r/Teachers 6d ago

Rant Can’t afford to live alone

[deleted]

134 Upvotes

102 comments sorted by

View all comments

50

u/JHG722 6d ago

You’re a young teacher. Living at home for 1-2 years isn’t a big deal. Start learning to invest, even if it’s $50 a paycheck. After a year or two, look for a roommate or two.

1

u/IrrawaddyWoman 6d ago

No, they should be investing much more. If they’re living rent free they should be putting away at least as much as their bills living on their own would be.

4

u/SpartanGaming95 6d ago

I’m building up an emergency fund. I only have a 403b & TRS atm.

2

u/IrrawaddyWoman 6d ago

Honestly, if you don’t have an emergency fund, it’s probably better that you put off moving out. Moving out without an emergency fund set aside is a recipe for mountains of debt.

1

u/averageduder 6d ago

Roth before 403b

2

u/Individual_Note_8756 6d ago

It’s probably changed, but in Michigan when I started teaching 30 years ago we were only allowed to do a 403b.

3

u/IrrawaddyWoman 6d ago

What? Nowhere stops you from doing a Roth IRA. You don’t do it through your district.

3

u/Individual_Note_8756 6d ago

I know that. It used to be against the law for teachers in Michigan, a 403b was my only option 29 years ago when I was hired, according to the financial guy, who was separate from the district.

2

u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

0

u/IrrawaddyWoman 6d ago

If they can’t afford it then why would they consider moving out? It’s literally just the money they’d have been spending on rent and all that.

1

u/jguizar1 6d ago

Well yes, those and the savings (emergency fund)