Hi everyone!
Excited to finally join the forum after lurking forever.
My DH and I are in our mid-30s and are just now gaining some traction (ever so slooowwwly) and making FIRE plans. We have one child who is 4 - she will be our only.
I feel like we're behind, mainly because we've had significant medical expenses every year for the past decade (like $5-10k OOP). I have had a slew of healthcare issues, tack an adoption onto that, and we've spent a fortune it seems. We've been fortunate to be able to cash flow all of those expenses, but it has put a damper on our ability to add to savings and retirement.
Here are our deets:
DH gross income: $75,000
DH net income: $50,000
*I became a SAHM when we adopted our daughter. However, two years ago I started a side hustle. I have netted about $18k each year since then. Given my health issues and our plan to homeschool, this income is not necessarily guaranteed going forward. So I don't typically count it in our "income" if that makes sense.
Debts:
Student loan: $11,000 @3.5%, $130 per month
Car: $9800 @1.99%, $270 per month
Mortgage: $144,000 @3.625, $850 per month (PITI), 27 years left of 30 year loan
Assets:
Car: $16,500
Truck: $3,000
Business checking: $18,000
Savings: $5,000
Stocks: $10,000
DH 401k: $40,000
Home: $180,000
Monthly budget is right at $4,000. We use YNAB and do a zero-based budget. YNAB tells me our net worth is just north of $100,000. We live in the Midwest so COL is relatively low. My health expenses are just kicking our butts - we paid $3k just this month. Luckily, we just hit our max OOP so everything from here on out (except scripts) will be covered 100% for the rest of the year.
Questions:
Husband's income fluctuates, but averages out to $4,000 per month. Winter and spring can be slow for him, but summer and fall are very busy and that's when he makes the bulk of his income. Because of this and my health stuff, we both feel more comfortable having a buffer savings.
However, we would like to be rid of the debt as well as up our retirement contributions (just upped DH's contributions to 11% when he received his COL raise), save for our daughter's college, etc. We would like to retire early - nothing too crazy early - maybe 55, but not sure that's even possible. We would also like to increase our travel. My health has prevented much travel up to this point, but it's important for us to make those memories with our daughter.
I feel like we have sooo much to accomplish financially and I get bogged down in the details. Do you think we should drop some savings on the debt or keep throwing money into savings or retirement? If you were us, what advice would you give to get on a better financial trajectory?
Excited to finally join the forum after lurking forever.
My DH and I are in our mid-30s and are just now gaining some traction (ever so slooowwwly) and making FIRE plans. We have one child who is 4 - she will be our only.
I feel like we're behind, mainly because we've had significant medical expenses every year for the past decade (like $5-10k OOP). I have had a slew of healthcare issues, tack an adoption onto that, and we've spent a fortune it seems. We've been fortunate to be able to cash flow all of those expenses, but it has put a damper on our ability to add to savings and retirement.
Here are our deets:
DH gross income: $75,000
DH net income: $50,000
*I became a SAHM when we adopted our daughter. However, two years ago I started a side hustle. I have netted about $18k each year since then. Given my health issues and our plan to homeschool, this income is not necessarily guaranteed going forward. So I don't typically count it in our "income" if that makes sense.
Debts:
Student loan: $11,000 @3.5%, $130 per month
Car: $9800 @1.99%, $270 per month
Mortgage: $144,000 @3.625, $850 per month (PITI), 27 years left of 30 year loan
Assets:
Car: $16,500
Truck: $3,000
Business checking: $18,000
Savings: $5,000
Stocks: $10,000
DH 401k: $40,000
Home: $180,000
Monthly budget is right at $4,000. We use YNAB and do a zero-based budget. YNAB tells me our net worth is just north of $100,000. We live in the Midwest so COL is relatively low. My health expenses are just kicking our butts - we paid $3k just this month. Luckily, we just hit our max OOP so everything from here on out (except scripts) will be covered 100% for the rest of the year.
Questions:
Husband's income fluctuates, but averages out to $4,000 per month. Winter and spring can be slow for him, but summer and fall are very busy and that's when he makes the bulk of his income. Because of this and my health stuff, we both feel more comfortable having a buffer savings.
However, we would like to be rid of the debt as well as up our retirement contributions (just upped DH's contributions to 11% when he received his COL raise), save for our daughter's college, etc. We would like to retire early - nothing too crazy early - maybe 55, but not sure that's even possible. We would also like to increase our travel. My health has prevented much travel up to this point, but it's important for us to make those memories with our daughter.
I feel like we have sooo much to accomplish financially and I get bogged down in the details. Do you think we should drop some savings on the debt or keep throwing money into savings or retirement? If you were us, what advice would you give to get on a better financial trajectory?