I’m saving money, because I live in my car and have no expenses. In Fall of 2010, I should have at least $8,000 saved, maybe as much as $17,000.
I work (my ass off) at a golf course, earning $7.50/hour, during spring, summer, and fall, and I’ll get another job once the course starts winding down in october.
I narrowed my choices down to these three:
Go to a technical school, get certified/learn/whatever HVAC repair and installation.
Go to Lakeland Community College, learn some programming languages.
Travel to Thailand and study Muay Thai until I run out of money or my Visa expires.
Anybody have anything?
My goal is to acquire some kind of finacial security so I can pursue my other goals.
What’s your current source of income? If you don’t have a very stable job, I’d recommend the technical school because having that certification and experience is good for getting a job. The programming languages sounds like fun, but so many people know those languages that It’ll be harder to get into a field. Tailand sounds cool but I don’t know enough about the country or international travel in general to give any input.
I’m probably going to a technical school. I just threw those other two in there because they are things I want to do once I am not poor, and they could make some money on their own.
It’s not that bad living in a car. I don’t have to deal with roommates.
I would strike traveling to Thailand to study martial arts off the list.
As for the other two… first of all, do you know if you have a definite aptitude for programing languages/computer stuff? If so, community college might be a better bet than technical school. But if you would be going into programming languages blind, you might want to wait until you have some more money or a job or whatever.
Course, I’ve never really supported myself, so I’m the last person you probably want to listen to, but just my two cents.
EDIT: Ah, you’ve already made your decision. Sorry for my stupid opinions
If your goal is to achieve financial stability, then I don’t understand why you would even consider Thailand. If your goal is to live life to the max consequences be damned, then Thailand would be your obvious choice. Also, you could teach English in Thailand and therefore not have to “blow all your money until your VISA runs out” and you could study muay thai in your free time. Thailand is dirt cheap, even cheaper then where I live (which is still cheap as hell). You can easily live on less than a thousand dollars a month, and this includes rent, bills, motorcycle, and eating good food. Trust me, you wouldn’t be very unique in this - plenty of other people do it.
I don’t know if I have an aptitude for programming languages. I passed almost every test I had in school, mostly because I’m a book/abstract learner, and I never cared enough to get nervous. Most of my post-high school life I spent learning skills/acquiring experiences that are outside my natural inclinations. I have no idea why I did this.
And I don’t actually live in my car. I live in a tent, at the golf course, in the dump. My roommate lives in the woods between 5 green and 8 tee. And I’m at a library right now.
@Zepplin: Wat? They let just anyone teach english in Thailand?
Thailand sounds more interesting. You could also get hookers, though your mileage may vary with that.
Anyways…as far as programming languages go, it helps to definitely have an interest in them. And don’t go flying blind into complicated languages (Java). It will hurt. Start with something easy to understand and work your way up.
