I am 28 years old, work 90+ hours a week as a field engineer in the oilfield, work 2/3 of the year, always traveling, and am looking for advice. Obviously single as no woman would ever put up with this lifestyle nor should they have to.
I've averaged about $130k yearly since graduating college in 2013 in civil engineering. My lifestyle sucks, but I've been able to pay off my $100k in student loans (took me five years to graduate), own a car, and fully vested both Roth IRA and Roth 401k every year.
I want to acquire some equity with a house purchase. I'm sick of renting and only being there a third of the year. Currently I split my rent with roommates, so I pay only $6k a year.
Should I keep money I'm saving for a 20% home down payment in a savings account? How do I proceed in saving for a home payment when I could probably have better returns investing this money? I know I can use up to $10k of a Roth IRA towards my first home purchase if needed but would rather avoid that. (The Roth accounts are over 5 years old).
Also should note I'm maybe looking to change my career path to an engineering desk job that pays around $75k a year and is local working 40-50 hours a week on salary in the upcoming months. Interviewed a few months ago and once the position becomes active, I have the opportunity to take it this summer. Maybe I should hold off on any rash purchases a few more years until I feel a sense of job security IF I make the jump? Thinking happiness over money here.
$6k a year on housing expenses isn't too much to swing while saving for a higher principle payment, and I don't want to just purchase a home for saving money, I should enjoy it as well and actually want to own it. I'd probably purchase a small starter home under $200k (hopefully sooner than later with such low interest rates), so I'd need atleast a $40k down payment to avoid PMI and I already have $20k towards that as well as a $10k emergency fund. My roommates would live with me and take care of the house if I should stay in the oilfield.
Thanks for those who read the rant and reply, just looking for advice from financially savvy redditors.
Submitted March 18, 2018 at 07:25AM by pmo2408 http://ift.tt/2FLZF1B
