Realizing my dreams

[Rpowell91]

Hey everyone I just want to say thank you for all the information that's been divulged through the forums. 2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year and ford has finally brought back my favorite vehicle. My first daughter was born in February and it's been hard that since she's been in this world we've had to live under quarentine. I work as a maintenance director in a nursing home and it's been a struggle. I've never owned a new vehicle and have never had much in life. I want to give my family the best life possible and show my daughter, step son and wife that you can achieve your goals no matter how big they are. I'd love to take them offroading and camping in our new bronco. I'm posting this to ask for advice. How do I create the income possible for us to get a win? I work 80 hours or more a week trying to keep up with demand at the nursing home and trying to compensate for my wife unable to return to work. Please any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[kairo]

How do you create more income? Well, the long and short of is you either work for a place that has an aggressive promotion schedule, or you find a different career path. There's only so many hours in a day a person can physically work. 80+ hours sounds like an early death sentence, so I'm thinking your best option is to explore other career opportunities.

The days of long company loyalty equaling rewards are pretty much behind us now. I'm one of those (older) "millenials" and I typically change careers or even industries every 2-4 years. The money is out there, but it's not coming to those hardworking people who feel that their loyalty is enough to get paid.

Remember, with very few exceptions, you are expendable as an employee. You owe it to yourself and your family to seek out the areas where you can do the best for all of you. Good luck!

 

[High Proof]

If you have an entrepreneurial interest at all you get unlimited upside from your own business. Unless you have a particular in-demand skill or years of valuable training you won't make the big bucks working for someone else.

There is a lot to consider. It's not all about the $$. But if that is your goal then definitely consider a side hustle of some sort to get started.

 

[kairo]

Follow-up. I don't know what your exact skill set is, but if you have facilities maintenance experience, there's jobs in my area that are paying $25/hr starting for facility maintenance in distribution centers. Sometimes more than that since there's so much demand with all the warehouses being built.

If you live in a lower cost of living area, you may be able to leverage your technical abilities into a rather comfortable life doing distribution center facility maintenance and ops.

 

[kairo]

If you have an entrepreneurial interest at all you get unlimited upside from your own business. Unless you have a particular in-demand skill or years of valuable training you won't make the big bucks working for someone else.

There is a lot to consider. It's not all about the $$. But if that is your goal then definitely consider a side hustle of some sort to get started.

Just one caveat here. Yes, there's unlimited upside, but there's also the overwhelming possibility that your business will fail within the first couple years and you'll end up bankrupt.

I think OP would be better served seeking a higher paying job in his field rather than gambling on his own business with a family to feed.

The side hustle is a fantastic idea. Woodworking, carpentry, masonry, whatever your skills are! If it takes off, then look into doing that full time.

My GF is building an art business as a side hustle, and when it reaches a certain threshold, she's going to quit her day job and just do that. BUT, she can only afford that gamble because if it goes tits up, we won't lose our house because I'm still working.

 

[coolrain]

KY has a rough economy (especially now) however it is about getting out there and looking .... be sure you are following up on any opportunity listed. I'm going to assume family is close with a support system, you cannot over value that (in fact I could argue that if more people did value family we wouldn't be in the exact same spot we are..anyway another place for all that..) if not then look for opportunity in other places
Personally I went as I was led and moved from Seattle to just outside of NYC and I was blessed from a financial perspective for listening. Thank you Lord

"Don't sit around waiting for it to happen; it won't happen unless you make it happen"

 

[High Proof]

Just one caveat here. Yes, there's unlimited upside, but there's also the overwhelming possibility that your business will fail within the first couple years and you'll end up bankrupt.

I think OP would be better served seeking a higher paying job in his field rather than gambling on his own business with a family to feed.

The side hustle is a fantastic idea. Woodworking, carpentry, masonry, whatever your skills are! If it takes off, then look into doing that full time.

