Hey all,
I'm a 27M living at home still with my parents in a HCOL in California (Bay Area). When I graduated college in 2018, I had about 42k in student loans so I decided to live at home to do my best to pay them off before moving out.
Well, that day came at the end of the August this year. I paid off my loans in full + paid off my car (I had 4k left on my 2019 Honda I intend to keep until it dies).
While living at home, I started to invest my money in 2021:
88k in personal investment account (33k of it though is in a Money Market Fund earning 5.27% interest based on 7 day SEC yield) so waiting to invest that still.
16K in a ROTH IRA (still have about 2.5k to contribute this year)
33k in HYSA earning 4.30% interest (this is where I had my student loan money sitting, so it was at 75k before)
I also have 12k coming back to me next year from my parents that I loaned them back in 2022.
I've been making, on average, around 120K the past couple years and my OTE this year is a little more, around 127k depending on commission (took average for the year and times it by 4)
my work is limited to my area, so I can't be remote, but I think I'm at that point where I want to try something new, career wise, as well as get out on my own and either rent or own something that is somewhere more affordable. I've been to a lot of different places, but for short periods of time so I have some general ideas on where I would like to go.
I don't think it is wise to go somewhere I've never stayed longer than a month and plant roots in a home, so I was thinking about maybe renting an apt or getting a condo. If this doesn't pan out in the near future, then I would definitely stay local to where I currently am, but $2500 a month for a 1 BR/1 BA doesn't make much sense. I've lived with roommates before and I prefer not to, so this would make it more expensive for me.
I have a good relationship with my parents so I don't mind staying at home, but on the flip side, I want my own space and want to start a new adventure. I'm also the primary caretaker of a dog that is old who is attached to my parents, but I'm the one who tends to her for all her medical bills, etc. I definitely just can't get up and leave her, so I think once she is called home, I will take off somewhere else.
Some places I have in mind are OR, WA, CO, NC. I just mainly want to be able to own something because I know that isn't happening here in CA. Any insight or recommendations is appreciated, especially when it comes to how much(% wise) I should be spending on rent/mortgage. I also keep a spread sheet on where my spending goes, how much I save, spend etc. Although I have minimal expenses because I live at home, I'm frugal as can be because all I can think about is long term.
thank you.
Submitted September 10, 2023 at 06:10PM by Repulsive-California https://ift.tt/YbyFKT4
