put it into savings (house fund)?
The way things are looking now, I will be leaving the military in December 2016. My goal in life is to own my home, and 500 acres (500 acres is approximately 500,000 for the type of land I want in Oklahoma). If we were saving every penny we could scrounge for the next 3 years, we could easily have $150,000 in savings before December 2016.
4: Would it be stupid to use that as a down payment? I ask that because with that money in a down payment, that is $150,000 that isn't making money on interest.
And obviously I would like to retire on time if not before. I plan on getting my associates in the next two years, as well as doing whatever I can to repair my credit in that short time. It is extremely bad right now. My passion is wildlife biology, and it's something that I have always wanted to do. The problem with that, it is an extremely competitive field, hard to get into, and the pay is minimal... even with a masters. Has anyone here taken a career path for the money? I could find a job that pays more, and I could get a degree in it, no problem. While I am in, the military will pay for the majority of it through Tuition Assistance, and when I get out I will have the GI Bill. I just wouldn't want to have regrets if it was career I didn't really want.
5: In other's experience, has the sacrifice been worth the rewards? I don't want my kid's to have the same childhood I had, and I don't want to have the same life my dad had. Always struggling with money, living paycheck to paycheck, and never owning anything of his own.
But now I have to make all these other important decisions.
1: Should I max out my Roth TSP?
2: If we were to max out my Roth TSP, should we also try to open a Roth IRA for my girlfriend and max that out?
3: If we are only able to save $11,000 a year, would it be best to put all of that into Retirement accounts, or instead put it into savings (house fund)?
The way things are looking now, I will be leaving the military in December 2016. My goal in life is to own my home, and 500 acres (500 acres is approximately 500,000 for the type of land I want in Oklahoma). If we were saving every penny we could scrounge for the next 3 years, we could easily have $150,000 in savings before December 2016.
4: Would it be stupid to use that as a down payment? I ask that because with that money in a down payment, that is $150,000 that isn't making money on interest.
And obviously I would like to retire on time if not before. I plan on getting my associates in the next two years, as well as doing whatever I can to repair my credit in that short time. It is extremely bad right now. My passion is wildlife biology, and it's something that I have always wanted to do. The problem with that, it is an extremely competitive field, hard to get into, and the pay is minimal... even with a masters. Has anyone here taken a career path for the money? I could find a job that pays more, and I could get a degree in it, no problem. While I am in, the military will pay for the majority of it through Tuition Assistance, and when I get out I will have the GI Bill. I just wouldn't want to have regrets if it was career I didn't really want.
5: In other's experience, has the sacrifice been worth the rewards? I don't want my kid's to have the same childhood I had, and I don't want to have the same life my dad had. Always struggling with money, living paycheck to paycheck, and never owning anything of his own.
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