My GF is building an art business as a side hustle, and when it reaches a certain threshold, she's going to quit her day job and just do that. BUT, she can only afford that gamble because if it goes tits up, we won't lose our house because I'm still working.

Definitely a lot to think about before opening a biz. That's one reason I suggested a side-hustle. May not make sense for him, but certainly something to think about. I started my first biz as a side hustle while supporting a family. Took a lot of nights working until 3:00 am, but it paid off. But you are absolutely correct that it's risky to jump out of a good paying job completely to start a business.

 

[Rpowell91]

I make 28/ hr now so I'm not doing terrible and i should have all my debts paid off by October. I've done everything from flooring, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, drywall, painting, and just about anything you can with your hands. I've recently found Dave Ramsey's book and trying to educate myself on managing finances and setting my family up for the best life possible. It's always been a dream to own and drive a new car but everything I've researched says if you can't pay cash you can't afford it and the 45,000 I'll need to get my Badlands just seems out of reach. I'll keep grinding and setting myself up for success and hopefully I can achieve what I'm after.

 

[High Proof]

I make 28/ hr now so I'm not doing terrible and i should have all my debts paid off by October. I've done everything from flooring, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, drywall, painting, and just about anything you can with your hands. I've recently found Dave Ramsey's book and trying to educate myself on managing finances and setting my family up for the best life possible. It's always been a dream to own and drive a new car but everything I've researched says if you can't pay cash you can't afford it and the 45,000 I'll need to get my Badlands just seems out of reach. I'll keep grinding and setting myself up for success and hopefully I can achieve what I'm after.

Sounds like you are on a good path. One of the keys to long term financial success is not to overspend for those shiny things. Maybe just set your sites on continuing your path and looking at a used Bronco a few years down the road.

 

[bobbleheadguru]

You are a hero! Thank you for the work you do! You have helped more people than people who have 10X your salary. Remember that. Money is secondary to family, health and giving to others. By your job description, you already have "a win"... whether in a new Bronco or whatever you drive.

That being stated, I wonder if you may come across some people who are getting older themselves or don't want their parents car (people who visit) and would not mind selling you cars at good price to reduce the hassle.

Perhaps you are able to "fix and flip" a couple of cars and that might give you enough income to have a budget for the Bronco. Also consider buying the Bronco USED. I bought my Convertible Mustang for $23K, about $11K lower than its sticker price. It was less than a year old and had only 6,500 miles on it.

 

[Rpowell91]

Sounds like you are on a good path. One of the keys to long term financial success is not to overspend for those shiny things. Maybe just set your sites on continuing your path and looking at a used Bronco a few years down the road.

Which is probably what will happen. My dream of owning the bronco is just so I have something to work for, a goal to push myself to my limits and rise to the occasion. You're all being generous with your ideas and opinions and it's part of my process to realization. This forum has truly been a godsend to help me relax talk out my plans and future.

 

[kairo]

I make 28/ hr now so I'm not doing terrible and i should have all my debts paid off by October. I've done everything from flooring, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, drywall, painting, and just about anything you can with your hands. I've recently found Dave Ramsey's book and trying to educate myself on managing finances and setting my family up for the best life possible. It's always been a dream to own and drive a new car but everything I've researched says if you can't pay cash you can't afford it and the 45,000 I'll need to get my Badlands just seems out of reach. I'll keep grinding and setting myself up for success and hopefully I can achieve what I'm after.

This may end up being a wall of text, but I'm going to offer my thoughts on personal finance. I am in no way qualified to offer this advice professionally, so please take whatever I say with a grain of salt, as it's my own perspective.

I sorta like Ramsey. His get out of debt methods certainly have merit. Once you're debt free, there's a number of things I disagree with him on. #1 is not carrying any credit balances.

So, you've gotten yourself out of debt, you have enough income to keep the family fed, housed, and have some money to save afterwards.

Build up an emergency fund (common sense) of about 3-6 months depending on your area and the job market. Just park that cash in a regular old savings account.

