Seeking Wisdom in Financial Stability.

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Jonathan95

Jonathan95

Puritan Board Sophomore
I'm a young 25yo man. I currently make $14/hour and after budgeting and setting aside money for bills and rent, etc. I find it difficult to save. I would like to begin to make a little more money but I don't have many hard skills to put on my resumé.

I was making close to $21/h managing a start up café but I ended up leaving. It's discouraging to go back to work having taken such a drastic hit to my income.

I suppose I could get a part time job or work two full time jobs or even go to college part time or full time if that's the best decision to make.

I've also considered just saving up over a period of time, maybe 10k so that I can move somewhere a little cheaper in the States because Boston is expensive.

Not sure what other options I have available to me. If anyone has any wisdom pertaining to this topic, I greatly appreciate it!
 
When I was in my 20s, fifty years ago, an old ironworker foreman told me to take 10% of my net and put it in the bank every week. He said that if I did that, when I was an old man like him I'd be well off.

Unfortunately I didn't heed his advice. Other than suggesting you save your money, I can only recommend a show on Moody Radio called 'Moneywise.' Sound financial advice from a Christian perspective.

https://www.moodyradio.org/programs/moneywise-live
 
JimmyH said:
When I was in my 20s, fifty years ago, an old ironworker foreman told me to take 10% of my net and put it in the bank every week. He said that if I did that, when I was an old man like him I'd be well off.

Unfortunately I didn't heed his advice. Other than suggesting you save your money, I can only recommend a show on Moody Radio called 'Moneywise.' Sound financial advice from a Christian perspective.

https://www.moodyradio.org/programs/moneywise-live
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I appreciate this, thank you!
 
JimmyH said:
When I was in my 20s, fifty years ago, an old ironworker foreman told me to take 10% of my net and put it in the bank every week.
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Do this. Over time, and without really noticing, you can increase the amount. These days our fixed and discretionary expenses are less than half our income. It is a pleasure now to give to various godly entities out of abundance.
 
Hi Jonathan,
I'm 41 and for a good part of my adult life I was a frame carpenter. It was good and honest work but after nearly 12 years I was only making $14.50 an hour. It's very hard to support a family for that even in South Texas. We'll the housing market crash in 07-08 proved to be an incredible act of God's providence in my life. I was forced to find a new craft at the age of 31. And it's a good thing I did. I started working as an industrial insulator at $13.50 an hour in a chemical plant. I worked my way up to a maintenance mechanic and then a chemical load operator. And after 9 years at the plant I currently work at I make substantiality more than that. And we are able to send our son to Texas A&M on a single income without incurring alot of debt by the grace of God. All this to say if you don't know what to do go to a craft school and get a job in the industrial field. Look into instrumentation or production operations. Start out is around $70,000 a year for a certified operator.
Grace and peace,
Santos
 
Look for a Union training program for a skilled trade. Hard to outsource those pipefitter jobs. Apprenticeship probably won't pay much more than you are making now, but as you move up the food chain, you can make decent money.

Self driving trucks will get here eventually, but in many areas there are shortages of truck drivers.
 
Pergamum said:
What is your education and could you move overseas? It's cheaper here.
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I only have a GED. I'd consider something like that if it was an emergency and if I NEEDED someplace to live for cheap. The issue I'm having is more along the lines of wanting a way to make more money.
 
Santos said:
Hi Jonathan,
I'm 41 and for a good part of my adult life I was a frame carpenter. It was good and honest work but after nearly 12 years I was only making $14.50 an hour. It's very hard to support a family for that even in South Texas. We'll the housing market crash in 07-08 proved to be an incredible act of God's providence in my life. I was forced to find a new craft at the age of 31. And it's a good thing I did. I started working as an industrial insulator at $13.50 an hour in a chemical plant. I worked my way up to a maintenance mechanic and then a chemical load operator. And after 9 years at the plant I currently work at I make substantiality more than that. And we are able to send our son to Texas A&M on a single income without incurring alot of debt by the grace of God. All this to say if you don't know what to do go to a craft school and get a job in the industrial field. Look into instrumentation or production operations. Start out is around $70,000 a year for a certified operator.
Grace and peace,
Santos
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Thank you very much for sharing this with me. Very interesting information, I'll be sure to make good use of this thank you brother!
 
