u/turtlewurtled

I’m making the most I’ve ever made and I’ve not really gone to college. Currently I make $24.50/hr. I work around 40 hours per week. My job doesn’t offer a 401k, so I’m not contributing to any retirement currently.

With how high rent is, for example a 1 bed around my place averaging around $1200-$1500/mo, most without utilities. How does the average person invest in their future towards retirement?

Say my average expenses ended up being $2500/mo, with a 20% tax cut from my monthly gross income of $3920, taxes being $784 taken out. After taxes, it’d be $3,136. I’d have $636 left to either save or invest or both.

At 25 years old, I want to travel so bad. I want to get out of this place I’ve been stuck at since I was 8 years old. I haven’t been out of state in basically a decade, no mini road trips, nothing.

I also have so many financial goals I’d like to achieve. I’d like to start and finish college so I can advance my career to get at least a job paying $50-$75k / year.

I’d like to buy my first house in hopes of having it paid off by age 55 or earlier.

I’d love to live on my own right now but I’m not sure how I’m supposed to do that with rent being ridiculously high, and raising 9% each year at every location near me. My first apartment kept raising rent by 9% every year. My current rental is doing the same thing. Everywhere around me is doing it. I’ve thought about moving to another state, but my job is here, and I can’t let this job go, because it could potentially support me while I try and start college, live on my own again. Save financially.

I’m just so conflicted on how to navigate these times financially. I don’t know how people invest in their future. When should people start investing in retirement?

Well, they definitely gave extra dill