re: Paying off everything off while young

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Would it be wise for me to use that money to come home and pay for a nice home and some acreage cash?

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There is a lot to be said for no house payment. You'll have the flexibility to take opportunities, leave a job you hate, etc., all because you don't have the mortgage hanging over you.

On the other hand, if you live to be 80, you'll likely never see interest rates as low as they are right now, again. So, if you can "gap" your investments and mortgage rate, that's essentially free money.

Now, if you don't have a mortgage (because you pay cash for the house) you have a lot more flexibility every month to meet "unbudgeted" contingencies, so that you are not borrowing money or robbing the emergency fun - but rather, you just dial back your retirement contribution that month.

That's why I lean towards paying cash - if that's an option. In any event, if you do finance, I recommend you put 20% to 25% down and go 15 years on the mortgage - that is sort of "the middle ground" strategy - this leaves you with a chunk of cash to front load your retirement/investment, at the cost of a higher monthly P&I, but half the total payments and less than half the finance charges.

It will also be much, much easier to get back out of the property, in a cost effective manor, if you have a change of tastes in 3 to 5 years.

Interesting thread. I'm currently 26 working overseason in Petrochem construction as well. I plan on returning to the US when I'm 29 with between $400 and $500K, and I've been wondering about these exact same things.

I understand exactly what people are saying about debt not being a sin, but I was also raised exactly like you to be almost terrified of it. I know I'm of the extreme and it's not necessarily a good thing, but coming home and buying a home outright has crossed my mind multiple times.

At the moment I'm planning on coming home and paying a significant portion of my mortgage ~20-25% in a downpayment. From there I'll purchase a car cash.

The current 15 year average of the index funds and dividend stocks I contribute to is currently ~8-10% so I'm basically thinking I'll do the math on whether it makes more sense to pay the mortgage off my interest/gains and contribute a larger portion of my monthly paycheck to my retirement or if I should pay my mortgage with my monthly salary and contribute less to my retirement but continue to allow my investments to grow.

My only worry in this plan is I don't really want to be living out in suburbia while I'm trying to meet some OT 10 who just graduated, but how long do I live in an apartment just waisting money on rent when I have more than enough to buy?

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For a young, single person, renting is not wasting money. Renting makes good financial sense for any single male. Why? The female you end up with may hate the house. Moving is expensive, particularly if you don't hold the mortgage long enough to recoup your transaction costs.

If you can afford a home, I certainly don't recommend renting for 7 or more years in the same location, but renting for 2 to 3 years until you are certain of the location, neighborhood, your long-term housing budget, etc., is not the "stupid" decision that many would have you believe. On the contrary, it's smart.

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Never thought of it like this at all.

Money Board strikes again

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How do I get this job? I'm graduating in CM from LSU soon and I have some PETE background. I'd love to do this for a few years.

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It's easier to go international with an Engineering degree IMO, but you could probably go with a CM degree and a good GPA/references.

The easiest way to go is to get on with a huge EPC firm (Jacobs, Bechtel, Fluor, CBI, etc) and work in the States before getting them to sponsor you on a project overseas. That's how I did it. I worked for ~2 years in the States right after college, all the while making it known to everyone that I wanted to work internationally.

I was then sent to the Middle East and now to Australia. If you're willing to go, most large EPC companies these days almost require international experience when you're young.

The problem is getting your foot in the door on your own with recruiters if you don't have your company essentially doing it for you. Australia, for example, is incredibly protective of local jobs. To bring in an Expat you have to show in detail that a local individual is unable to perform the tasks you need for the specific position. If you're with a company it's easier for them to speak to your knowledge and familiarity with the system's used and company practices that will be used on the job.

That'd be my recommendation. I'm sure it can be done on your own, but I think it'd be much more difficult. If you have the opportunity to go, definitely do it! The pay is insane, the benefits are absurd, and you get to do tons of traveling.

Never thought I'd have Dubai, Sydney, Melbourne, Phuket, New Zealand, Tokyo, and Shangai crossed off the list before my 27th birthday !

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You've emailed me before. I changed my username recently. Used to be DNaq on here. I don't do international work, but have worked along side Bechtel. I think they would be a good option if you wanted to go that route. Email me if you still have my email. I have also had some dealings with Jacobs and from the outside looking in, I can't speak bad about them.

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Bechtel and Jacobs would both be great companies to work for. Bechtel for one is incredible in their process/producton sector. They've got procedures to do everything but take a shite and basically turn you into a robot, but I'll be damned if anyone is better at getting to commissioning than those guys.

dnaquin? howd you get a name change??

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I currently work for Fluor and there is a large corporate push for everyone to get used to LSTK projects. My best advise is to find a mentor and ride their coattail if possible. You absolutely have to have someone older go to bat for you in order to get those lucrative positions. I'm 24 fwiw.

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Yea for my company it's sort of seen as a right of passage as well. Who is a company man willing to move for the company?

I think it's hilarious I'm getting respect for moving across the globe, making 2-3 times as much, and getting to travel all over the world haha.

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My only worry in this plan is I don't really want to be living out in suburbia while I'm trying to meet some OT 10 who just graduated, but how long do I live in an apartment just waisting money on rent when I have more than enough to buy?

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If you have a half million in the bank then renting for a few years isn't a waste at all. It's what you should do after working your arse off overseas. You should get a badass place imo

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clear between 300-400k over the next 3 years

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Invest all of it and keep doing this for about 15 years and retire in your early/mid 40s.

I've actually recently applied at both Jacobs and Bechtel. I interviewed with Performance back in early October, but I haven't heard back from them. I have one job offer pending in Houston, but it's not doing what I want and it doesn't really offer the kinds of opportunities I'm looking for.