Edward said:
Look for a Union training program for a skilled trade. Hard to outsource those pipefitter jobs. Apprenticeship probably won't pay much more than you are making now, but as you move up the food chain, you can make decent money.

Self driving trucks will get here eventually, but in many areas there are shortages of truck drivers.
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I had heard something similar once before, thank you very much! I'll look into this!
 
Getting out of Boston might be a good idea. It’s expensive to live in the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and most of California. Santos and Edward had very good advice. Learning a trade is hard work but it pays off more quickly than you might think.
 
Susan777 said:
Getting out of Boston might be a good idea. It’s expensive to live in the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and most of California. Santos and Edward had very good advice. Learning a trade is hard work but it pays off more quickly than you might think.
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I believe it. I used to be a chimney sweep. One of the best jobs I worked.
I do wanna get out of the city though I can't see it being wise to just split with what I've got. I don't know the first thing about moving somewhere new on my own. Don't I have to have a job lined up or least a good amount of money saved as a buffer? Haha, I don't know but this whole thing is kinda stressful.
 
My suggestion would be to look at trade schools or a community college for a practical degree that is in demand. By doing so you could raise your money making ability and your resume.
 
I could suggest reading Robert T. Kiosaki's books most specifically "Rich Kid Smart Kid", "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and "Rich Dad's Guide to Investing".

Getting another job will not fix the problem, because there are only so many hours that you can give in exchange for money. (A single person can only work so hard).
Consequently it becomes more important to remember to learn how to put ideas to work instead of you. - those who can't find a way to make money work for them at some point in their lives, will work for money their entire lives.
Hence the books I suggest.
 
It's hard to advise, not knowing your skills or interests, but here's a few thoughts.

My father took part of his schooling at Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. Since my youngest two sons are plane-crazy, we recently attended one of their open houses. The average age in that industry is something like 50. The airlines are seeing a really tight labor market.

I've also heard the tech industry is offering online certification programs to develop their own coders. I was at a dinner recently with a young man who is in the field while working on his undergraduate degree -- in a cleared position no less. I don't know how he did that, but it's an indication that companies are willing to "grow their own. " Here's what Google is doing.
 
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Amy Green said:
Getting another job will not fix the problem, because there are only so many hours that you can give in exchange for money. (A single person can only work so hard).
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But there are different amounts of money that one can receive for those limited hours of work. Someone making $15 an hour is going to be better off than someone making minimum wage. Someone working as a union journeyman is going to be better off than a day laborer.

Amy Green said:
Consequently it becomes more important to remember to learn how to put ideas to work instead of you. - those who can't find a way to make money work for them at some point in their lives, will work for money their entire lives.
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One has to have money to make money work for them. If someone has a million dollars, it's easy to have money working for you. If someone has $100,000, then the money can help you long term, but it isn't going to make much difference short term. If one has a couple of million, they may not need to work.
 
So I just finished revamping my resumé along with making online profiles for LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Angellist, and Indeed.

I also found that a few people in my church attended Liberty University online. After checking out their website I saw that they have an undergraduate certificate program for a few computer science skills. So I requested info and applied for that.

And in the meantime I'll just keep an eye out for job postings in my area.

We'll see what works out, yes I will keep the suggestions about becoming a laborer/joining the military in mind as I continue my searching. Thank you all very much for your replies. Means a lot to me. Please keep me in your prayers.
 
I have no personal acquaintance, but I have heard good things about Lambda School.
 
Just from my experience .. I noted you said you have a GED. I also got one of those to qualify it get into the Ironworker's union apprentice program in 1970.

Becoming a union journeyman is a good arrow to have in the quiver, however, like many vocations, construction trades are 'feast or famine.'

Had I followed in my father's footsteps I'd have become a carpenter. I was star struck by the ironworkers walking the beams high in the air, and that is what I pursued.

All well and good until work got slow. Had I been a carpenter, an electrician, or plumber, I could have gotten side work from individual home owners who needed something done in the home.

I found no one who needed steel erected in their backyard so had to hit the road and travel to where the work was, in whatever state it happened to be.

Become a crackerjack (expert) electrician or carpenter and you'll always be able to put food on the table, and have a roof over your head.
 
I am going to have to disagree with chosing carpentry as a craft for the time being. This is based on personal experience.

