25 to Life: Property 1 - The Saving Process

In 2014, when I graduated college at age 22, I had never worked a full-time job and I had no money in my bank account. But, I looked good on paper. My resume was already two pages long with all the serious volunteer work I had done, along with running the non-profit organization I founded. My goal after graduating college was to own a home before the age of 25. This meant that I had three years to get this done.

Backtrack -- I have the same cliche immigrant story as many other Americans. I was born in the Caribbean, migrated to the US at age 12 and tried to assimilate. I knew my purpose here was to change the financial and social dynamics of my family. My motivation was to move up the social ladder - it still is.

I spent latter half of my college years researching different ways to make money online. I needed large sums of money fast, because time waits on no one, plus before you knew it, I'd be 25. By the time my senior year came around, I had taught myself some valuable things about money and finance.

• Sadly, there are no legal shortcuts
• You need money to make money
• You actually have to work for it
• Nobody cares about your struggles

After college, I took a job offer that paid less than $60,000/year. It sounded like decent money coming right out of college but after paying NYC taxes, it dwindled down to a very modest amount. I was taking home a little over $30,000 a year. After paying rent, grad school tuition, transportation, travel expenses, insurance, bills, bills, bills, it seemed impossible to become a home owner in 2 years. 

Of all the research I did online about how to make more money, only one worked for me so far. I realized that I didn't have any money in the first place, so using the other strategies were far-fetched. The strategy that worked for me was SAVING. Plain old boring SAVING in a regular bank. 

I was able to save enough money in less than two years, and before I turned 24, I purchased my first home.  

Don't get me wrong, I also explored the other money-making strategies I learned online, like purchasing stocks, mutual funds, etc., but those are more long-term. I needed money fast, and straight up saving money at the bank worked for me. Of course after making my down payment on the house, my bank account was looking hungry but I just started from scratch again. The bright side: I am not paying mortgage out of pocket. In fact, I am profiting off the house I bought. 

Ask me how in the comments section. 

My next step was to repeat this process in the next two years. Did it work?

The Breakdown of Acquiring the 1st Property

Year 1

Employment: Full Time from 7am - 5pm
Gross Salary: $56,200
Net Salary: $36,962
Pay Frequency: Twice per month

Each paycheck was roughly $3000. From each check, I paid myself $500. Since I got paid twice per month, that's $1000 paid to myself each month, for a total of $12k that year.

What did I do with the other $24k?
I paid rent, which was $500 per month for a bedroom. That's a total of $6000 for the year.

Now I'm left with $18k...
I also paid about $3000 per semester for graduate school, totaling another $6000 per year.

We're at $12k now...
Ummm...I spent most of that on travel and life insurance. I took approximately 5 vacations and decided to do something that sounded responsible. LIFE INSURANCE (whatever that means).

Year 2

Employment: Full Time from 7am - 5pm
Gross Salary: $59,800
Net Salary: $38,059
Pay Frequency: Twice per month

Each paycheck was roughly $3100. From of each check, I paid myself $500. Since I got paid twice per month, that's $1000 paid to myself each month, for a total of $12k that year, and $24k in 2 years.

What did I do with the other $26k?
I paid rent, which was $500 per month for a bedroom. That's a total of $6000 for the year.

Now I'm left with $20k...
I also paid about $3000 per semester for graduate school, totaling another $6000 per year.

We're at $14k now...
Ummm...I spent most of that on travel and life insurance. I took approximately 4 vacations and decided to do something cool - HOT YOGA, and a GYM MEMBERSHIP.

Do you think this strategy can work for you? Let me know...seriously. 😝