re: Advice for a 20 year old - warning tl;dr

First off, props and for this:

quote:

---

My situation is I'm a college student currently playing for my own tuition.

---

Most people insist that's impossible and you are proving they are all pussies.

Start by tracking all of your expenses. Just build a spreadsheet with columns for "date," "amount," "expense category," ect. If you are as a good a tightwad as you sound to be, the glaring problems will become obvious very quickly.

A few watch-outs if you haven't already figured it out are you cel bill, cable, eating out (at a restaurant. Cunnilingus is free. Play your cards right and you may be paid in return), and, alcohol. Not saying you can't do any of these things, just in measured amounts.

A credit card is a good thing. It makes it easier to track expenses and you get reward points. In your case, I would look for a card that pays cash rewards. Just pay it off every month.

And don't feel bad if you aren't able to put much/any money into a retirement account. You ARE still young and you stand to earn a good degree debt free. That's a great accomplishment.