Let me explain. I worked as a carpenter almost exclusively from the age of 18 to 30. I learned most of what there is to know about frame carpentry. Including hurricane code since I live on the gulf coast of Texas. And due to our proximity to the southern boarder and it's porous nature it was very difficult to be competitive when your competition fails to play by the same rules. You see if you don't pay taxes or have insurance or pay time and a half over time then it's easy to charge $6 a square foot to frame a house. However if you abide by the rules/law you have to charge more and folks want to pay as little as possible for their homes and they don't care about your legal status.
This may seem like a problem that is a southern border problem but if the liberals have their way it will be headed to a northern city near you.
Now before someone accuses me of racism for my I want to warn you that I am Hispanic and my last name is my "slave name".(long story)
If you find an industrial craft that is preventative maintenance by nature you will not necessarily need to travel. Such as instrumentation,electrician, boiler maker, insulator/Shee metal-man, maintenance mechanic,valve mechanic and especially process/production operator.
Avoid welding, iron worker and pipefitting as they are new construction by nature and will often require you to travel.
 
In a similar boat as you OP, GED, make $15.50/he, 24 years old.

Someone earlier spoke of lambda programming school, which one of our congregants is currently finishing. So I've heard good things about it personally.

Insofar has blue collar labor goes, I live in Arizona, and out here we have several unions with apprenticeship programs. Apprenticeship programs are where they pay for you while you learn and work. After 3-5 years, you make what a journeyman makes, which is typically no less than $25-30 an hour. while you were in the apprenticeship program, your hourly wage also increases each year. If you like working with your hands I would look into the field of an electrician, carpentry, HVAC, those kinds of things. In this particular generation to my knowledge, most people are going to college and getting white collar jobs. (There of course being nothing wrong with this, since someone in the world needs to do it) nevertheless the reason I mention that, is because the previous generation of baby boomers all grew up working in the field of trade, and there is a need to fill the current gap of the labor field in our generation.

Hopefully this helps a little.
 
Probably the most prestigious construction outfit in the entire US military are the Navy Seabees. Someone in that unit will come out a bonafide expert in all facets of construction. My middle son wants to go (back) to Alaska and build his own cabin and dig his own well, etc. I have encouraged him repeatedly to consider the Seabees as it would be better than a union apprenticeship and it would be in everything. He'd learn how to do everything related to all that stuff... And he'd know how to do it under enemy fire!

When I read of someone in their mid 20s making $15 (or less!) an hour... unless you have some really clear plans to get educated or trained, I cannot overstate the value of joining the military. It will literally change your life and open doors you never thought possible.
 
SolaScriptura said:
Probably the most prestigious construction outfit in the entire US military are the Navy Seabees. Someone in that unit will come out a bonafide expert in all facets of construction. My middle son wants to go (back) to Alaska and build his own cabin and dig his own well, etc. I have encouraged him repeatedly to consider the Seabees as it would be better than a union apprenticeship and it would be in everything. He'd learn how to do everything related to all that stuff... And he'd know how to do it under enemy fire!

When I read of someone in their mid 20s making $15 (or less!) an hour... unless you have some really clear plans to get educated or trained, I cannot overstate the value of joining the military. It will literally change your life and open doors you never thought possible.
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I think it's the idea of bootcamp that's intimidating to me
 
I'm ten years older than you, and for most of my life (especially into my early 30's) earned less than counterparts of my age. At the same time, I acknowledge that I was where I needed to be for growth and did enjoy other benefits.

During this time of growth, by the grace of God, I prepared myself educationally and experientially for the future, around 32 y/o all of a sudden I propelled to earning nearly 100K a year in a geographical area where the median household income is less than 30K. My growth while I earned less not only prepared me to be available when an opportunity came my way but also to manage the resources that I now have.

I don't want to come across like I'm saying "do what I did" however I do encourage you to remain steadfast and use every opportunity to grow. I do affirm your need for better financial security, but also consider that very few of us had the means at 25 y/o to do more than live to each paycheck.

Do you have any wise older men in your vicinity to talk to about this? As much value as you'll find here, sometimes the personal touch makes a difference. Also, someone locally might have some intriguing advice considering they know your area and elements of the demographics which may come into play. Also, are you praying about this?
 
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