Best way to start

[Derek Parsons]

Hello BP!

My name is Derek Parsons, I am a soldier with the North Carolina National Guard currently serving in a deployment overseas. I am completely new to real estate investing and have no idea where to begin, so my question to you all is what would be the best starting move? In order to help with the answer, here is a little about my current situation:

I'm 25 years old, with about 6k in student loans (being paid off by the military), no car payments, no credit card debt, and a credit score of about 650. Currently, since I have no bills while on deployment (other then a phone bill and storage unit) I am saving every paycheck I get. I hope to have a little over 30k saved up by the time I get home (sometime in April). I already own a car, but it is almost 16 years old and needs a few minor repairs, all of which I can do myself, but the temptation to get a new or "newer" vehicle is high. I do have family I can live with once I am back but will need to start finding a place of my own sooner rather then later. 

It's definitely not the worst position to be in, but I would like to get things started on the right foot and avoid making "rookie" mistakes and maximize my return with the money I have now. I hope the information I gave helps, and thank you all in advance for your time and help!