So as the title says, I have a few questions that I'm hoping this forum can help me with. I'm a 20 year old male and I just acquired a job at a law firm about 6 months ago. I'm set to be making $25k after taxes a year, not much but considering I was flipping burgers at McDonalds, I really consider this my first big boy job and I want to get my finances set straight.
Here are my expenses:
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Rent: $350 a month, I decided to pay my parents rent since I really don't want to be mooching off of them.
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Car insurance: $60 a month, car is a 2006 Sentra that I got for my 18th birthday.
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Phone bill is $100 a month, AT&T and my phone which is an iPhone 8 Plus is set to be paid off by Feb. of next year. I could upgrade it for free but since they got rid of the home button, that's a no from me chief. Once the phone is paid off, my payment will go down to about $50-$60. SHOULD I PAY MY PHONE OFF NOW and see my bill go down by $50 or just keep paying it as I go?
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Credit card debt: $0, I only use the CC if I have money in my debit card to pay off the balance after usage.
I have $2500 in my emergency fund. I know emergency funds are supposed to consist of 3-6 months of expenses so about how big should mine be at my age? I want to be fully covered if I were to lose my job or have a family emergency.
I did my taxes and I am getting a good sized refund back to me soon.
I don't have a Roth IRA but that is next on my list. I am saving up the $1000 to open one up with Vanguard but I've heard that Charles Schwab is also good and only require a $100 minimum?
I am a cancer survivor. I have been in remission for about 4 years now and my Medicaid expired months ago which made me miss my appointments for my check ups. I got insurance through my employer after my probation period was up with Blue Cross Blue Shield which is absolutely free. They cover 80% and I co-pay 20% but have a $3000 deductible. I don't know much about insurance but the way I was explained was I need to pay the $3000 first and anything after that will be covered by the 80/20 policy. As soon as I got my insurance I went to get my required chest CT scan at UNC Hospitals. They did an estimate of $2300 for the CT scan and I have an MRI coming up in 6 months. The CT bill has yet to come in the mail but the financial advisor rep at the hospital said he would call me in a month, which should be next week, to help set up a payment plan. Since I have $2500 in my emergency fund, is this considered an emergency? Should I go ahead and pay the hospital bill using my emergency fund or just make a payment plan and pay as I go?
I took this as a lesson learned and will now get ALL procedures done at a cheaper place regarding any scans or MRIs.
I appreciate any help that y'all bring. Thanks!
EDIT: I'm on my phone and can't format this - so sorry!
Submitted March 13, 2019 at 10:07AM by ThePresidentOfKC https://ift.tt/2F9NV7o
