I'm 21 years old (22 in a couple weeks), and I just graduated in May with a degree in Electrical Engineering and was lucky to have a job for a major defense contractor that I started in June. I decided i needed to educate myself on personal finance and managing my money, which led me to many forums such as the Bogleheads forums and this one. Thanks for being a huge resource so far!
Luckily my parents helped me pay for part of my education at a small private school with a good engineering program, so I'm not buried too deep in student loans. I am also living at home and giving my parents $400/month (food, utilities, rent, etc). Here's my financial situation so far:
Cash: $5100 (split between two savings accounts and a checking account)
Investments: 401k: $2400 in Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 (Currently contributing 15% of my pay, employing matches in full up to 6% of my salary)
Roth IRA: $1000 in Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 (just opened the account with Vanguard last week, and will start to make monthly contributions)
Student Loans: Private Loan - $4500 @ 2.25%
Federal Loan - $12,000 @ 6.8%
Car Loan - $19,000 @ 0%
I am using the debt snowball method to aggressively pay off the student loans while I'm living at home, all bonuses and tax returns I receive will go towards these.
As for the car, I needed one, and while I know it's not recommended to buy new I got a good deal on a 2012 Ford Fusion that I plan to drive into the ground.
While I pay off my student loans I'm reading books such as "Bogleheads Guide to Investing" and using internet resources to have a better idea of how I want to invest my money. The Target Retirement Funds are fine for me now, as it seems the amount I invest is more important than my AA for now. I hope to have a positive net worth by the spring and finish off my student loans by the end of next year.
My goal is not to retire early, but rather to have financial freedom early in life. I love my job and love what I do, but if things go south I want to have the freedom to do what I want. Sorry for the long winded post, but I want to thank you all for the wealth of information provided here!
Luckily my parents helped me pay for part of my education at a small private school with a good engineering program, so I'm not buried too deep in student loans. I am also living at home and giving my parents $400/month (food, utilities, rent, etc). Here's my financial situation so far:
Cash: $5100 (split between two savings accounts and a checking account)
Investments: 401k: $2400 in Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 (Currently contributing 15% of my pay, employing matches in full up to 6% of my salary)
Roth IRA: $1000 in Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 (just opened the account with Vanguard last week, and will start to make monthly contributions)
Student Loans: Private Loan - $4500 @ 2.25%
Federal Loan - $12,000 @ 6.8%
Car Loan - $19,000 @ 0%
I am using the debt snowball method to aggressively pay off the student loans while I'm living at home, all bonuses and tax returns I receive will go towards these.
As for the car, I needed one, and while I know it's not recommended to buy new I got a good deal on a 2012 Ford Fusion that I plan to drive into the ground.
While I pay off my student loans I'm reading books such as "Bogleheads Guide to Investing" and using internet resources to have a better idea of how I want to invest my money. The Target Retirement Funds are fine for me now, as it seems the amount I invest is more important than my AA for now. I hope to have a positive net worth by the spring and finish off my student loans by the end of next year.
My goal is not to retire early, but rather to have financial freedom early in life. I love my job and love what I do, but if things go south I want to have the freedom to do what I want. Sorry for the long winded post, but I want to thank you all for the wealth of information provided here!