My Rich Nerd,
When a 21-year-old told me he takes home $6,200 every two weeks, I think you'll forgive me for thinking: “Bullshit”.
Get this…he’s a correctional officer (prison officer) working around 80 hours a week (perks of unlimited overtime). His ****numbers get even crazier from here.
The Stats 🔢
Thamir lives with his parents in Arizona, reports about $1,500 in monthly personal expenses, and has $28,000 in cash. He’s been contributing to his 401(k) and HSA since he was 18, with a combined balance we roughly estimated at $80,000. He also owns a rental property with $296,000 left on the mortgage at 3.99%. It brings in $2,300 a month against a $2,100 mortgage payment, leaving $200 before repairs, vacancies, and other costs.
He also has $62,000 in medical debt following a car accident (from which he recovered). He didn’t have health insurance then. To anyone reading this without coverage: Thamir hopes you’ll rethink that.
The Problem 🚨
Thamir hopes an insurance settlement will cover the medical debt, although negotiations are ongoing. What he really wanted to talk to me about were two goals:
Build a family home. He wants to build a home where he, his brother, and their parents can live together. Think looking at mountains to lower cortisol. They already own the land outright and have been approved for a construction loan of up to $600,000, although he expects to spend less. He wanted my thoughts…
Start an HVAC maintenance business. He wants to work for himself and reduce his prison overtime.
The Patch 🛠️
First, I gave him some remarks about reshuffling his savings for specific jobs: $9,000 would cover six months of his reported personal expenses, leaving roughly $19,000 for rental emergencies. One property repair could wipe out months of that $200 margin…Then I discussed his goals.
For the home: We explored splitting the payment among family members. Before committing, confirm the construction costs, financing terms, and everyone’s contribution. The payment estimates we discussed were preliminary, but his share of about $1,200 - $1,500 a month is doable. Rich Nerd approved.
For the HVAC business, I recommended starting on the side, gradually trading some prison overtime for time building a customer base. That gives him room to test demand and bring in recurring revenue while keeping a steady paycheck. Let paying customers give him the confidence to cut back his hours further.
The medical debt threw me for one, but after a panoramic of his finances, he is doing really well! Keep it up, Thamir!
Got a finance question, email me.
Thanks,
Imran
