Quote from peilthetraveler:
Ok...you say "probably" last you a year. If you are going to be working with money, you should know EXACTLY how long 15k will last you. If you have never kept track of every single little expense for an entire month, you should start now to see how much you actually spend in 1 month. I can tell right away though that 15k will not last you a year.
$750 rent x 12 monts = $9000
That gives you $6k left for food and going out? Now I'm a pretty skinny guy (weigh 140 pounds and 5'7) and if i really scrimp, I spend at least $250 per month on food. (not dining out, just groceries and fast food every once in a while) If I splurge, I will hit as high as 500$ per month (eatting fast food every day) You said you could get work as a bouncer so im guessing your a much bigger guy than me and your calorie intake is alot higher than mine which means you spend more on food. Now if you plan to go out and party, then you can expect alot of more expenses. Also does that $750 rent include utilities, internet, cable, ect? Do you have a car? car payment? Gasoline? I only drive less than most people (about 7k miles per year) and i spend $100 bucks on gas on a 25 MPG honda) Most normal people drive at least 12k-15k miles per year so if you have the same MPG car, you are going to be spending $200 per month. Insurance? Another 50-100$ (depending on your driving record, ect)
I can tell you that your 15k will last you at MOST 7.5 months. Assuming you do have a car payment and you like to party and go out every weekend then I would predict it will last at MOST 5 months.
Check your expenses for the next 30 days and you will see. Write everything down and add it up at the end of the month. Dont make the mistake I did. When i started trading I had 57k in the bank for my savings to last me while i was trading. After 6 months, I saw I only had about 30k in the bank. I thought i was only spending $1800 per month, but when I did a budget and tracked my expenses I saw i was spending 3k per month(sometimes more)! (for a while I thought someone got a hold of my back account info and was stealing from me)
I really wish someone had told me what i am telling you now back then. If feels horrible to see your savings drop like that especially when you are not making money trading yet.
Good luck to you though. I wish you well because you are going down a long hard road that most of us can attest to.