Finances & Housing

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>>18544947
This is the Ford Transit. It's tall enough for a guy to stand in. And its wide enough for a mattress. Livable? Maybe....

>>18544947
Save enough money that you could libe lff of your savings for several months. That's what people usually do in order to be able to survive bad times

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>>18544953

>>18544957
But what if the money runs out? What if I were unemployed for like 6 months?

I'm really thinking I need some kind of hard-asset or some kind of ownership of something

Ownership is the only real guarantee in anything

The real question is: What is the most effective thing to own? Whats the most cost-effective asset to invest in, that won't break the bank, but will also be live-able?

I have about $1,400 in savings currently. Not enough for a down payment on anything yet, but I'm thinking if I try really hard, I could maybe have a few more thousand in a few months

>>18544991
if you're unemployed for 6 months you're setting your sights too high. in times like apply to any and every job.

>>18544947
What do you currently do for housing? you can likely get a room in your area off craigslist for $500-700 per month which will help you save up for that stuff. I'd analyze your current spending and see what you can do to optimize it, lay out a budget and all of that. no reason you can't be putting 20,000 of that into savings per year not counting any matching from your company.

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>>18544947
>>18544991
I also forgot to explain my current financial situation

My credit is horrible due to shit in the past. Unemployment and such, trying to live off credit cards

I believe I've payed off all my debts except one. $5,000 for CDL training. (This is my backup career) I'm currently paying $200 / mo for that shit. But I got my Class A CDL, so there's that.

My bills are basically $580 per week. I try to put $200 / week towards savings. But as you can see from my check, I haven't even had this job that long. And it's only a 6 month contract, so I could be broke again really soon.

I did get 2.7 hours of overtime this week, so my next check should be $911 or so.

>>18545028
Not every job pays the bills. When I was making $18/hr I was close to paying all my bills, but even then, my parents were still helping me pay some of them. And they've made it clear they're not going to continue helping me forever. Luckily I make more money now, so I don't need their help. But like I said: 6 month contract. The money might not last.

>>18545042
>trying to live off credit cards
Idiot!

>>18545082
>idiot!
Kind of! But I didn't really have much of a choice!

When you've got bills and no income, no savings, no assets of any significance... it's either:
A) Live off credit
B) Live under a bridge

Guess which one I chose.

>>18545082
>>18545085
This is why I want to do something smart with my money while it lasts.

It would not take much to be back in that kind of situation again. Just a couple unfortunate developments, and I could be looking at this kind of financial bullshit again

I don't want to have to do that kind of thing again. I want something that I could live out of, and not be homeless, if I were to ever find myself so destitute again

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>>18545028
The other thing about this, is apparently I fucking suck at getting jobs for myself.

Literally, I can't remember the last time I was able to get a job for myself.

Like the last 5 jobs I've gotten have been through recruiters. And they aren't always able to find you something.

Just look at the dates with my current recruiter. I'll admit, I made some mistakes. I was going through some bullshit, and I let my hours slip a bit. Called out sick too many times.

Look at the dates.
They didn't help me get another job for nearly 2 years! That was the price I had to pay for a few mistakes!

If I fuckup again....
I can't afford to go 2 years without another decent job.

Obviously I didn't actually go 2 years between jobs. I just used another recruiter. But the other recruiter was only able to find me low-paying jobs that didn't cover all my bills.

I guess the TL;DR of this thread, the true question is:

Should I be investing in a cargo-van or an RV? or is there some kind of other cheap housing situation that I could own within a year or 2?

I'm not going to consider a mortgage. Life has taught me that the money will not last fucking 20 to 30 years.

I'll be lucky if it lasts 2 years.

So what can I buy in 2 years, that I can truly live out of?

Sorry if my replies are all over the place. Feel like i'm having a semi-panic day or something. Sometimes I have a hard times on the weekends, because I don't have work to take my mind off things.

>>18545170
Which city or state do you live in? There's usually a lot of stuff on craigslist for decent prices. You can also find some vehicles on https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm
You'll have to decide between some land or the RV/camper/van first. I would get some land and a trailer. All you'll have to pay is property tax for the land once it's bought and most places you can get an acre for $1000-2500 as long as it isn't in a city.

>>18545042
What the heck kind of bills did you have where you couldn't pay them making $18/hour? are you living way above your means? I've got quite a few friends who are getting by fine with $9/hr, heck back in college I was living on my own and getting by with plenty to spare on a part time(30 hours a week) job that was only $10/hour

>>18545270
I guarantee you i'm not living above my means. I pay the normal bills.

Small city apartment: $850 / month
Electric bill: $100 or so / month
Water bill: $20 / month
Gas (for commute): approximately $160 / month
Toll (again, commute): approximately $100 / month

Internet: $60 / month
CDL Debt: $200 / month

I feel like i'm forgetting something. But trust me, I'm not living above my means. This is a mostly-small apartment. I eat pasta most of the time, I'll go out to eat just a couple times per week. (usually an $8 meal at McDonalds)

I pay regular-people bills. I don't have anything fancy or extravagant. I don't fucking know why life is so expensive, but I try not to think about it too much because it drives me ape shit.

>>18545257
Texas. The land of both high-income/high-expense. Lots of jobs here, but rent is rising like crazy. I'm pretty sure 3 years ago I was only paying like $500 / month.

I'll check out the link you provided. I also didn't realize land was so cheap. At that price, I could maybe buy an acre in like a month. I'll investigate this soon.
At that price, I might just buy the land first and throw up a cheap tent or something.

>>18545257
>https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm

>https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.AdvSearchResultsNew&searchPg=Category&additionalParams=true&sortOption=ad&timing=BySimple&timingType=&category=94D&rowCount=10&StartRow=1

Damn Man! These are excellent deals! This is exactly what I needed!

Thanks man!