EFFORTPOST Impoverished disabled veteran working at a Christian Retreat blowing money he doesn't have on mobile games, fast food, and card games

Colton Rock Springs Texas, 26

Self-rated: 5/10

Employment: Christian Adventure Camp

• Was a summer job, decided to to do full time to avoid living with parents after academic suspension

  • Govt wouldn't give veteran living stipend if not doing education

  • Plans to go back to school within next few years

  • Might stick with this because a director position (30'000) might open up in a few years

• Retreat coordinator or host "ministry work"

  • "Talk with mens' groups or with churches and things we have them come out, specifically I'm in charge of mens' groups and [indecipherable] groups"

• $18'900 takehome

  • Laterally transferring to another job at same camp will be paid 19'000 flat

  • Doesn't need to pay rent, food, or utilities

  • 80 hours a week

• about $3000 total monthly counting disability

• Most of income from disability pay

  • got 42k when he left the military, half to help move half for savings

  • was paratrooper in 82nd airborne

  • "Double parachute malfunction ended up falling from around 1800 feet and I shattered my left femur, 26 different bone fragments"

  • $1'663 a month

  • Talking with VA about getting disability upped, would be pulling around 90k from that

• Retirement plan from the military gets a plan from the camp when he hits a year, plans to roll it in, camp offers 4% match?

Education:

• was free, still has GI Bill and Texas Hazelwood Act (latter will pay for another 150 credit hours)

• Academically suspended because grades

• Something about maritime? Looking at a 6 figure salary with it? I didn't fully catch this part

• He thinks he can get his Bachelors within a year

Savings/Expenses:

• $15'000 in an investment account

  • Wells Fargo Hedge Fund?

• $5000 emergency fund

• $10'000 in an IRA

• Looks like about a 2x coffee a day habit ($2 each) timestamp

• Basically all expenses are subscriptions or mobile games

  • Low-level whale paypig to one of the supercell games

    • lot of transactions for it, probably close to a thousand dollars

  • http://tcgplayer.com/ - trading card game marketplace (physical), doesn't specify which

    • Pretty big purchases on here, one of them was $77

  • http://cardkingdom.com - Magic the Gathering site

    • Paid 570 in one purchase on there

  • Rents movies on Youtube

  • Paypigs Blizzard, maybe Diablo Immortal or Hearthstone? Not sure what blizzard does these days

  • $77.78 on Dr Squatch organic soap timestamp

    • Looks like a monthly cost?

  • $148 at "Bass Pro Shop" timestamp

• Learning piano, pays for "Flow Key" (?) ($120 a year)

Debt:

• Tried debt consolidation but canceled that when they told him not to talk to creditors and realize it was hitting his credit score. He's on a payment plan with Capital one instead

• In therapy

• Credit Card 1: $3965 -> $6'817 -> $6633

  • Put a vacation on it (around 1000), going scuba with some old friends from the military

  • $116 interest accrued, then $169

• Credit Card 2: $4571 -> $3885 -> $3385

  • $113 interest

  • 152 minimum payment

  • Opened it when he got out of the military, went NEET mode for a year (2021)

• Car is a 2004 F-150 (paid off), had it a decade, 130'000 miles on it, thinks it will last another 6 or more

  • $90 a month

• Losing $283 interest a month total