I have been on social security disability since I was 18, and am now 30. Due to my cerebral palsy, I was able to work toward my degrees (I went up to masters level), then qualify for student loan forgiveness. My specific type of forgiveness had a three-year waiting period, where I couldn't make OVER a certain amount, and only lived off ~$23,000 per year. I was an independent contractor (mental health counselor) at that time, and had no benefits. I am planning on staying in the same house, with the same car payment, thus those fees won't change and were doable on $23,000.
I just accepted a full-time job with benefits and began on April 30th. I signed on for a $42K salary. I will still be able to get SSDI for nine months (trial work period), which will be an additional $8,424. I believe I will also be able to keep my Medicaid while this is happening, thus I won't have to sign up for healthcare until open enrollment in November, for January.
As mentioned, I have no student loans (which I'm so thankful for!). However, I do have about ~$7,000 in credit card debt I need to pay off. One CC is $4,500 with 20% interest, and the other is $1,700 with 15% interest. My credit union has offered me a 13% interest CC to do a balance transfer, with no penalty fees, balance transfer fees, or interest rate changes. Or, through Citi I could do a zero percent for 15 months, but then it skyrockets to 20%+ after that? That would require I pay about $470 per month. Or, if I just did the $4,500, $300/month. Are there better options, overall, or which one of those is "best?"
I'm also eligible for a 401K, which is new to me. I have read the info about 401k's on here, but still don't know what I'm doing. I've been told it is a good plan; 6% matching after the first year, and 10% after the tenth year.
Life insurance is built in--one year's salary, and I am unmarried so I don't believe I need any more.
I will be looking into short-term disability, but I've heard it's expensive? I believe if I needed to go on long-term disability, I could likely just go back on SSDI, so I don't really see a point in buying that?
I just want to do this "right," and put myself in a better place. I am not a big spender, but I want to set myself up well.
Thank you!
Submitted May 12, 2018 at 07:47PM by lacefishnets https://ift.tt/2IbsuG0