Now, after that. I finance almost EVERYTHING if I can get a low enough rate. Hell, I financed $6k worth of living room furniture a few years ago because I got 0%. If you miss a payment it goes to like 17% interest, so make sure you stay on top of it. But, if you have the cash on hand, why not make that money work for you instead of outlaying it up front if interest rates are low?

Credit cards and financing are nothing to be afraid of, provided finances are managed appropriately. Case in point with the Bronco. If Ford offers (just a guess) lets say less than 2% APR on financing, even if you have enough money to pay cash, it would be unwise to do so. Put the minimum down to offset your lifetime interest spend, and park the rest in mutual funds. On a 60 or 72 month loan, you'll do way better making the payments than outlaying the cost out front.

Now, to eat my own words. I'm aggressively paying off my mortgage, which is technically not the correct move because my interest rate is so low. But, I think I would like the peace of mind not having a mortgage to pay than the extra money I'd earn over the life of the loan invested in the market.

Clear as mud?

Then back to the Bronco. You have to spend time weighing financing and new vehicle ownership against your current vehicle costs, repairs, fuel consumption, etc. etc. Long and short of it is, none of us really need the new bronco, but there's ways to make it not so much of a financial burden.

 

[regularbronco]

First, don't buy a new Bronco, or any new car for that matter until you don't have to work 80 hours a week to provide food and shelter for your family.

At 3840 hours a year(80 x 48 weeks), you would be making 80,000/year if they were paying you 20.33 an hour. Taking 4 weeks out of calculation for vacation. Assuming it's not paid. If it is paid, your hourly is lower than the above.

So, to get to 80k at your current job, you need to ask for at least that amount per hour and only you know how the labor pool supply and demand is in your area to give you your area and specialities labor pool surplus or deficit.

Is your goal to camp/overland in a new Bronco with your family creating memories? Well you don't have time to do that as your working all the time to pay for it.

Camp in the back yard, rebuild an old truck together, play sports with your family, picnic, rent a jeep(bronco probably not available) for that one week and just unplug everyone's electronics and appreciate those times together as they will be gone in a flash.

If you love healthcare, see what positions pay you more for the same or even less time worked. If that means school, get to it. Alit of us worked full time and got education/specialty training at the same time. Before you know it you'll be working 40-50 hours and your salary will be above 80. You can do it!

Sorry for the long response but your obviously a hard worker and that's a lot more than many people I meet, you will succeed.

This is probably one of the most impactful threads that I've seen in a while. Print out all of the responses, out them on a goal board or somewhere you can come back to reread them. You'll get a different nugget out of them each time and most of all when those ruff days come, you'll have some words of encouragement that we all need from time to time.

 

[zaki]

You are working 80 hrs a week, have a growing family to support and are looking to maximize your earnings and increase your bring home. If I were in your shoes I would not be purchasing a new car. A new car purchase is one of the worst financial decisions one can make as it provides instant loss of value and a long term fixed cost/expense. The money you would put in your monthly payments is much better placed towards savings or investment in a diversified portfolio. The power of compounding interest will provide towards the future education of your children.
Irrespective of what your job is remember that a penny saved is a penny earned.
Don’t add more fixed cost to your already substantial obligations.
Best of luck and congrats on your new baby!

 

[Rpowell91]

I'm able to pay the bills with some spending money at the end of every month, not as much as when my wife was working but some. The only reason I have to work so many hours is the demand of the nursing home. We opened up a covid unit and the preparation that went into that were astronomical. With so many nurses and CNAs unable to come into work I've been all over the home trying to help out and pick up where I can. Hopefully when all this finally dies down I can go back to my regular 40 hours a week. The extra cash has been nice but you all are right in saying the 80 hours is a death sentence. I don't know what people know in here about overtime pay but when your over 10 hours or more the taxes are insane. I do bring home more but in reality the govt. Takes their cut, hopefully I get a decent return this upcoming year.

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